Mar 27, 2014
Toronto Star – Catherine Latimer, Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Canada.
How long will Ottawa ignore our broken prison system?
Latimer remarks on the failure to act on the recs that came from the Ashley Smith inquest and the three corrections officers charged with failure to provide the necessities of life after one inmate stabbed to death another in Middlesex. There are both human rights failures and failures with UN provisions for humane treatment while politicians and correctional services ignore these repeated incidents. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/03/24/how_long_will_ottawa_ignore_our_broken_prison_system.html
Halifax Herald News – Paul McLeod
Ottawa has been spying on you
While a warrant was sought and granted in some few cases, the Canada Border Services asked for and got basic information, including voice mails, texts of e-mail and cell phone subscriber information without a warrant and simply by asking for it from the carriers in over 18,000 requests last year. Subscribers are not told about the release of any of this information. http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1195828-ottawa-has-been-spying-on-you
Toronto Star
Policing the mentally ill now top concern for officers, chief tells national conference
Vancouver police chief Jim Chu, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, says that police are now the first recourse for dealing with mental health incidents. Chu says that 21% of the calls to his force involved mental illness. He spoke at the National Association of Chiefs of Police Conference held jointly with the national Mental Health Commission. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/25/policing_the_mentally_ill_now_top_concern_for_officers_chief_tells_conference.html Related article: Toronto Star – Jennifer Pagliaro Why did Durham police shoot and kill a naked man? http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2014/03/23/why_did_durham_police_shoot_and_kill_a_naked_man.html (5 minute video at link)
Globe and Mail – Editorial
The Fair Elections Act: Kill this bill
The verdict is in. There are so many flaws with this C-23 The Fair Elections Act that the Globe and Mail thinks the only response is to kill the bill entirely. The editorial joins with a prior reaction of a group of academics: The Act will “undermine the integrity of the Canadian electoral process, diminish the effectiveness of Elections Canada, reduce voting rights, expand the role of money in politics and foster partisan bias in election administration.” What more can be said? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/the-fair-elections-act-kill-this-bill/article17629981
CBC News
Follow the Money: Federal spending announcements in 2013
Want to know about federal spending announcements during 2013? Here is an interactive map with over 2600 hits. By clicking on a spot you are told how much, for what cause, who the MP is for the riding, which department made the grant. You also get a link for more information. The info was taken from government web sites by fourth year journalism students at Carleton. http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/government-spending-announcements-2014-b
Ultravires – Law School University of Toronto – Sofia Ijaz
U of T Law Hosts Former Detainee, Grassroots Activists, and Experts to Discuss Immigration Detention
The hosts were concerned with some of the specifics of the case involving Deepan Budlakoti, a young man born in Canada to parents who were long time servants at the Indian Embassy in Ottawa. But, they also suggest that this case highlights some alarming current trends in immigration law and practices. http://ultravires.ca/2014/03/u-of-t-law-hosts-former-detainee-grassroots-activists-and-experts-to-discuss-immigration-detention/
Brantford Expositor – Vincent Ball
City launches Safe Brantford initiative
The city of Brantford-Bryant in Ontario has a social psychologist as a consultant who is working to bring service and people together to create a safer and healthier city. The effort includes police, business and ordinary people in neighbourhoods across the city. Dr. Hugh Russell specializes in building community participation and mobilizing people to take responsibility. http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2014/03/25/city-launches-safe-brantford-initiative
Huffington Post (US) – Molly Rowan Leach and Dr. Sandra Pavelka
The Political Rise of Restorative Justice
Thirty-seven states have restorative language embedded in laws. At the same time there is a considerable variation is the enforcement and application of these laws. The use of RJ for juvenile cases is more common. The report offers an overview and singles out Longmont, Colorado, where the RJ approach within a diversified community participation has delivered an 8% recidivism rate against 60-70% nationally. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/molly-rowan-leach/the-political-rise-of-res_b_5029413.html Related article: Longmont Times Call – Pierrette J. Shields Longmont Justice Council seeks to tap residents to help solve criminal recidivism problems http://www.timescall.com/ci_23741140/longmont-justice-council-seeks-tap-residents-help-solve
University of Texas (Dallas) – Dr. Robert Morris
Study: Medical Marijuana Legalization Doesn’t Lead to More Crime – Researchers Say Decriminalizing Medicinal Use May Reduce Homicide, Assault Rates
Initial fears that legalizing marijuana would lead to runaway crime rates may be grossly exaggerated according to this study which tracked crime rates from 1990 to 2006 when some states allowed medical marijuana. Using the uniform crime report of the FBI, none of the seven crime categories increased with the legalization. http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2014/3/27-29241_Study-Medical-Marijuana-Legalization-Doesnt-Lead-t_story-wide.html?WT.mc_id=NewsHomePage