Nov. 22, 2014
Globe and Mail – John Lornic
New era of policing: Will the benefits of body-worn cameras outweigh the privacy issues?
Calgary is the first Canadian city to introduce body-worn cameras but Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax are all field testing the devices. Some think the camera can boost the transparency of police – public interactions. But opponents see a privacy issue, particularly when the camera is used with like facial recognition software when the camera collects intelligence rather than provides accountability. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/new-era-of-policing-will-the-benefits-of-body-worn-cameras-outweigh-the-privacy-issues/article21698547 Related article: Toronto Sun – Simon Kent CCTV has changed how police investigate crime http://www.torontosun.com/2014/11/16/cctv-has-changed-how-police-investigate-crime
Halifax Herald Chronicle – Paul McLeod
Police leader raps outsourcing of officers, says privatizing will prove a mistake
Tom Stamatakis, the President of the Canadian Police Association is in favour of a study of privatization of police duties – but only because he is sure than the study will confirm it is a bad idea. Why the fuss? The average security worker makes $12.88 per hour, compared with $27.12 per hour for the average police officer. No one is saying what specific policing jobs could be outsourced to private companies. http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/1252621-police-leader-raps-outsourcing-of-officers-says-privatizing-will-prove-a-mistake
CBC News – Brian Stewart
Global corruption a bigger scourge than terrorism – Anti-corruption protests growing all over the world, as are legislative crackdowns
A veteran newscaster suggests that corruption in developing countries drains away an estimated $1 trillion a year, inflicting far more damage than terrorism but with impunity. No one at the recent G-20 in Brisbane even broached the topic. World Bank has blacklisted 250 global companies for corruption – 117 are Canadian. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/global-corruption-a-bigger-scourge-than-terrorism-1.2841240
Ottawa Citizen – Ian MacLeod
Passing judgment: Supreme Court appointments now shrouded in secrecy, experts say
Retiring MP and former justice minister Irwin Cotler on the appointment process: “Appointing judges is one of the government’s most important responsibilities and it is important that Canadians understand and trust the appointment…It diminishes the court when you do this in secret.” MacLeod also provides a list of the justices and the cases of confrontation between the federal government and the court. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/choosing-a-new-supreme-court-justice
One World News
UN calls for an end to immigration detention of children
The UN refugee advocates at the UNHCR say that holding children in immigration detention is a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children and should be stopped. Australia and the US are big violators but Canada has about 90 children in detention at the moment as well. http://oneworld.org/2014/11/20/un-calls-for-an-end-to-immigration-detention-of-children Related article: RT.com Obama extends deportation reprieve to 5 million undocumented immigrants http://rt.com/usa/207459-obama-executive-actions-undocumented-immigrants Related article: Washington Post Ed O’Keefe and Max Ehrenfreund Winners and losers in Obama’s immigration policy changes http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/winners-and-losers-in-obamas-immigration-policy-changes/2014/11/20/265d3b9a-7104-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html
The Hill (US) – David Russell
You should feel broke, because you are
Russell says that we are focusing on long term solutions but that there are also some obvious and more immediate solutions. Wages are stagnant and have been for 40 years, he says. Business can share productivity gains and the government can revise the tax system to favour re-distribution to lower incomes. The free market trickle down approach has just not worked. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/finance/225087-you-should-feel-broke-because-you-are
iPolitics.ca – Michael Spratt
Prison nation: What locking up more people is costing us
Spratt, an Ottawa lawyer, says: “The Conservatives have eliminated house arrest for many non-violent crimes, expanded the use of mandatory minimum sentences, restricted the availability of parole and created scores of new criminal offences. Many of these measures have been found by the courts to be unconstitutional; still, the Harper government blindly stumbles onward. Non-violent offenders are being warehoused while the machinery of punishment and incarceration grows like a tumour. This is not a good thing.” Then he looks at the evidence around the various tough-on-crime practices. http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/11/20/prison-nation-what-locking-up-more-people-is-costing-us
ThinkProgress (US)– Nicole Flatrow
California Tells Court It Can’t Release Inmates Early Because It Would Lose Cheap Prison Labour
Who said slavery was gone? Lawyers for the state of California used to say they could not comply with release orders because it would endanger public safety or the logistics could not be put in place quickly. Now they are conceding that cheap labour is a factor. Three federal judges are defied because of the need for inmates to fight California’s brush fires. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/11/17/3592964/how-californias-program-to-have-inmates-fight-wildfires-could-be-keeping-people-behind-bars