Jan 11, 2016
Canada.com – Andrew Coyne
The basics of a guaranteed basic income
Subsidy for low wages or a structure that would encourage the lazy? Coyne looks at the current efforts to assess the idea of bridging income disparity by a guaranteed annual income without claw backs. Perhaps Canada’s best known proponent Hugh Segal wants a negative income tax approach rather than an outright payment by the government. What is needed is a model and accurate data about how it works in Finland and shortly now in Ontario. http://www.canada.com/news/national/andrew+coyne+basics+guaranteed+basic+income/12670826/story.html Related article: Huntington Post – Akash Arasu The Evolution of the Davos Man http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akash-arasu/davos-man_b_2529544.html
Times Colonist (Victoria, BC) Lindsay Kines
B.C. jobs plan not enough to address high poverty rate: think-tank
For some time now, the income inequality struggle in the face of persistent poverty has raised the possibility that minimum wage jobs will not serve to alleviate either the disparity or the poverty. The link reports a new study, focused on BC, which has the second worst poverty rate in the country (13.2%), from the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives that re-enforces the notion. Nova Scotia has the worst rate at 14.8%. Entitled Long Overdue: Why B.C. Needs a Poverty Reduction Plan the report suggests that anti-poverty efforts in BC have failed on all fronts. The report recommends a targeted approach that raises welfare rates, increases the minimum wage to $15, increases affordable housing, and a childcare program capped at $10 / day while free to incomes less than $40,000. http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-jobs-plan-not-enough-to-address-high-poverty-rate-think-tank-1.7213353 CCPA – Seth Klein, Iglika Ivanova, Andrew Leyland Long Overdue: Why BC Needs a Poverty Reduction Plan Full report from CCPA (A 44 page downloadable pdf) https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/BC%20Office/2017/01/ccpa-bc_long-overdue-poverty-plan_web.pdf
Globe and Mail – Sean Fine
Honour killings to voting rights: Hot-button issues coming up at Supreme Court
Tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada starts it winter session and top on the agenda are two high profile cases around violence against women. The first involves the extradition of a pair of BC residents thought to be directly involved in an “honour” killing in India. The second involves a sexual assault case in which the issue is whether previous behaviour of the victim is admissible. The second case has its origin in rulings by the latest SCC appointee Mr. Justice Malcolm Rowe when he is an appeal judge in Newfoundland. The article adds commentary on other trials coming up for the SCC as well. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-preview-of-the-supreme-court-of-canadas-winter-session/article33560901/
Criminological Highlights (UofT) – Anthony Doob and Rosemary Gartner
This January edition, from two notables from the University of Toronto, Department of Criminology, has the usual host of germane topics of current interest: Are dark-skinned Blacks especially likely to be imprisoned? Why is some form of criminal record expungement especially important now? Are neighbourhoods with large numbers of registered sex offenders living in them especially likely to have high rates of sex offences? Are Black youths living on the street particularly vulnerable to being stopped and searched by the police? Do curfews for youths reduce crime? What determines whether airport security procedures are perceived as being fair? Why do young Black Americans perceive the criminal justice system as unjust? How did New York City reduce its imprisonment rate? http://criminology.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/CrimHighlightsV16N3.pdf
Human Rights Watch – Kenneth Roth, Executive Director
World Report 2017: The Dangerous Rise of Populism: Global Attacks on Human Rights Values
The report is over 700 pages in total but one can get to the data on specific countries of interest by a search offered on the title page. Under the Canada report – available in English and French – the following are areas of concern: Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls; Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Children in Immigration Detention; Mining Industry Abuses; Palliative Care; Foreign Policy. There is also a section of the report called “Latest News on Canada” offering a variety of topical commentaries around human rights and policies. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/canada Latest News link: https://www.hrw.org/americas/canada Full report (A downloadable pdf – 704 pages): https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/world_report_download/wr2017-web.pdf
Metroland Media – Caledon Enterprise
Judge reserves on RCMP class-action sex suit
Lawyers are asking Judge Ann Marie McDonald of the Federal Court to rule on certification of the complainants in the RCMP sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit. Potentially 14,000 – 17,000 women would get a letter certifying them as eligible for compensation. “The proposed settlement, which would be administered by retired Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache, creates six categories of claimants. Those who suffered the most egregious abuse would be eligible for up to $220,000. In some cases, family members of the RCMP employees would also be eligible for cash.” Lawyers will get 15% of the settlements. http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news-story/7056973-judge-reserves-on-rcmp-class-action-sex-suit/
The Guardian (Charlottetown, PEI) – Editorial (Jan 11, 2017)
City police ups firepower – and about time
The editorial is framed in the context of the disadvantage suffered by the Moncton RCMP when a sniper with a long rifle killed three constables while other constables had nothing but pistols and shotguns to protect themselves. The provision of the recent arrived rifles came free from National Defense, defeating the cost argument and bringing the local police into weapons parity for the area. In the meantime, the trail of the RCMP for labour code violations in the Moncton incident, including a lack of training and equipment, is due to start and is expected to last two months. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/opinion/2017/1/11/editorial–city-police-ups-firepower—and-about-time.html Related article: MacLean’s – Canadian Press RCMP trial set for labour charges in Moncton shooting http://www.macleans.ca/news/rcmp-trial-set-for-labour-charges-in-moncton-shooting/