Feb 22, 2017
Toronto Star – Allan Woods
Canada-U.S. border the final frontier for refugee-seekers
The article offers an insightful side of the activity at one of Canada’s popular land border crossings between the US and Canada. The site is in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle (QC) and record an almost scripted version of asylum seekers / refugees arriving, confirming their papers with the US Border Patrol and walking or taking a taxi across the land border into the waiting arms of the RCMP where the visitors claim refugee status. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/02/20/canada-us-border-the-final-frontier-for-refugee-seekers.html Related article: Toronto Star: Sidhartha Banerjee Montreal becomes third Canadian sanctuary city for non-status refugees https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/02/20/montreal-becomes-third-canadian-sanctuary-city.html Related article: Toronto Star Editorial (Feb. 21, 2017) Toronto must enforce its ‘sanctuary city’ status https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2017/02/21/toronto-must-enforce-its-sanctuary-city-status-editorial.html Related article: Toronto Star – Alicia A. Caldwell New Trump memos outline his plans to deport millions of immigrants https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/02/21/new-trump-memos-outline-plans-to-deport-millions-of-immigrants.html Related article: Globe and Mail Editorial (Feb 22, 2017) Is Canada ready for Donald Trump’s refugee crisis? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/globe-editorial-is-canada-ready-for-donald-trumps-refugee-crisis/article34104802/ Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Andrew Coyne A crisis is coming: If this many cross the U.S. border in February, how many will come by June? http://www.ottawacitizen.com/crisis+coming+this+many+cross+border+february+many+will+come+june/12967045/story.html
Globe and Mail – Editorial (Feb 19, 2017)
The Supreme Court’s flawed call for speedier trials
The Court ruled 5-4 in the Jordan case that the accused has a right to a speedy trial and defined that limit as 18 months for provincial courts and 30 months for Superior Court. The law is now established, whatever the wisdom, and the justice system is scrambling to find out how to go about meeting the requirement. The options are daunting. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/globe-editorial-the-supreme-courts-flawed-call-for-speedier-trials/article34073827/ Related article: Globe and Mail – Sean Fine With accused killers poised to walk free, Ottawa urged to take action on court delays http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-attorney-general-seeks-ottawas-help-to-speed-up-justice-system/article34099009/
Early announcement:
2017 National Restorative Justice Symposium
November 19-21, 2017 at the Westin Hotel Ottawa, Ontario
Hosted by the Collaborative Justice Program (www.collaborativejustice.ca ) and The Church Council on Justice and Corrections
Book launch: The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (CRCVC)
Victim Law: The Law of Victims of Crime in Canada (Thomson Reuters, 2017) by Benjamin Perrin, an Associate Professor in the Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. “In this timely book, one of the architects of the new federal Victims Bill of Rights Act examines the growing body of legislation and case law related to victims of crime throughout the criminal justice, corrections and youth criminal justice systems and under provincial and territorial laws. In addition to providing a comprehensive legal account of victim law, legislative and policy recommendations are made to enhance the responsiveness of the justice system to victims.” https://crcvc.ca/
Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
Neighbourhood policing at centre of Toronto force’s plans for change – The Toronto police board is set to debate the final ‘transformational task force’ report this week
Granite bending is how one veteran of police re-organization and reform labels changing the people involved. The centre piece in the report is neighbourhood policing. The report is looking at a cultural change and a strategy to make “a change management strategy” focused on “rewarding people on performance and merit.” https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/02/21/neighbourhood-policing-at-centre-of-toronto-forces-plans-for-change.html Final Report of the Committee: Toronto Police Services: The Way Forward https://www.torontopolice.on.ca/TheWayForward/index.php
CBC News – Dean Beeby
CRA’s new fingerprinting policy could create travel problems for accused tax evaders – Tax agency calls mandatory fingerprinting ‘a powerful deterrent’
Canada Revue Agency has issued a new policy to fingerprint everyone charged with tax evasion. The policy is hailed as a means to prevent flight from Canada but curiously the expectation is that the border guards of foreign countries who have access to the Canadian Police Information Centre will do the enforcement of restricted travel of an accused. The policy becomes effective April 1 and replaces a disjointed approach now ion place where sometimes the prints are recorded and sometimes not. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-revenue-agency-tax-evasion-offshore-criminal-charges-border-1.3992715 Related article: Globe and Mail – Jason Tchir Can U.S. customs officers legally search my phone when driving across the border? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/can-us-customs-officers-legally-search-my-phone-when-driving-across-the-border/article34100953/