Sept 15, 2020
Lawyer’s Daily: Luis Millán
Gladue principles may apply to homeless people, rules Quebec Court of Appeal
“In a decision welcomed by criminal lawyers, the Quebec Court of Appeal seems to have opened the door for the principle of proportionality of sentences to be applied to homeless offenders or members of a marginalized group who are non-Aboriginal.” https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/criminal/articles/20787/gladue-principles-may-apply-to-homeless-people-rules-quebec-court-of-appeal?nl_pk=40ed8ea4-637a-4d76-870f-04f0eeae7de8&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=criminal (Ed note: Membership needed for full article; Decision handed down last Friday but no other media appears to picked up the story and the decision is not yet on the Quebec Court site: http://citoyens.soquij.qc.ca/ )
Toronto Star – Tiffany Gooch
Bill Blair is the wrong person to lead police reform
Gooch points out that Justice Minister David Lametti, Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller, and Bill Blair are responsible for shifts in policies around policing. On the default basis, much of the responsibility seems to fall on Blair whom Gooch says can be expected to do nothing but maintain the status quo, witness the fiasco with the solitary confinement committee. Blair appears to be “leading on what Trudeau has described as “modernizing policing structures and updating standards regarding the use of force.” But says Gooch there are lots of decisions that illustrate poor judgment. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/09/13/bill-blair-is-the-wrong-person-to-lead-police-reform.html
Welland Tribune (ON) – Brendan Kennedy
Coalition calls on federal Liberals to bring in a basic income to address gender inequity
A coalition of some 4,000 individuals and groups have offered a resolution to the Federal government on the eve of decision making around the unequal impact of the virus on income for women. “Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic had “exposed serious gaps in our federal and provincial social safety nets, and its economic fallout has disproportionately affected women, youth and financially insecure workers,” the resolution called on the party to take advantage of the “unique opportunity today to rethink the Canada of tomorrow.” https://www.wellandtribune.ca/ts/news/canada/2020/09/15/coalition-calls-on-federal-liberals-to-bring-in-a-basic-income-to-address-gender-inequity.html
The Brennan Center (US) – Terry-Ann Craigie, Cameron Kimble, Ames Grawert, Joseph E. Stiglitz
Conviction, Imprisonment, and Lost Earnings: How Involvement with the Criminal Justice System Deepens Inequality
From the report summary: “This year’s intertwined emergencies have also driven home a reality that some would rather ignore: that the growing gap between rich and poor is a result not just of the market’s invisible hand but of a set of deeply misguided policy choices. Among them, this ground-breaking report reveals, is our entrenched system of mass incarceration. Mass incarceration reflects and exacerbates so many dimensions of this country’s divides — in income and health, in voice and power, in access to justice, and most importantly, over race.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/conviction-imprisonment-and-lost-earnings-how-involvement-criminal Full report: (A 44 page downloadable pdf ) https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/EconomicImpactReport_pdf.pdf Fact sheet: (Excellent graphics) https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/01_Lost%20Wages%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
CBC News –
Private Vancouver clinic loses constitutional challenge of public health-care rules – Dr. Brian Day had argued patients have the right to pay for private care if public system is too slow
Day launched a constitutional challenge to the public health system in 2009, claiming that the delays violated the rights of patients to seek private and patient paid resolution to medical needs. Justice John J. Steeves dismissed the claims and said that the BC health system depends not on ability to pay but on medical necessity. Day is expected to appeal the decision. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cambie-surgeries-case-trial-decision-bc-supreme-court-2020-1.5718589 Related report: Globe and Mail – Sean Fine A look at the B.C. Supreme Court ruling and where Brian Day’s challenge may go from here https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-a-look-at-the-bc-supreme-court-ruling-and-where-brian-days/ Globe and Mail: Letters to the Editor: Sept. 15: ‘May Brian Day and his fellow advocates of private-sector medicine pursue their American dream south of the border.’ Readers react as B.C. court rules against private health care, plus other letters to the editor https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/opinion/letters/article-sept-15-may-brian-day-and-his-fellow-advocates-of-private-sector/?__twitter_impression=true&s=03 Related article: Globe and Mail – Colleen M. Flood and Jane Philpott Private pay is not the cure for the Canadian health system’s wait-time crisis https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/opinion/article-private-health-care-is-not-the-cure-for-the-canadian-health-systems/?__twitter_impression=true&s=03
Gwire.com (US) – AP news
California Aims To Phase Out State-Operated Youth Prisons
Aiming at systemic transformation, after decades of discussion, California wants to close out juvenile prison as an option by redirecting the money to other county facilities. “That kind of systemic transformation is exactly what I think we’re learning needs to happen in this time when you’ve seen much tumult around how the criminal justice system operates and whether it’s fair and equitable particularly as it relates to the treatment of kids of color,” said Chet Hewitt, whose Sierra Health Foundation manages the reform group California Alliance for Youth & Community Justice.” https://gvwire.com/2020/09/13/california-aims-to-phase-out-state-operated-youth-prisons/ Related article: The Appeal.com (US) – Mark Wilson Far From Being Beyond Saving, Prison Youth Deserve Every Opportunity For Meaningful Rehabilitation – We should demand that prison officials and our elected representatives honor their constitutional obligation to promote and support youth healing, growth, and change. https://theappeal.org/far-from-being-beyond-saving-prison-youth-deserve-every-opportunity-for-meaningful-rehabilitation/?utm_source=The%20Appeal&utm_campaign=c016e6550c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_09_04_14_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_72df992d84-c016e6550c-58416755&s=03
Intercept.com (US) – José Olivares, John Washington
“A Silent Pandemic”: Nurse at ICE Facility Blows the Whistle on Coronavirus Dangers – Irwin Detention Center, run by LaSalle Corrections, has refused to test detainees and underreported Covid-19 cases, the nurse says.
This report comes out of a privately run detention facility (Lasalle Corrections which runs 18 such facilities) for immigrants in Irwin, California. The whistleblower, Dawn Wooten, was supported in her reporting by a legal advocacy group Project South whose staff attorney Priyanka Bhatt said: “Ms. Wooten’s whistleblowing disclosures confirm what detained immigrants have been reporting for years — gross disregard for health and safety standards, lack of medical care, and unsanitary living conditions.” https://theintercept.com/2020/09/14/ice-detention-center-nurse-whistleblower/ Related article: Washington State University – Physics.org Privatized prisons lead to more inmates, longer sentences, study finds https://phys.org/news/2020-09-privatized-prisons-inmates-longer-sentences.html