Jan 31, 2022
CBC News – Josh Hoffman
N.S. man who struggled with mental health says he needed something other than jail – Collins Ellison shared his ‘entirely negative’ experiences with Halifax police while he was homeless
This link is to a presentation by a 28 year old Nova Scotia man, a schizophrenia most of his adult life who has been in and out of prison since 2017 and who appeared before the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners as the commissioners discussed an increase of $2 million to finance 25 more new constables. Housing and mental health reports in Halifax have brought recommendations to divert fund from more police – to de-task police – to make housing and mental health services a priority. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-police-negative-experiences-budget-increase-1.6331328 Related article: CBC News – Rebecca Kudloo’s phone rang. Canada’s Governor General was on the other end – Governor General Mary Simon cold-called Baker Lake counsellor and advocate to thank her for her (Community mental health) work https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mary-simon-kindness-call-counsellor-rebecca-kudloo-1.6331778 Related article: The BC Tyee – Katie Hyslop New BC Indigenous Housing Strategy the First in Canada – Tired of waiting for a federal strategy, off-reserve Indigenous housing providers in BC create their own. https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/01/28/New-BC-Indigenous-Housing-Strategy/
CBC News – Ashley Moliere
Canadian Muslims share experiences of Islamophobia in new report – Report intends to shed light on incidents of discrimination and micro-aggressions, long-term effects of hate
In a new report Islamic Relief Canada draws a portrait of Islamophobic experiences across Canada from the mouths of ordinary Muslims who encounter the experience on a daily basis. The report was released to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the mass murder at a Quebec Mosque but is designed to also draw attention to the countless smaller acts of indignity and prejudice suffered by Muslims. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/report-highlights-islamophobia-canada-1.6332762 Full Report: In Their Words https://issuu.com/islamicreliefcanada/docs/islamophobia_report_en (34 page downloadable PDF)
Toronto Star – Nicholas Keung
One province is taking a first step toward ending Canada’s immigrant-detention system – Incarcerating migrants with criminals is often handled by the provinces on Ottawa’s N.S. man who struggled with mental health says he needed something other than jail
BC appears on the point of breaking contractual arrangement with the federal government about holding immigration detainees under the same circumstances as those criminally charged. “The initiative by the B.C. government is a first victory of a national campaign to lobby provinces to end immigration-detention arrangements with Ottawa. The campaign’s organizers hope this will replicate across Canada, especially in Ontario, which has the highest number of migrants in custody.” There were about 8.800 immigrants detained in 2019-20, about a fifth of which were held in provincial jails. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/01/31/one-province-takes-the-first-step-to-end-canadas-immigrant-detention-system.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_canada
Newswire.ca (Corrections Canada release)
Death of an inmate from Drumheller Institution
Mr. Jeffrey Ryan, 34 years old, has died from an assault by a fellow prisoner in the medium security unit of Drumheller Institution. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/death-of-an-inmate-from-drumheller-institution-859300144.html Related article: Global News – Karen Bartko Murder charge laid after ‘unprovoked’ attack inside Drumheller Institution: RCMP https://globalnews.ca/news/8578826/drumheller-institution-fatal-attack-jeffrey-ryan/ Tweet from John Howard “Let Mr. Ryan’s death after a serious assault at Drumheller Institution be a call for urgent action to reduce violence in our federal prisons now. Investigations after the fact are not adequate.” https://twitter.com/JohnHoward_Can/status/1487066908318961666?s=03 Related article: Vice.com – Justin Ling Edmonton Prison Won’t Say If They Accidentally Shot a Guy Minding His Own Business – Correctional Service Canada only admitted a prison guard even fired their weapon after repeated questioning from VICE World News. https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7n3kb/canada-prison-guard-accidental-shot Related article: CTV News – Tensions rising in Edmonton prison: lawyer https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2369887 Related article: Times Union (N.Y.) – Brendan J. Lyons New York won’t release expert’s report on soaring prison suicides – DOCCS contends an expert’s report exempt from disclosure because it contains ‘opinion, advice and recommendations’ https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/New-York-won-t-release-expert-s-report-on-soaring-16813364.php Tweet from Jon Ben Menachem: “At least a third of suicides in New York prisons in 2019 occurred in solitary confinement, and the rate of suicides in solitary in New York’s prisons was 10 times the national prison suicide rate.” https://twitter.com/jbenmenachem/status/1487267422709166088?s=03
Washington Post – Rebecca Tan and Ovetta Wiggins
They were sentenced to life in prison. Who should decide if they get a second chance? The long shadow of ‘truth in sentencing’ politics in Maryland, where the vast majority of lifers are Black.
Added to the question of the effectiveness in public safety and rehab, long sentences also have a habit of dampening the parole process and rationale. “Between 1969 and 1994, Maryland paroled 181 lifers. In the following two decades, none.” Maryland also has the highest percentage of Black people under the life sentence in the entire nation – 80%. About one in seven incarcerated in the US are serving life sentences – about 203,000, a rate gone up by a factor of four since 1984. The insistence on long or life sentences seen popularly as ‘tough-on-crime’ raises the question about whether we believe in rehabilitation or punishment. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/28/maryland-parole-life-criminal-justice-politics/?utm_campaign=wp_must_reads&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_mustreads&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F35e25fe%2F61f547589d2fda14d7107f48%2F597720279bbc0f6826c0ca16%2F61%2F97%2F61f547589d2fda14d7107f48 Related article: CNN – Welcome to Prison: Norway could help the US reform its prisons. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/videos/tv/2018/03/08/welcome-to-prison-full-doc-orig-cm.cnn (A 23 minute documentary about the transfer of Norway’s approach to North Dakota.) Tweet from Charlene (Arizona) “My son is on year 14 of a 37 year sentence. I have no words to explain what prison has done to him, and me, and his dad, and his sisters, and his brother, and his grandmother, and his daughters. Devastation beyond repair. None of us are better…All of us are bitter.” https://twitter.com/Charby4Reform/status/1486873367407828992?s=03
Twitter from Justin Piché –
#PrisonPandemic update: To date, 13,129 prisoners + 4,869 staff have contracted #COVID19 during the pandemic. Of the 18,027 cases compiled to date, 1/3 of them (more than 6,000) have been reported this month with a few days still to go. (cf graphic breakout information to January 2022) https://twitter.com/JustinPicheh/status/1486806742499577862?s=03
New Podcast from Catholic Mobilizing Network: Encounters with Dignity (US)
In this inaugural podcast, Fr. David Kelly, C.PP.S. — Asking Different Questions Kelly is the founder and executive director of Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (Chicago) – 23 minute podcast. https://encounters-with-dignity.captivate.fm/episode/fr-david-kelly-cpps-asking-the-right-questions Catholic Mobilizing Network Podcast Page: https://catholicsmobilizing.salsalabs.org/january2022newsletterregular-a?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=476bddc5-f197-4552-bf6d-29bb21df0a04
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