Sept 23, 2022
Passblue – Laura E. Kirkpatrick
‘You Owe Us’: Youths Tell World Leaders at UN to Get All Kids Back in School
Here’s the revised suggested fundamental curriculum for schooling – from reading, writing and arithmetic to “critical thinking, comprehension, computer skills, creativity and civic education.” The 5-C advice is coming out of the Transforming Education Summit (Sustainable goal #4), a group offering its conclusion to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “The crisis in education we are facing is one of equity, inclusion and quality,” Stoeva (President of the UN Economic and Social Council and Ambassador from Bulgaria) added. “Millions of children, and especially girls and young women, could be shut out of a key path toward a brighter future. This is not only unjust; it is also an enormous loss of human potential, innovation, and creativity.” https://www.passblue.com/2022/09/19/you-owe-us-youths-tell-world-leaders-at-un-to-get-all-kids-back-in-school/ Related article: IRRP (Institute for Research on Public Policy) – Jude Walker The Future of Skills and Adult Learning: Poor Cousin No More: Lessons for Adult Education in Canada from the Past and New Zealand https://irpp.org/research-studies/poor-cousin-no-more-lessons-for-adult-education-in-canada-from-the-past-and-new-zealand/
Toronto Star – Gillian Stewart
A murderous rampage in Saskatchewan revealed the generosity of a stricken community There is still much to uncover about this mass murder. It cannot be left to fester when there are so many unanswered questions.
The link offers a story of resilience in the terrible aftermath of 10 dead and 18 wounded: “Yes, people were terrified and stunned but there also seemed to be a generosity of spirit in the air, a need to comfort and be comforted; a willingness to come together, even though in a small close-knit community like that, where everyone knows everyone and are often closely related, community members would have known the people who were killed or injured and their assailants… At one point during a press conference, Darryl Burns whose sister, Gloria, was killed, took Sky Sanderson, Damien Sanderson’s wife, in his arms and said: “Her husband is guilty of killing my sister. Our family is here to forgive. This woman shouldn’t have to bear that kind of guilt and responsibility.” ” https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/09/20/a-murderous-rampage-in-saskatchewan-revealed-the-generosity-of-a-stricken-community.html Related article: CBC News – Kendall Latimer and Olivia Stefanovich ‘My mom’s a strong woman’: Daughter of Sask. stabbing survivor recounts terror, resilience in wake of attack Calls for long-term support needed to help community heal from immense trauma https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/nicole-moostoos-james-smith-cree-nation-mass-stabbing-1.6588624 Related article: CTV News (SK) – Alternative Response Officers to become permanent fixture on Saskatoon streets https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/alternative-response-officers-to-become-permanent-fixture-on-saskatoon-streets-1.6072910
Toronto Star – Nicholas Keung
Did Canada use facial-recognition software to strip two refugees of their status? A court wants better answers – Two Somali women won in court after they were stripped of refugee status based on photo-matching technology used by border officials.
Two women who got refugee status in May 2017 and July 2018 later had the status withdrawn on the grounds of improper identity as detected by facial recognition software. Judge Amy Go was not satisfied with the explanation by the border agency around the use of the software and its reliability. ““The RPD gave a cursory nod to the Respondent’s Privacy Act argument and failed to engage in the necessary consideration of balancing the alleged protection of privacy rights with the Applicant’s procedural fairness right to disclosure,” Judge Amy Go wrote in a recent ruling in favour of the women’s joint appeal.” https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/09/19/did-canada-use-facial-recognition-software-to-strip-two-refugees-of-their-status-a-court-wants-better-answers.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_canada
CBC News (Hamilton, ON) – Mohamad Bsat
This municipal election, why is Hamilton’s police budget so taboo? There seems to be a fear by municipal candidates to publicly discuss the police budget
Policing, says Bsat, is the most expensive part of municipal budgets, yet there is a real reluctance to exam the police budget critically. “… in comparison to the salary of a 1st Class Constable, whose salary ranges between $91,909 and $100,183. A nurse hired by the city, which requires a degree and experience, has a salary of around $60,000-70,000. Under the current Police Services Act, police officers only require a high school diploma (the Comprehensive Ontario Police Services Act, introduced under Kathleen Wynne’s government, would require post-secondary education but has yet to be enacted).” Yet, as the crime rate goes down, the policing costs go up. “Yet research has shown the best way to address social ills is by addressing our lack of social care. We have community supports that are dangerously underfunded which are better equipped to respond to the issues we have in Hamilton.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/election-column-police-budget-1.6587782
Lawyer’s Daily – Cristin Schmitz
Cull of ‘huge mass’ of less-serious criminal cases could unclog Canada’s justice system: Moldaver
The criminal legal system is bursting at the seams, says retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice Michael Moldaver, an eleven year veteran of the Supreme Court, specializing in criminal law. “(The) criminal justice system could be saved from the risk of future collapse and irrelevancy by removing the “huge mass” of less serious criminal cases that could be fairly and more speedily handled via alternatives, including ticketing, diversion and reasonable plea deals and charge withdrawals.” What follows is Moldaver’s opinion on what the legal system can and cannot do: “… it’s not a cure for the ills of society,” said Moldaver, whose opinion that the criminal justice system can’t do everything it is now tasked with is shared by many senior judges and lawyers.” https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/criminal/articles/39774/cull-of-huge-mass-of-less-serious-criminal-cases-could-unclog-canada-s-justice-system-moldaver-?nl_pk=40ed8ea4-637a-4d76-870f-04f0eeae7de8&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=criminal
Tweet from Basic Income Canada”
“Moncton Moves Unanimously to Call for Basic Income. City council voted to send a letter to the Prime Minister, Premier, MLAs, NB MPs, and NB Senators to urge them to implement a guaranteed livable basic income.” https://twitter.com/ubi_works/status/1572660843321622528?s=03 Related article: Ottawa CityNews – Kate F. Mackenzie Ottawa group says there’s enough evidence to support a basic income program https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/ottawa-group-says-theres-enough-evidence-to-support-a-basic-income-program-5847967 Related article: UBIWorks – Bills S-233 & C-223: The next step for Unconditional Basic Income https://www.ubiworks.ca/guaranteed-livable-basic-income (A petition)