The Globe & Mail reports on the potential impact of the Harper Government’s criminal justice reforms for youth offenders. The piece examines the effects of 2002′s Youth Criminal Justice Act, which decreased Canada’s youth incarceration rates, and the imminent passage of Bill C-4, which will no doubt have a converse result. Continue reading
Young criminals in Canada victims of federal legislation
Cali org connects kids with imprisoned parents
It’s hard for anyone to lose a parent. Losing a parent to imprisonment is even harder, particularly for children. Grief, stress and loneliness are compounded by shame, confusion and anger. In terms of the collateral consequences of incarceration, the impact on children is as severe as it is neglected. This recent CNN story focuses on the non-profit organization Get on the Bus, which helps children visit their parents in prison. Continue reading
Omnibus allows Cons’ to unlock privacy without debate
The Harper Government has done so much politicking around toughening up Canada’s criminal justice system, it’s been hard to keep track of their many promises. For complete summaries of the Cons’ proposed changes to the criminal law – which they have promised to pass en masse within 100 days of taking a majority hold on power – see these stories by the Globe & Mail, National Post, and the Huffington Post. Continue reading
Esteemed collective takes stab at ending drug war
The Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report Thursday calling for a radical rethinking of the worldwide war on drugs. With a diverse membership that includes political (Fernando Cardoso), economic (Richard Branson), artistic (Carlos Fuentes) and humanitarian leaders (Louise Arbour), the Commission labels the drug war a “failure” and recommends “major reforms to the global drug prohibition regime.” Continue reading
Grasping at the human side of mass incarceration
Much has been made of the Conservative push stateside for prison reform. Where “soft-on-crime” statements have historically sounded a death knell for politicians – with Republicans the frequent beneficiaries – US Conservatives are now generating significant political capital under the Right on Crime banner. As the Economist stated, “Driving these reforms is a simple factor: cost.” In this excellent New York Times opinion piece, Michelle Alexander explains the developments as a response “to the changing tide [of] perceived white interests.” Continue reading
Alex Himelfarb: True North becoming ‘wrong and mean’
The Mark features a lengthy critique of the Harper Government’s plans to reshape Canada’s justice system (more at National Post and Huffington Post) by York University professor and former Privy Council clerk, Alex Himelfarb. Blogging here, Himelfarb’s strike is coherent and comprehensive. More than that, he delivers about the closest thing you’ll get to a cri-de-couer from us hyper-rational Canucks. Continue reading
Media reconnects guns and hip-hop
I had linked to an earlier Toronto Star story about the trial of a Toronto rapper, P.Reign, on gun charges. While P.’s lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, was apparently unsuccessful with his various Charter applications, the defence still achieved the desired result, with P.Reign acquitted of all nine firearms charges he was facing. Continue reading
Asset forfeiture efforts ramp up
This article in the Province reports on the British Columbia government’s attempts to increase the forfeiture of assets connected with crime. Asset forfeiture refers to the process by which the government endeavours to confiscate property which it can prove has been obtained by, or used in, criminal activity. The governing statute in Ontario is called the Civil Remedies Act, which came into force in 2002 and was the first such law of its type in Canada. Continue reading
MMS threat has Nunavut jailers nervous
CBC interviews Nunavut’s director of corrections, Jean-Pierre Deroy, about the present status and imminent future of corrections within Canada’s newest territory. Nunavut’s main correctional facility, the Baffin Correctional Centre, was designed to hold 66, but currently houses 90, with 21 inmates sleeping on mattresses spread across the gym, similar to the “cruel and unusual” situation in some California prisons. With the Conservatives now in control of a majority government, and Harper’s history of support for mandatory minimum sentences, Deroy says he fears the worst is ahead: “It actually scares me, and I think it scares pretty much all of us because we can see what’s coming.”
Lying rafters sentenced to stand in kiddie pool
A judge in Painsville, Ohio, has sentenced two dishonest young rafters to stand in a kiddie pool wearing lifejackets and pass out flyers during a local food festival. Bruce Crawford and his girlfriend Grace Nash failed to wear lifevests, then lied to a park ranger about owning a deserted raft. The ranger thought the raft’s occupants were missing and a futile search ensued. Nash gave Judge Michael Cicconetti “props” for crafting a sentence that would keep the pair out of prison, something desperately needed stateside. Justice Cicconetti imposed the old, “act like a kid, and you’ll be treated like one” punishment.
Cons seek to make hyperlinking to hate sites a crime
An opinion piece originally published by the Nova Scotia Chronicle-Herald that critiques Bill C-51. The article responds to a legislative summary which states that, under proposals put forward by the Conservative Government, hyperlinking “to a website where hate material is posted” could constitute public incitement of hatred and wilful promotion of hatred. Continue reading
New Jersey: Steal a bottle of ketchup, get five years
The Jersey City Independent reports on a recent study by University of Pennsylvania researchers which examines the irrational mishmash that is New Jersey’s criminal law. The laws have developed as a consequence of what one of the study’s authors calls the “crime du jour problem,” wherein politicians attempt to appear tough-on-crime by proposing excessively harsh sentences for crimes they believe are perceived by the public as a growing threat. Continue reading
Insite sparks battle between ideology and evidence
The debate over Vancouver’s supervised injection operation, Insite, provides an excellent window into the problem with the Harper Government’s tough-on-crime agenda: Paternalistic demagoguery always trumps evidence, no matter how mountainous. Despite peer-reviewed research showing that Insite has reduced the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and saved lives by preventing overdose deaths, the federal government continues to take a hard line on soft ground. Continue reading
Harper will reshape face of Canada’s top court
(Updated May 16) CTV interviews former law professor, Philip Slayton, about his new book, Mighty Judgment: How the Supreme Court of Canada ruins your life. Although scant attention was paid to the issue, Stephen Harper will exercise arguably his greatest authority over the future of Canada through the selection of at least four new Supreme Court judges. SCC judges must retire at 75 – an age soon to be reached by Justices Binnie, LeBel, Fish, and Rothstein – but other top judges may also decide to retire during Harper’s term as Prime Minister. Continue reading
Conrad Black: MMS for drug crimes are “dumb”
Lord Black jumps back into his attack on the Cons’ crime agenda, blasting away at the idea of mandatory minimum sentences (MMS) for drug offences in another National Post opinion piece, which he calls “more urgent than ever.” Pointing to the infinite wisdom of “Right on Crime” conservatives stateside, Black assails Harper for clinging to an outmoded belief in the efficacy of MMS, which only bloat prison costs while doing nothing to reduce the availability of drugs. (Illustration used with permission of Grahame Arnould.)
Quebec confronts racial profiling
A report by Quebec’s Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (human rights commission) has brought the issue of racial profiling to the forefront of Quebec society. Calls for an investigation of community-police relations came after an unarmed 18-year-old, Fredy Villanueva, was shot dead by Montreal police in 2008, and after a special Montreal police unit designed to counter street gang violence was accused of a pattern of racial profiling. Continue reading
California’s 3-Strikes: “Worst criminal law in the country”
The San Francisco Chronicle covers the history of California’s notorious AB 971, a.k.a. the Three Strikes and You’re Out legislation, which was signed into force by Governor Pete Wilson in 1994. With 8,700 inmates now serving life sentences statewide under the law, “More than half of the third ‘strikes’ that have triggered a 25-to-life sentence involve neither serious nor violent felonies.” Continue reading
ISP surveillance a priority under Harper majority
Allowing police greater authority to compel customer information from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) without a warrant has been a centre-piece of criminal law enforcement reform under the Harper Government. While twin bills aimed to expand such powers died on the order paper after Parliament was prorogued, Harper has promised to bundle these same powers into an omnibus crime bill he’s said will pass within 100 days of his party winning a majority. Continue reading
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