Automatic pardon bill hailed by experts as ‘most significant’ justice reform in a long time
With no word on whether the government will re-introduce legislation to change up Canada’s criminal pardon system, a new Senate bill is aiming to provide its own solution—one that’s being lauded by experts in the field. Independent Senator Kim Pate (Ontario) introduced Bill S-212 in the Senate on Nov. 24, offering a no-cost, no-application expiry […]
Splitting public safety, emergency preparedness post a sign future disasters are ‘top of mind’ for feds
Splitting the public safety and emergency preparedness portfolio into separate cabinet files comes in anticipation of more frequent natural disasters and emergencies—and is a move long in coming due to the unwieldy nature of such a big job, say politicos and experts. Liberal MP Bill Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.) has managed both portfolios since Nov. […]
20 years since 9/11, what have we learned?
EDMONTON—On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when I stepped out of the shower at 7 a.m. Mountain time, my wife told me to look at the television. With a towel wrapped around me, I stood staring at a replay of a lone plane smashing into the World Trade Center in New York City. Then the second […]
Police union wants boosted training capacity, mental health supports for Mounties after election
The National Police Federation is calling on whoever forms the next federal government to increase training capacity for the RCMP, prioritize equipment modernization, and increase access to mental health supports for its members. Canadians have done a “really good job” of focusing on mental health and reducing stigma around the issue, according to Brian Sauvé, […]
‘They just said we’d like to be treated like humans’: Senate report an ‘eye-opener’ on rights gaps in prisons
Systems in place in federal correctional institutions do not protect and safeguard the people surrounded by its concrete walls, nor are they designed to respect the human rights of prisoners, say Senators in a report stemming from an exhaustive four-and-a-half year study. The Senate Human Rights Committee’s look into the human rights of federally sentenced […]
If feds are serious about Indigenous justice and ending colonial violence, bring Charman Smith home
The Indian Act and reserve system. The criminalization of ceremony. Residential schools. The ‘60’s Scoop, and mass adoption. Failing to put in place the necessary resources to stop the disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and girls. These are but a few of the many examples of violent and genocidal laws, policies, practices, and institutions […]
The consequences of Islamophobic Conservative policies are coming home to roost
OTTAWA—There is a direct line from the political and policy responses following 9/11 to the murder of the Afzaal-Salman family; there is a cause and effect when politicians spread state-sanctioned hate through policies and the rhetoric required to sell them to the public. It is at this point of reckoning that Canada once again learns […]
‘Do the right thing’: prison segregation oversight ‘inadequate’ report finds as author, watchdog call for new law
The Liberal government’s only oversight mechanism for monitoring a new system meant to end solitary confinement is “inadequate” and lacks transparency, according to a new report based on data from the Correctional Service of Canada. Under Bill C-83, which became law in 2019, appointees known as Independent External Decision Makers (IEDM) review decisions to place […]
Sharpening of cabinet-making tools a portent of an election to come
OTTAWA—If, as the Ottawa gossip mill suggests (notably it never gets dampened by even a pandemic), that the prime minister is planning an election in late summer or early fall, is a federal cabinet shuffle on the horizon? The government seems to be risk managing all other elements of its agenda and operations. So, after […]
Privacy and security go hand in hand—we need to treat them that way
There is a false dichotomy that is set up in security debates; it is either privacy or security. It is a zero-sum game. With Bill C-11 proposing sweeping changes to Canada’s private sector privacy laws, it is time for a mature, strategic, and informed discussion. We have to move beyond simple conceptions because the cost of failing to get […]
