The CBSA must protect our borders from the far right
People around the world struggling against dictatorships and fighting for democracy have often looked to the United States for inspiration. But America’s democratic credentials have been tarnished. The assault on democracy on Jan. 6 was the culmination of years of Donald Trump inciting his base with hateful rhetoric and radicalizing people, who eventually led an […]
Prisoners owed ‘remedy’ for harsh conditions in prisons amid COVID, says watchdog
The federal government is vulnerable to legal challenges based on the “harsher,” solitary-like conditions thousands of prisoners have been kept in amid COVID-19, says Canada’s prison watchdog. Correctional Investigator of Canada Ivan Zinger said the government could consider giving prisoners extra credit for the harsh conditions they are experiencing while in prison during the pandemic. […]
Advocates welcome vaccine rollout in prisons, say risk for outbreak still high amid second wave
Canada’s prison watchdog and some opposition critics are welcoming a federal effort that will start vaccinating hundreds of high-risk prisoners Friday, and decrying Conservative statements that “no criminal” be vaccinated before other vulnerable populations. Correctional Investigator of Canada Ivan Zinger said he’s “encouraged” to see the government following the advice of health agencies that regard […]
Why the Liberals keep putting off the gun marking regulations
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s Nov. 30 decision to punt the Firearms Marking Regulations three years down the road is a sign that the government is torn between its tough-on-guns messaging, law enforcement, and its own bureaucrats, say lobbyists for gun owners and retailers. Mr. Blair (Scarborough Southwest, Ont.) announced that day that his government […]
Dip in RCMP watchdog’s budget shakes faith in its ability to exercise oversight, says NDP MP Harris
NDP MP Jack Harris says the decrease in the RCMP watchdog’s projected budget for this fiscal year offers little assurance that it will have the ability to improve its oversight duties. Addressing Public Safety Minister Bill Blair (Scarborough-Southwest, Ont.) during a House Public Safety Committee meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Harris (St. John’s East, N.L.) noted […]
Watchdog calls out RCMP over ‘shocking’ backlog of access-to-information requests
The RCMP needs to present a “comprehensive strategy” to reduce an unacceptable backlog of requests for information, says a new report from the federal information commissioner. Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, in a report tabled to Parliament Tuesday, called out the police force over its “inability to meet statutory timeframes” required under the Access to Information […]
CSC in ‘flagrant non-compliance’ of solitary confinement rules, prison watchdog says
The government is in “flagrant non-compliance” with the regime it brought in to end solitary confinement, says Canada’s prison watchdog, as critics renew calls for oversight in the wake of data revealing the law isn’t being followed most of the time. After a year-long back and forth with the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) failed […]
The opioid crisis: let’s learn from the success of cannabis legalization
Two years after its legalization in Canada, cannabis is moving from plant pariah to public policy precedent. Legalization is working. The early data from Statistics Canada shows a significant drop in users between the ages of 15 and 18. Quebec is now following the science by tightening its rules and prohibiting cannabis consumption by anyone […]
Adding a racial lens to the legislated review of the Cannabis Act
The story of the enforcement of cannabis laws in Canada is one of historical injustice and inequality. Indeed, it is undisputed by this government that one of the greatest injustices in our country is the disparity and disproportionality of the enforcement of cannabis laws and the impact this has had on Black communities, Aboriginal communities, […]
In continuing opioid crisis, cannabis can’t be overlooked as a life-saving measure
Long derided as a gateway to so-called hard drug use, recent scientific findings have raised the possibility that cannabis might be an off-ramp from the overdose crisis. While the coronavirus pandemic dominates headlines, the overdose crisis is about to enter its sixth year, having claimed the lives of more than 16,000 Canadians. Sparked by the […]
