Archive for the ‘Child & Family Policy Context’ Category
Stephen Harper’s ‘tough-on-crime’ laws are more misguided than ever
Jan 29 2012
As more Canadians awake to declining crime rates, they will become less tolerant of senseless, ideologically driven justice policy and of bids to garner votes by fear-mongering. Provincial deficits and the prospects of cuts to health and education will reinforce that trend. Canadians might still rank crime as a big concern but it doesn’t top health care. Few will thank any government that closes a hospital to pay for a new prison.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology
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Child poverty key issue
January 11, 2012
If governments want to put the economy at the top of their agendas, actions that focus on improving children’s’ well-being should be prioritized… The Canadian Pediatric Society said that child care, mental health and poverty are some of the key areas related to kids for which there are clear economic benefits to be had by taking action… Instead… the opposite has happened in recent years as youth issues have been pushed aside by governments in order to deal with the economy and Canada’s aging population.
Tags: ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living, youth
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Reducing both crime and imprisonment
Dec 14 2011
First, Canada does have too much crime. Far too many Canadians are victimized and the Department of Justice has recently estimated that the annual cost of crime is $100 billion. Second, victims are not well treated in Canada. Little is spent on victims and there have only been marginal improvements in this over the last several years, no matter which party is in power… the Conservatives are investing only token amounts in actually improving services for victims… increasing penalties and implementing mandatory minimum sentences does little or nothing to reduce crime or make Canada safer.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, featured, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Outsourcing justice for fear of offending the police
Dec 14 2011
I can’t recall as craven a display of intellectual dishonesty, political cowardice and legal myopia as in the last couple of years of rudderless stewardship at the attorney general’s ministry… In his latest report, Ombudsman André Marin details how Bentley failed to grasp his role as defender of the public interest — bending over backwards to protect the police from criticism and scrutiny… Leadership and justice are about more than taking the path of least resistance. We don’t elect politicians so they can hide under the skirts (or robes) of judges, or retired judges, every time police turn up the heat.
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Five things about crime and doing the time in Canada
Dec 3, 2011
Of the 262,616 cases put before the courts in 2009-10, 183,204 of the defendants were deemed guilty under the Criminal Code. Of that figure, 71,417 were sent to prison, 100,956 were put on probation, 8,281 received a conditional sentence, 6,699 were ordered to pay restitution, 28,757 were fined and 88,019 received some other kind of sentence… Ontario is also doing a lot more screening of cases to see if some can be handled out of court. “The ones that go forward in a jurisdiction that screens out a lot of cases tend to be more likely to have a prison sentence associated with them
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, rights
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | 1 Comment »
B.C. judge upholds Canada’s polygamy laws
Nov 23 2011
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld Canada’s current laws on polygamy finding that there is reasonable belief that women and children are harmed in polygamous marriages and that the keeping polygamy illegal minimally impairs religious freedom… “… this case is essentially about harm,” wrote Chief Justice Robert Baumann… “This includes harm to women, to children, to society and to the institution of monogamous marriage.”
Tags: rights, women
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Income-splitting is not the solution
November 21, 2011
Income-splitting does not benefit most families with kids because it offers no help to couples in which both parents earn similar amounts. Nor does it help lone parents. Instead, the Conservative plan benefits a minority of couples in which one parent earns less than $25,000, and the other earns quite a lot more. This scenario is especially common for couples when one parent stays home – 18 per cent of Canadian families. But even for families with a stayat-home parent, income-splitting is insufficient to remedy the time, income and service squeeze with which they struggle.
Tags: standard of living, tax
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How can we best care for our aging population?
November 20, 2011
… except for a few modest tax measures or programs (such as the compassionate care leave available through the employment insurance program), there is no national policy addressing family members (or others) caring for disabled older adults in Canada… We need to establish a comprehensive home-care system that links and partners with informal caregivers and community organizations to form a support network for informal caregivers and care recipients that is integrated into the overall health-care system.
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, standard of living, tax, women
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Bar association blasts tough-on-crime bill
November 18, 2011
Canada’s lawyers have joined a host of others – from Texas Republicans to criminologists and civil libertarians – denouncing the federal omnibus crime bill. Ironically titled The Safe Streets and Communities Act, Bill C-10 is being rammed through Parliament by the Conservative majority government although many of its measures are a proven waste of money and effort. Many penology and law-enforcement specialists say the ill-considered legislation could make things worse.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, ideology, rights
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Omnibus crime bill misses the mark
Nov 17 2011
… we can make our justice system more efficient and cost effective with smart rehabilitation programs. In many cases, people do criminal things because they are desperate. Desperate for money to get out of poverty… Putting these criminals in jail for long sentences, while in the short term making us feel safer, leads to worse outcomes. Texas and other jurisdictions are telling us this scheme doesn’t work; the Canadian Bar Association says this plan will worsen the justice system.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, standard of living
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