Posts Tagged ‘corrections’
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Ontario justice system ‘punishes’ mental illness
The 1960s deinstitutionalization movement arose out of the belief that patients would be better served in the community, but it led to the mass closure of psychiatric beds without a corresponding investment in social supports such as housing and mental health treatment. The movement spurred a troubling and unintended consequence: an increase in encounters between the mentally ill and police… Now jails have replaced asylums as repositories for people who don’t have adequate resources to cope with community living
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, disabilities, featured, homelessness, ideology, mental Health, poverty, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | 3 Comments »
Stephen Harper’s empty promises to victims of crime
… for a person to have a right there must be a legal remedy for any violation that is enforceable in court. The new legislation does not provide for this… calling a statute or even a constitutional amendment a “bill of rights” for victims will achieve next to nothing without clearly articulated legal remedies. Likewise, the ambiguous Ontario Victims’ Bill of Rights has been shown to have no legal teeth.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, jurisdiction
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Stephen Harper’s Courts: How the judiciary has been remade
Criminal defence lawyers are underrepresented… Academics are, as well, with some notable exceptions. So, too, is anyone who has a senior role in a group with the word “reform” in its title… Business lawyers are favoured. Prosecutors are favoured… “It’s very clear that it’s almost impossible for a judge who comes from the political centre or to the left to be appointed… which means that the appointment of judges is from a very small pool of lawyers.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, rights, standard of living
Posted in Governance Policy Context | No Comments »
Most of Canada’s prisoners have never been convicted of anything. Why are they in jail?
In most cases, the accused are minor offenders: drug users, people with mental health issues accused of non-violent crimes, first-time offenders. Twenty years ago, they would have automatically gotten bail… The result? “Less people are being released on bail, less quickly, and with more conditions, during a time of historically low and still-declining crime rates.” … The system is broken… Is there a politician in Canada with the courage to take up the cause?
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Delivery System | No Comments »
Stephen Harper offers a record of selective accomplishment
He did introduce a universal child care benefit. To pay for it, his government de-invested in preschool learning and child care centres. His final promise — to cut medical wait times — was a mirage. Harper knew the provinces, not Ottawa, controlled the delivery of health services… Nor did he offer — or attempt — to reduce poverty, strengthen democracy or respect the courts. If voters assumed these were inadvertent oversights, they were wrong… It reflects Harper’s ideology, not the mandate he sought from voters.
Tags: budget, child care, corrections, crime prevention, economy, featured, Health, ideology, jurisdiction, poverty, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
Let judges ease the burden on the poor
… set fines can have dramatically different impacts on different people. For some, a $10,000 penalty will be a severe but manageable burden. For others, like Jaques, getting out from under it is an impossible task. It would be fairer if fines were levied in proportion to the ability to pay, as is done in some U.S. states and such countries as Germany and France.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | No Comments »
Making pardons tougher to obtain is harsh and unfair
Property offences, drinking-driving offences, and drug possession constitute the most serious offences for 76 per cent of those receiving pardons. The vast majority — 97 per cent — of those pardoned have remained crime-free, according to the Parole Board. The Harper government has dramatically restricted the availability of pardons. People convicted of certain offences are never eligible, although the conviction can have devastating effects on employment opportunities.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, ideology
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Premier Kathleen Wynne should take on the mantle of reconciliation
The first step would be to… work with rural and urban Indigenous communities and leaders to identify which recommendations should be prioritized by the provincial government… Ontario could change how it educates… [with] new courses and curriculum requirements that properly teach the history and present-day situation of Indigenous peoples… [and] providing new funding for things like Aboriginal healing centres, alternatives to imprisonment and traditional sentencing, and Aboriginal-specific victim programs.
Tags: budget, corrections, crime prevention, Health, Indigenous, mental Health
Posted in Equality Delivery System | No Comments »
Stephen Harper defangs another watchdog
In dark corners, oppression can fester and human rights easily evaporate. The Canadian prison system needs more independent oversight, not less. We need a system where the courts monitor and limit the use of segregation; where detainee grievances are independently investigated and effectively resolved; where health services and mental health services are properly funded and staffed; where rehabilitation is a real priority; and where oversight is welcomed.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, Health, rights, standard of living
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
Americans get tough on ‘tough on crime’ policy
In the United States, “tough on crime” measures of the past four decades swelled the prison population by a factor of seven. Prisons are crowded and costly. The same trends are in the early stages in Canada. As the Auditor-General noted, crime is down, but the male prison population is up, largely because offenders are serving more of their sentences in custody… The government scorned the federal Justice Department experts who knew the policies would fail.
Tags: corrections, crime prevention, economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Child & Family Policy Context | No Comments »
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