Posts Tagged ‘crime prevention’

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Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible

Thursday, October 29th, 2020

… we need more unionization. When you encounter trouble at work — which will happen at badly managed workplaces — someone has to have your back, and that’s the union. But perhaps unions have to shift their frames a little. Some have fallen into a ludicrous Trumpish trap that everything is either black or white. Not true. There are shades of grey. Unions shouldn’t defend the indefensible.

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‘Dehumanizing, counterproductive, unlawful’ – Canada’s correctional system resists all attempts at reform

Monday, October 26th, 2020

… despite many calls for reform [the correctional system] remains steeped in an archaic cultural mindset, focusing on punishing prisoners instead of preparing them for a safer and healthier future. The resulting living conditions, long denounced by experts as dehumanizing, counterproductive and unlawful, are still allowed to continue.

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Can Canada pivot from pandemic to progress?

Sunday, September 20th, 2020

… the Liberals’ Throne Speech on Sept. 23 will be an opportunity to set out policies and programs to carry us forward in ways that are more inclusive and equitable… a guaranteed livable income, along with adequate wages and benefits for the employed – as well as other social and health supports such as child care, education, pharma, mental health and dental care – would be a way to protect all Canadians.

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B.C. moves to dramatically increase access to safe alternatives to illicit drugs

Thursday, September 17th, 2020

… the province significantly expands access to a “safer supply” to combat record overdose deaths caused by toxic street drugs…. the changes are the first step in undoing decades of harm caused by bad drug policy, and show that policy makers are listening to people on the ground. “Now the work begins on what drugs are available, what drugs we can access… we cannot continue to give drug users the least-sought-after drugs and expect them not to access the contaminated supply.”

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Trudeau gets it wrong on Canada’s other health crisis

Monday, September 7th, 2020

Only Ottawa could take the big step of decriminalization and make addiction a health issue, not one for the justice system… it’s a political calculation on the part of the Liberals, who no doubt fear there are more votes to be lost than gained by taking that route… But if Trudeau truly wanted to follow the science, he would take a different approach to Canada’s other pandemic.

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Facing a huge COVID-19 backlog, prosecutors are quietly diverting more drug possession and impaired driving charges from criminal court

Monday, August 24th, 2020

TheStar.com – GTA Aug. 23, 2020.   By Betsy Powell, Courts Reporter Without fanfare, the federal and provincial governments have begun targeting drug possession and drinking and driving offences as potential charges that can be diverted out of the criminal justice system to help reduce massive backlogs that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But just […]

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Black people more likely to be arrested, charged, shot and killed by Toronto police, Ontario Human Rights Commission finds

Monday, August 10th, 2020

The results are “highly disturbing, and confirm what Black communities have said for decades — that Black people bear a disproportionate burden of law enforcement”… although Black people represent 8.8 per cent of Toronto’s population, Black people represented 32 per cent of the charges in the data set… The charges… involve a high degree of discretion on the part of the officer.

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A criminal charge, even minor, can trap Ontarians in a ‘vicious cycle’ of unrelated problems, report finds

Thursday, July 16th, 2020

… it is very common… for criminal issues to overlap with other barriers, both legal and non-legal. “It’s a whole interconnected system and if one thing goes wrong, it’s very, very easy for lots of other things to fail in quick succession… From a community safety perspective, she said, allowing urgent legal issues to fall through the cracks and get worse “is counterproductive at best, and at worst it’s very oppressive.”

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Ottawa should listen to police chiefs. Drug use is a health care problem, not a crime

Monday, July 13th, 2020

There is a cresting wave of support for decriminalization, and its benefits for society. 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy backed decriminalization… Canadian health officials have also long worked towards these changes… Decriminalization and a safe supply (prescribed by doctors, to address the deadly toxicity of street opioids) were also key recommendations last year from an all-party House of Commons health committee.

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I was Stephen Harper’s criminal justice adviser. But I now think Canada should decriminalize drugs

Saturday, July 11th, 2020

Conservative politicians bear much blame for demonizing people who use drugs – derisively calling them “junkies” and “addicts” – opposing life-saving measures such as supervised drug-use sites and “safe supply,” and fearmongering for votes about drug decriminalization. Politicians must know that their action and inaction is continuing to cost lives. History will judge them for it.

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