Category: Justice

Protect the unborn, not the already born

Some who favour right wing politics believe in protecting the unborn, but vehemently oppose protection of children already born. This is largely an American problem, where guns overtook car crashes to become the leading cause of death for US children and teenagers in 2020. But this is something that Poilievre’s Conservatives would bring to Canada if given the opportunity.

Canada, land of vanishing wonders

Mike Hanafin, “Brilliant doesn’t do this justice. @thejuicemedia usually skewers Australian (Australien!) govts/politicians for kissing up to Big Oil, Fossil Fuel extractors, & monopolist billionaires. But they noticed it was happening here too. Great cameos from Galen Weston, Jimmy Pattison, and John Horgan.

Protecting the protected, abusing the abused

Amanda Follett Hosgood, northern BC reporter for The Tyee, has done a thorough job of detailing the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal examination of RCMP conduct after a staff member of a Burn’s Lake residential school was accused of sexually abusing an 11 year-old Indigenous child. Information from the hearings is troubling. . .

Major police reforms needed but near impossible

“It’s no coincidence that the cities we most associate with violence also have long and documented histories of police abuse. When people don’t trust law enforcement, they stop cooperating and resolve disputes in other ways. Instead of fighting to retain police officers who feel threatened by accountability and perpetuate that distrust, cities might consider just letting them leave.”

Marginalized citizens gain protection

On May 19, Canada’s Supreme Court resolved an important defamation case with six of seven judges finding against former Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld. Doing so, the court further defined boundaries of fair public comment and strengthened provincial laws discouraging Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation or “SLAPP” suits.

Thin blue line bleeds red

Eight years after Myles Gray was beaten to death by a police gang, almost nothing has changed in the process of holding officers accountable for violent misdeeds. Those Vancouver police should count themselves lucky the Memphis chief and prosecutors weren’t in charge here.

Punishing personal distress

The unarmed victim was seeking help, apparently suffering a personal crisis. CBC News reported the Ojibway man “was in distress from a bear mace attack and was attempting to relieve the burning sensation by removing his clothes and dousing himself in milk.” Chris Amyotte needed medical assistance. He was punished with lethal violence instead…

Bonhoeffer on Stupidity 

In 2021, we see strange people in BC — humans I suspect Dietrich Bonhoeffer would categorize as stupid — mobbing to prey on politicians, healthcare workers, hospital patients and now school children. For thousands, the restraints of decency are lost. Bonhoeffer’s words might help to explain the behaviour…

Hippocratic oath for policing

Sgt. Jeremiah P. Johnson of the Darien Connecticut Police Department responded to a discussion about the policing industry having its own Hippocratic Oath. Given the extent of misconduct now revealed in North America, this is worthy of wider attention…

Canada's shame

Lost in the fuss as governments of British Columbia and Canada act to expropriate rights and lands of the Wet’suwet’en people is a sad situation that already gave proof to what should be Canada’s greatest shame…

Punishment does not fit the crime

When Justice Kenneth Affleck jailed a senior who was honestly motivated to improve the world, the judge was following a long-established Canadian legal tradition. It dictates: Punishment need not fit the crime when the perpetrator is a white-collar criminal or a senior officer of a wealthy corporation.