Among the many other comments my post on aboriginal incarceration rates raised was a comment suggesting I supported the concept of hate crimes.
Oddly I don't believe I ever posted on hate crimes.
A hate crime is a crime where the punishment is increased based on the intention of the convict. So, if a convict shoots someone to, say, steal their car the crime is seen as lesser than if they shoot someone because they are South Asian.
My first thought is that a shooting is a shooting and the punishment should not depend on the victim. Until recently I thought the concept of 'hate crime' was wrong.
But then I thought more on honour killings.
In an honour killing the crime is dreadful but it is married to an intention to punish perceived misconduct. The act kills the murder victim but intimidates, on purpose, others who remain alive.
And so we have a double crime -- one of murder and another of intimidation.
And based on that I see 'hate' crimes as more serious than other crimes.
(Now, that doesn't change my view that prisons, in their current form, don't work, but that's another issue).
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Statement from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff on the Global Day of Action for Human Rights and Solidarity with Iran
Published on 25 July 2009
On this Global Day of Action for Human Rights and Solidarity with Iran, we pledge to keep the struggle for human rights and democracy in Iran present on the global agenda.
Today we say to the people of Iran that we have heard your stories, smuggled across the internet on Twitter and YouTube and Facebook. As long as you keep hope alive, we will not be silent.
We must not stand by while a ruthless regime represses its own citizens, and practices the politics of hatred.
We cannot be silent in the face of oppression and repression, and we will not abandon the people of Iran and all those affected by this tyranny or persecuted for speaking freely. We renew our call for the release of journalist Maziar Bahari and call on the Canadian government to insist on consular access to Mr. Bahari to ensure his Canadian citizenship is recognized and his human rights are respected.
Today, across Canada, we raise our hopes with those of the world—hope for a flourishing democracy in Iran, for fair elections and a free press, and for an end to the intimidation of the Iranian people.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
On this Global Day of Action for Human Rights and Solidarity with Iran, we pledge to keep the struggle for human rights and democracy in Iran present on the global agenda.
Today we say to the people of Iran that we have heard your stories, smuggled across the internet on Twitter and YouTube and Facebook. As long as you keep hope alive, we will not be silent.
We must not stand by while a ruthless regime represses its own citizens, and practices the politics of hatred.
We cannot be silent in the face of oppression and repression, and we will not abandon the people of Iran and all those affected by this tyranny or persecuted for speaking freely. We renew our call for the release of journalist Maziar Bahari and call on the Canadian government to insist on consular access to Mr. Bahari to ensure his Canadian citizenship is recognized and his human rights are respected.
Today, across Canada, we raise our hopes with those of the world—hope for a flourishing democracy in Iran, for fair elections and a free press, and for an end to the intimidation of the Iranian people.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Suggestive but meaningless
WiFi, according to the owners of the word, suggests wireless fidelity but officially has "no meaning".
Isn't that amazing. A word that suggests but actually has no meaning!
I'm going to have to find more words that are merely suggestive but ultimately meaningless! So helpful especially in Court!
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
More on Kingston killings
Rage leading to murder is one thing but cool and careful planned killing because your daughter is dating a boy you don't like?
Relatives of murder victim say the Shafias disapproved of their eldest child's love interest
...
One of the teenage girls allegedly killed by members of her Afghan-born family in Kingston, Ont., had been dating a Pakistani boy in Montreal against her parents' wishes, according to a man and woman who say they are siblings of one of the victims.
Zainab Shafia had gone out several times with the boy and even left the family home once, and was roughed up by her younger brother as a result, according to the relatives, Diba Masoomi and Wali Abdali, who live in France.
...
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Friday, July 24, 2009
Dreadful puns
CREATIVE PUNS FOR "EDUCATED MINDS"
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was SirCumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turnedout to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because itwas a weapon of maths disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still bestationery.
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was SirCumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turnedout to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because itwas a weapon of maths disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still bestationery.
Tish B'Av and evil
Last night I received a post from a friend dealing with the upcoming Jewish holiday of Tish B'Av, which remembers the destruction of the Temple and the loss of life that followed.
To my surprise the post (it wasn't my friend's post -- he was reposting) suggested the sufferings were caused by faithlessness:
"However, experience has shown us that sometimes HaShem withdraws his protection and as we know regarding Titus and so many others - it happens and the results are horrific.
However, just as we know about the Titus', the Hitlers and the Hamans of the world, we also clearly know what it is that we have done that causes Gd to abandon us.
We know that the reason these things happen is because we do not treat each other correctly. We foolishly hate each other, we speak against each other, we fight among ourselves and we are insensitive to the pain of Jews in need even in our own backyard."
This view is not without precedent. Satmar leader and Holocaust survivor Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum writes:
"Because of our sinfulness we have suffered greatly, suffering as bitter as wormwood, worse than any Israel has known since it became a people... In former times, whenever troubles befell Jacob, the matter was pondered and reasons sought--which sin had brought the troubles about--so that we could make amends and return to the Lord, may He be blessed... But in our generation one need not look far for the sin responsible for our calamity... The heretics have made all kinds of efforts to violate these oaths, to go up by force and to seize sovereignty and freedom by themselves, before the appointed time... [They] have lured the majority of the Jewish people into awful heresy, the like of which as not been seen since the world was created... And so it is no wonder that the Lord has lashed out in anger... And there were also righteous people who perished because of the iniquity of the sinners and corrupters, so great was the [divine] wrath."
My problem with this analysis is that it blames the victim. Who is to blame for the Holocaust? Answer, the sinful Jews. No, I much am inclined to the thoughts of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who wrote, responding to the view that the Holocaust was a result of religious falling away:
"What greater conceit and what greater heartlessness, can there be than to give a "reason" for the death and torture of millions of innocent men, women and children? Can we presume to assume that an explanation small enough to fit inside the finite bounds of human reason can explain a horror of such magnitude? We can only concede that there are things that lie beyond the finite ken of the human mind. It is not my task to justify God on this. Only God Himself can answer for what He allowed to happen. And the only answer we will accept, is the immediate and complete Redemption that will forever banish evil from the face of the earth and bring to light the intrinsic goodness and perfection of God's creation."
And this poses the broader question of evil and suffering in the world -- for every day there is unnecessary cruelty and suffering (look at the women murdered in Kingston a few days ago) -- the scale of the Holocaust is breathtaking but a murdered victim is murdered whether alone or among millions.
The words "It is not my task to justify God on this. Only God Himself can answer for what He allowed to happen " repeat in my mind.
To my surprise the post (it wasn't my friend's post -- he was reposting) suggested the sufferings were caused by faithlessness:
"However, experience has shown us that sometimes HaShem withdraws his protection and as we know regarding Titus and so many others - it happens and the results are horrific.
However, just as we know about the Titus', the Hitlers and the Hamans of the world, we also clearly know what it is that we have done that causes Gd to abandon us.
We know that the reason these things happen is because we do not treat each other correctly. We foolishly hate each other, we speak against each other, we fight among ourselves and we are insensitive to the pain of Jews in need even in our own backyard."
This view is not without precedent. Satmar leader and Holocaust survivor Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum writes:
"Because of our sinfulness we have suffered greatly, suffering as bitter as wormwood, worse than any Israel has known since it became a people... In former times, whenever troubles befell Jacob, the matter was pondered and reasons sought--which sin had brought the troubles about--so that we could make amends and return to the Lord, may He be blessed... But in our generation one need not look far for the sin responsible for our calamity... The heretics have made all kinds of efforts to violate these oaths, to go up by force and to seize sovereignty and freedom by themselves, before the appointed time... [They] have lured the majority of the Jewish people into awful heresy, the like of which as not been seen since the world was created... And so it is no wonder that the Lord has lashed out in anger... And there were also righteous people who perished because of the iniquity of the sinners and corrupters, so great was the [divine] wrath."
My problem with this analysis is that it blames the victim. Who is to blame for the Holocaust? Answer, the sinful Jews. No, I much am inclined to the thoughts of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who wrote, responding to the view that the Holocaust was a result of religious falling away:
"What greater conceit and what greater heartlessness, can there be than to give a "reason" for the death and torture of millions of innocent men, women and children? Can we presume to assume that an explanation small enough to fit inside the finite bounds of human reason can explain a horror of such magnitude? We can only concede that there are things that lie beyond the finite ken of the human mind. It is not my task to justify God on this. Only God Himself can answer for what He allowed to happen. And the only answer we will accept, is the immediate and complete Redemption that will forever banish evil from the face of the earth and bring to light the intrinsic goodness and perfection of God's creation."
And this poses the broader question of evil and suffering in the world -- for every day there is unnecessary cruelty and suffering (look at the women murdered in Kingston a few days ago) -- the scale of the Holocaust is breathtaking but a murdered victim is murdered whether alone or among millions.
The words "It is not my task to justify God on this. Only God Himself can answer for what He allowed to happen " repeat in my mind.
Aboriginals make up 11 per cent of the total population in Saskatchewan, but represent 81 per cent of all sentenced to custody
This story from Saskatchewan is troubling.
First Nations are over represented by a factor of eight in Canadian prisons.
Even assuming that there is no systemic bias in the system and aboriginal Canadians are treated exactly like all other Canadians there is a real problem; why are there so many aboriginals in trouble with the law? And why are we just sending them to jail? Is there any basis to think that will lower crime in the future or rehabilitate the offender?
The Supreme Court of Canada (and Parliament to a degree) tried to deal with the issue by suggesting alternatives to incarceration for First Nations -- the Gladue courts -- but these have obviously failed.
Now before I get more comments about being soft on crime let me ask this:
"If such a high rate of incarceration of First Nations hasn't worked before, do we have any reason to believe more prison will work better in the future?".
Someone said madness can be seen in doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result.
Studies (see earlier posts) show that sending people to jail (at least our jails as they are now) increases the likelihood of re offending -- rehabilitation is not succeeding. In their current form our prisons are more a training ground for crime than a way out.
Putting aboriginals (and blacks, south asians and even whites) in jail doesn't work. Let's realize we need to deal with crime from an evidence based approach and not a 'gut feeling'.
REGINA — New data released by Statistics Canada shows that the province has the second highest incarceration rate of aboriginal people.
According to the data, aboriginal adults make up 11 per cent of the total population in Saskatchewan, but represented 81 per cent of all adults sentenced to custody.
Compared to the national average in 2007 and 2008, aboriginal adults accounted for 22 per cent of admissions to sentenced custody despite comprising only 3 per cent of the Canadian population.
http://www.leaderpost.com/story_print.html?id=1813833&sponsor=
First Nations are over represented by a factor of eight in Canadian prisons.
Even assuming that there is no systemic bias in the system and aboriginal Canadians are treated exactly like all other Canadians there is a real problem; why are there so many aboriginals in trouble with the law? And why are we just sending them to jail? Is there any basis to think that will lower crime in the future or rehabilitate the offender?
The Supreme Court of Canada (and Parliament to a degree) tried to deal with the issue by suggesting alternatives to incarceration for First Nations -- the Gladue courts -- but these have obviously failed.
Now before I get more comments about being soft on crime let me ask this:
"If such a high rate of incarceration of First Nations hasn't worked before, do we have any reason to believe more prison will work better in the future?".
Someone said madness can be seen in doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result.
Studies (see earlier posts) show that sending people to jail (at least our jails as they are now) increases the likelihood of re offending -- rehabilitation is not succeeding. In their current form our prisons are more a training ground for crime than a way out.
Putting aboriginals (and blacks, south asians and even whites) in jail doesn't work. Let's realize we need to deal with crime from an evidence based approach and not a 'gut feeling'.
REGINA — New data released by Statistics Canada shows that the province has the second highest incarceration rate of aboriginal people.
According to the data, aboriginal adults make up 11 per cent of the total population in Saskatchewan, but represented 81 per cent of all adults sentenced to custody.
Compared to the national average in 2007 and 2008, aboriginal adults accounted for 22 per cent of admissions to sentenced custody despite comprising only 3 per cent of the Canadian population.
http://www.leaderpost.com/story_print.html?id=1813833&sponsor=
Criminal practice point
What happens when a DNA order should be made on sentencing but the convict has already had a DNA sample taken from a prior conviction? Can the judge decline to make a new DNA order because that would be moot?
The Court of Appeal says no: see, R. v. Wagner, 2009 ONCA 588:
[3] The current DNA sampling order regime makes sampling authorization orders mandatory for some offences, including robbery. However, the legislation does not require that a DNA sample be taken pursuant to a sampling authorization order where a DNA sample already exists in the convicted offenders index of the national DNA data bank. Rather, the legislation requires persons charged with executing a sampling authorization order to confirm in writing on the new order receipt of advice that the offender's DNA profile is already in the DNA data bank and to transmit notice of the new order to the data bank authorities so that an existing sample will not be destroyed in the event of a successful appeal of a prior sampling authorization order. See s. 487.071 of the Criminal Code and s. 10(7) of the DNA Identification Act. Note also that former s. 487.053 of the Criminal Code was repealed and an unrelated provision was substituted as the new s. 487.053. The sentencing judge should not have refused to make the mandatory order.
Interesting OCA dicta on Consent Judgments
Royal Bank of
[15] A consent judgment is not a judicial determination on the merits of the case, but an agreement elevated to the status of an order on consent. The basis of the order is the parties' agreement and not a judicial determination of what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances. A consent order may be set aside on the same basis for setting aside a contract: Teitelbaum v. Dyson (2000), 7 CPC (5th) 356 (
Effectiveness of incarceration
A reader's query about effectiveness of incarceration leads me to repost a link I posted some months ago:
acsa-caah.ca/Portals/0/Member/PDF/en/documents/incarcerationcanada.pdf
acsa-caah.ca/Portals/0/Member/PDF/en/documents/incarcerationcanada.pdf
Conservatives in Quebec
From:
http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=fullcomment&e=john-moore-how-badly-do-the-tories-want-to-lose-quebec&s=Opinion
"Now it seems the Tories have opted for a scorched-earth policy. If they're going to lose in Quebec, they're going to go down like Sonny Corleone at the toll gate in The Godfather. This week, they pulled the pin on funding for Montreal's gay pride celebrations. All indications were that the event had fulfilled every qualification for its grant. But with 10 days to go, the department that took over the tourism-grants file from Diane Ablonczy (after she made the grave error of posing for pictures next to a drag queen) said "Sorry, out of luck."
I hate to be the one to break it to the federal Tories, but Quebeckers — in spite of their Catholic roots — like their gays. This latest move will merely hammer home the impression that the Conservatives not only fail to appreciate the province's unique character, they are hostile to it."
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=fullcomment&e=john-moore-how-badly-do-the-tories-want-to-lose-quebec&s=Opinion
"Now it seems the Tories have opted for a scorched-earth policy. If they're going to lose in Quebec, they're going to go down like Sonny Corleone at the toll gate in The Godfather. This week, they pulled the pin on funding for Montreal's gay pride celebrations. All indications were that the event had fulfilled every qualification for its grant. But with 10 days to go, the department that took over the tourism-grants file from Diane Ablonczy (after she made the grave error of posing for pictures next to a drag queen) said "Sorry, out of luck."
I hate to be the one to break it to the federal Tories, but Quebeckers — in spite of their Catholic roots — like their gays. This latest move will merely hammer home the impression that the Conservatives not only fail to appreciate the province's unique character, they are hostile to it."
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Honour killings are terrorism
Just before I read the story below from the National Post (similar stories in the other papers) I had finished reading the Court of Appeal's decision in R v Hazel (2009) 95 O R 241. Hazel was a nasty murder where a husband killed his wife in large part for insurance money. He then burned her body (or tried to) and lied to everyone about what happened.
The Post story talks about the four women found murdered in Kingston and how it may have been an 'honour' killing.
So I thought, well, what's the difference? (Ignoring the number killed). If a woman is killed for insurance money or for 'honour' she's still dead.
But then I thought a bit more.
Killing a spouse for insurance is brutal and monstrous but it is only focussed on the deceased.
Honour killing kills the deceased and threatens all others. In effect, honour killing is a form of terrorism -- using violence as theatre to intimidate others.
Now, it may be that this story is not about honour killing -- it may be just an ordinary multiple murder (say for insurance or who knows what). And that is dreadful enough. But if it's intended to say 'Afghan women, you may live in Canada but if you behave like you're free -- watch out' then the crime is even worse. (And of course, the threat is not directed only to 'Afghan women').
Full story: http://www.nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=1820323&s=Home
Family's plans to murder daughters, first wife hatched months before: police
Paul Cherry, National Post
Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009
KINGSTON -- A Montreal couple allegedly began making plans to kill their three daughters, along with the husband's first wife, weeks before the bodies of all four victims were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal.
Mohammad Shafia, 56, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 39, and their eldest son Hamed Shafia, 18, all face first-degree murder charges in the deaths which came to light after a Nissan Sentra was discovered in the canal near the Kingston Mills Locks. Conspiracy charges filed at the Kingston courthouse Thursday reveal investigators believe plans to commit the murders were hatched as far back as May 1.
The small detail in the indictment added yet another twist in a story that only becomes stranger at each turn.
A relative of the couple has told reporters she believes the murders were carried out as so-called honour killings. The Kingston police confirmed Thursday that Rona Amir Mohammad was Mohammad Shafia's first wife and that he was also married to Yahya. A relative who sent an anonymous email to The Gazette alleged that Shafia was "disgraced" by his daughters' behaviour in Canada and that he wanted his first wife to return to Canada while hiding the fact they were married. The author of the email said Shafia married Yahya as his second wife because Mohammad could not have children .
...
The Kingston police refused to comment on the possibility the murders were carried out as so-called honour killings. However, Chief Steven Tanner began the press conference by describing the deaths as "senseless and needless loss of innocent life. The four victims in this case, three of which were teenage girls all shared the rights within our great country to live without fear, to enjoy safety and security and to exercise freedom of choice and expression and had their lives cut short by their own family."
When later asked to elaborate on the statement Tanner said he couldn't because the case is now before the courts.
The Kingston police were able to say they completely disbelieve Shafia and Yahya's theory of how the car might have ended up in the canal.
...
The Kingston police refused to divulge how the four victims were killed.
...
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Charges stayed because Crown comes into possession of privileged document
Today has been a slow day for new cases but here is an interesting case regarding the stay of civil cases while a criminal case is pending:
Falloncrest Financial Corp. v.
As to issue (4), no general rule in this jurisdiction requires a stay of civil cases merely because criminal charges relating to the same matter are pending. In fact, a court will normally deny a stay unless the applicant demonstrates that his or her case is an extraordinary or an exceptional one: see Stickney v. Trusz (1973), 2 O.R. (2d) 469 at p. 471, 45 D.L.R. (3d) 275 (H.C.J.), affirmed (1974), 3 O.R. (2d) 538 at p. 538, 46 D.L.R. (3d) 80 (Div. Ct.), affirmed (1974), 3 O.R. (2d) 538 at 539, 46 D.L.R. (3d) 80 at 82 (C.A.), leave to appeal refused [1974] S.C.R. xii, 28 C.R.N.S. 127n.
Several reported cases have suggested that the rationale underlying a stay of a civil action pending the conclusion of a related criminal prosecution is the protection of the accused's right to a fair trial: see, for example, Seaway Trust Co. v. Kilderkin Investments Ltd. (1986), 55 O.R. (2d) 545, 29 D.L.R. (4th) 456 (H.C.J.); Belanger v. Caughell (1995), 22 O.R. (3d) 741 (Gen. Div.). In the present case, however, the party moving for the stay is the Crown, and the accused's rights are not at issue. The Crown must, then, show that other extraordinary or exceptional circumstances justify a stay.
The cases are clear that the threshold test to be met before a stay is granted is high. The mere fact that criminal proceedings are pending at the same time as civil proceedings is not sufficient ground for a stay of the latter: Stickney v. Trusz, supra. Even the potential disclosure through the civil proceedings of the nature of the accused's defence or of self-incriminating evidence is not necessarily exceptional: see Belanger v. Caughell, supra; Stickney v. Trusz, supra; Seaway Trust Co. v. Kilderkin Investments Ltd., supra. This high threshold test should not be relaxed merely became it is the Crown that requests the stay. An applicant, whether it is the Crown or the accused, must meet the same burden of proving extraordinary or exceptional circumstances. The test is not on a balance of convenience for the Crown and something higher for the accused. To the extent that the motions court judge held that it is, he erred.
Nortel-RIM could be PM's Avro Arrow; Subsidizing sale of patents to foreigners would earn Harper ignominy to rival Diefenbaker's jet legacy
The Toronto Star
Thu Jul 23 2009
Page: B01
Section: Business
In recent years, Canada has lost so many national industrial
champions - Alcan, Inco, Abitibi, Falconbridge, Seagram - it should
seem a no- brainer that if a Canadian firm wants to salvage
something from the ashes of one of the few remaining champions, a
bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp., that effort should enjoy widespread support.
But no. The public, media and government are indifferent to this
week's dramatic bid by Research In Motion's co-CEO Jim Balsillie to
buy up key Canadian technology from Nortel for $1.1 billion
(U.S.).
Ottawa and Queen's Park hastened to pony up $10 billion (Canadian)
to rescue foreign-owned General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. ButOttawa's role at Nortel has been, through its Export Development Corp., to extend $300 million in financing to a Finnish-German joint venture that seeks to buy Nortel's top asset, its wireless technology.
Waterloo-based RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, one of Canada's few
globally renowned exports, accuses Nortel, still run by an imported U.S. turnaround expert who was a dismal failure at turning the firm around, of blocking it from bidding on Nortel's crown jewel, the wireless division for which RIM archrival Nokia Siemens Networks BV has the inside track.
The Toronto Star
Thu Jul 23 2009
Page: B01
Section: Business
In recent years, Canada has lost so many national industrial
champions - Alcan, Inco, Abitibi, Falconbridge, Seagram - it should
seem a no- brainer that if a Canadian firm wants to salvage
something from the ashes of one of the few remaining champions, a
bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp., that effort should enjoy widespread support.
But no. The public, media and government are indifferent to this
week's dramatic bid by Research In Motion's co-CEO Jim Balsillie to
buy up key Canadian technology from Nortel for $1.1 billion
(U.S.).
Ottawa and Queen's Park hastened to pony up $10 billion (Canadian)
to rescue foreign-owned General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Corp. ButOttawa's role at Nortel has been, through its Export Development Corp., to extend $300 million in financing to a Finnish-German joint venture that seeks to buy Nortel's top asset, its wireless technology.
Waterloo-based RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, one of Canada's few
globally renowned exports, accuses Nortel, still run by an imported U.S. turnaround expert who was a dismal failure at turning the firm around, of blocking it from bidding on Nortel's crown jewel, the wireless division for which RIM archrival Nokia Siemens Networks BV has the inside track.
Profiling
The fact they were looking for a white guy makes the stop really problematic.
Police condemned for profiling of letter carrier
Toronto Star
Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Immigration Reporter
Ron Phipps admits he was criss-crossing Vernham Ave. the day he was stopped by police in the Bridle Path.
He was also wearing a Canada Post coat and carrying two mailbags while filling in for the regular letter carrier.
Nearby, Toronto Police Const. Michael Shaw and another officer were investigating cut phone lines and looking for suspects described as male, white and eastern European who were seen in a car.
Phipps, who is black, raised suspicions with Shaw because he spoke to a homeowner but didn't give her any mail.
But the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled that by stopping Phipps on March 9, 2005, questioning him, trailing him and asking a white letter carrier to verify his identity, Shaw was guilty of racial profiling.
The fact that Phipps "was an African-Canadian in an affluent neighbourhood was a factor, a significant factor, and probably the predominant factor, whether consciously or unconsciously, in Const. Shaw's actions," adjudicator Kaye Joachim wrote in his decision last month.
At the hearing, Shaw contended each of Phipps' actions was suspicious, despite his uniform.
Joachim batted each one down.
"Letter carriers take vacation, retire and/or switch routes" so seeing a man with a mailbag he didn't know doesn't explain Shaw's suspicions, Joachim wrote.
"I do not accept Const. Shaw's evidence that the applicant was crossing the street back and forth in an unusual fashion. Const. Shaw was well aware that letter carriers do not stop at every house. It was not unusual to misdeliver mail and to go back and try to retrieve it.
"The fact that it was an African-Canadian male without a vehicle that attracted Const. Shaw's attention is what is unusual," wrote Joachim.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Police condemned for profiling of letter carrier
Toronto Star
Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Immigration Reporter
Ron Phipps admits he was criss-crossing Vernham Ave. the day he was stopped by police in the Bridle Path.
He was also wearing a Canada Post coat and carrying two mailbags while filling in for the regular letter carrier.
Nearby, Toronto Police Const. Michael Shaw and another officer were investigating cut phone lines and looking for suspects described as male, white and eastern European who were seen in a car.
Phipps, who is black, raised suspicions with Shaw because he spoke to a homeowner but didn't give her any mail.
But the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled that by stopping Phipps on March 9, 2005, questioning him, trailing him and asking a white letter carrier to verify his identity, Shaw was guilty of racial profiling.
The fact that Phipps "was an African-Canadian in an affluent neighbourhood was a factor, a significant factor, and probably the predominant factor, whether consciously or unconsciously, in Const. Shaw's actions," adjudicator Kaye Joachim wrote in his decision last month.
At the hearing, Shaw contended each of Phipps' actions was suspicious, despite his uniform.
Joachim batted each one down.
"Letter carriers take vacation, retire and/or switch routes" so seeing a man with a mailbag he didn't know doesn't explain Shaw's suspicions, Joachim wrote.
"I do not accept Const. Shaw's evidence that the applicant was crossing the street back and forth in an unusual fashion. Const. Shaw was well aware that letter carriers do not stop at every house. It was not unusual to misdeliver mail and to go back and try to retrieve it.
"The fact that it was an African-Canadian male without a vehicle that attracted Const. Shaw's attention is what is unusual," wrote Joachim.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Subway fire
Toronto -- there's a fire in the King Station. You can smell smoke and there are station guards rushing about saying, a bit dramatically, if "you value your life get out!". Well, whatever. Good night for taxis.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Trash wars
Here's a fun game to play while thinking of municipal workers on strike:
http://qkmbrgames.com/play/trashwars/trashwars.html
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Total non-story
The guy who took over my leased space went bankrupt. This is my fault? Now maybe it's may problem because I'm probably still on the lease ... .
MP Goodyear linked to bankrupt agency
July 22, 2009
By Brian Caldwell, Record staff
CAMBRIDGE - An adoption agency that is now in bankruptcy took over Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear's constituency office after he moved out of it in the summer of 2006.
Goodyear declined again Tuesday to answer questions about connections to Kids Link International Adoption Agency, which stunned up to 450 families when it collapsed last week amid concerns of high expense claims.
But his spokesperson, Gary Toft, confirmed that Goodyear's constituency office from 2004 to 2006 was located in a Hespeler Road unit that was leased a month later by the non-profit Christian agency.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Calling a meeting of Toronto City Council
Radio reports say a meeting of Toronto City Council is impossible since the Mayor refuses to call one. That seemed odd to me -- it would suggest a Mayor could simply stop City business at a whim.
I reviewed the City of Toronto Act (see below), the Regulations thereunder and the City bylaws and Code. Nowhere do I find the power to call a meeting is restricted to the Mayor.
Normal rules of order would allow a meeting to be called when sufficient members of the body (here Council) seek it.
Perhaps I am missing something a reader might steer me to.
Here's the only part of any Act, Regulation or bylaw I found that was even faintly relevant:
City of Toronto Act
Role of the mayor as head of council
133. (1) It is the role of the mayor of the City, as the head of council,
(a) to act as chief executive officer of the City;
(b) to preside over meetings of council so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively;
(c) to provide leadership to council;
(d) to represent the City at official functions; and
(e) to carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (1).
Same
(2) Without limiting clause (1) (c), the mayor’s role includes providing information and making recommendations to council with respect to council’s role under clauses 131 (d) and (e). 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (2).
Substitution
(3) The City may, with the consent of the head of council, appoint a member of council to act in the place of the head of council on any body, of which the head of council is a member by virtue of being head of council. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (3).
Role of the mayor as chief executive officer
134. As chief executive officer of the City, the mayor shall,
(a) uphold and promote the purposes of the City;
(b) promote public involvement in the City’s activities;
(c) act as the representative of the City both within and outside the City, and promote the City locally, nationally and internationally; and
(d) participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the City and its residents. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 134.
I reviewed the City of Toronto Act (see below), the Regulations thereunder and the City bylaws and Code. Nowhere do I find the power to call a meeting is restricted to the Mayor.
Normal rules of order would allow a meeting to be called when sufficient members of the body (here Council) seek it.
Perhaps I am missing something a reader might steer me to.
Here's the only part of any Act, Regulation or bylaw I found that was even faintly relevant:
City of Toronto Act
Role of the mayor as head of council
133. (1) It is the role of the mayor of the City, as the head of council,
(a) to act as chief executive officer of the City;
(b) to preside over meetings of council so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively;
(c) to provide leadership to council;
(d) to represent the City at official functions; and
(e) to carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (1).
Same
(2) Without limiting clause (1) (c), the mayor’s role includes providing information and making recommendations to council with respect to council’s role under clauses 131 (d) and (e). 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (2).
Substitution
(3) The City may, with the consent of the head of council, appoint a member of council to act in the place of the head of council on any body, of which the head of council is a member by virtue of being head of council. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (3).
Role of the mayor as chief executive officer
134. As chief executive officer of the City, the mayor shall,
(a) uphold and promote the purposes of the City;
(b) promote public involvement in the City’s activities;
(c) act as the representative of the City both within and outside the City, and promote the City locally, nationally and internationally; and
(d) participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the City and its residents. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 134.
More on spousal incompetence
Further to my post of yesterday regarding the spousal incompetence rule (thanks to Yossi Schochet, for pointing this out) Allbright J in R v. Martin, [2002] S.J. No. 473 (QB) also tried to expand the rule to include common law spouses and was recently overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Martin, [2009] S.J. No. 149. The Court of Appeal held:
22 In my view, the expansion of the spousal incompetency rule by the learned trial judge is far more than an incremental change required to keep the common law in step with the changing social, moral and economic fabric of
Government turns down a bid for funding by a major arts festival geared toward gays and lesbians
This may be less than it seems. I do some work with a religious based charity working with troubled youth. They are totally in line with what social conservatives support -- yet they often are turned down at the last minute for no obvious reason for government funds.
Tories reject funding for Montreal gay festival
Government turns down a bid for funding by a major arts festival geared toward gays and lesbians
Jennifer Ditchburn Ottawa — The Canadian Press
A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned Tuesday it was rejected for funding.
The news arrived at Montreal's Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto's Pride week, and just days before the beginning of the event.
The directors of Montreal's Divers-Cite had actually sprung to the defence of Stephen Harper's government earlier this month, telling The Canadian Press that the Conservatives had never treated them differently. Some in the gay community attacked them for their comments.
They had submitted a bid under the new Marquee Tourism Events Program for $155,000 to add performers and promotion to this year's $2-million event.
Government relations and marketing director Paul Girard said bureaucrats handling his file at Industry Canada told him his application met all the criteria, and had been sent up to Minister Tony Clement's office for final approval.
When he phoned to check on the bid Tuesday, Mr. Girard says he was told by a senior bureaucrat that the $100-million program had received so many requests, the government simply had to make a choice
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Tories reject funding for Montreal gay festival
Government turns down a bid for funding by a major arts festival geared toward gays and lesbians
Jennifer Ditchburn Ottawa — The Canadian Press
A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned Tuesday it was rejected for funding.
The news arrived at Montreal's Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto's Pride week, and just days before the beginning of the event.
The directors of Montreal's Divers-Cite had actually sprung to the defence of Stephen Harper's government earlier this month, telling The Canadian Press that the Conservatives had never treated them differently. Some in the gay community attacked them for their comments.
They had submitted a bid under the new Marquee Tourism Events Program for $155,000 to add performers and promotion to this year's $2-million event.
Government relations and marketing director Paul Girard said bureaucrats handling his file at Industry Canada told him his application met all the criteria, and had been sent up to Minister Tony Clement's office for final approval.
When he phoned to check on the bid Tuesday, Mr. Girard says he was told by a senior bureaucrat that the $100-million program had received so many requests, the government simply had to make a choice
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Amateur Astronomer Spies a Fresh Impact Scar on Jupiter
Amateur astronomers still do very important work. David Levy, who I am glad to say I knew in his amateur days in the 1970's, was a co discoverer of Shoemaker-Levy 9. In a sense this (small) story is the important story of the day. Long after all our politics are done and we are dust the music of the spheres will continue.
Amateur Astronomer Spies a Fresh Impact Scar on Jupiter
Follow-up observations on large telescopes confirm that something hit the gas giant
By John Matson

A backyard astronomer in Australia made a major discovery early Monday morning when he noticed a newly formed spot on Jupiter —a spot that academics and NASA astronomers have now confirmed marks a recent impact on the giant planet.
Anthony Wesley of Murrumbateman had a new 14.5-inch Newtonian telescope at his home observatory trained on Jupiter when he noticed something unusual: a dark spot on the planet's outer layers that had not been there two days before. Because its location, size and rotation speed did not jibe with any of Jupiter's moons or their shadows, nor with any of its known atmospheric features, a feasible explanation eluded him. Observed massive impacts from comets or asteroids are extremely rare—when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into Jupiter in 1994, it was an unprecedented event watched intently from countless observatories.
"Could it actually be an impact mark on Jupiter?" Wesley wrote in his observation report. "I had no real idea, and the odds on that happening were so small as to be laughable, but I was really struggling to see any other possibility given the location of the mark."
He continued to photograph the planet, then returned to his house to e-mail others about what he finally concluded had to be a scar from a recent impact. Leigh Fletcher, a postdoctoral astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., happened to be part of a team with observing time on the NASA Infrared Telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii when he and his colleagues got word of Wesley's unusual sighting. What is more, Fletcher's group was already going to train the three-meter telescope on Jupiter to observe its storms, working remotely from Pasadena.
"You can imagine the scene: We're all extremely excited, crammed around the computer screen to see those first images from the telescope facility," Fletcher says. "And there it was: an extremely bright feature on the southern hemisphere of Jupiter." It looked just like a medium-size impact from Shoemaker-Levy 9, Fletcher says, confirming Wesley's assessment.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
More on the falling crime rate
I guess MoJ is of the view "tough of crime" works so let's drive crime down more... .
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA_ Police-reported crime continued to decline in 2008, Statistics Canada said in a report Tuesday.
But a steadily dropping crime rate will not deter the federal Conservative government from cracking down on criminal activities, says Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
...
Still, the Tories will continue to press the opposition parties in the House of Commons to pass anti-crime legislation when Parliament resumes in the fall, says Nicholson.
``We don't govern on the latest statistics,'' the minister told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview.
``What level it's at right now, it's unacceptable, and we are committed to disrupting ... criminal activity.''
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Defining 'detention' is about more than semantics
James Morton: Defining 'detention' is about more than semantics
Posted: July 21, 2009, 10:00 AM by NP Editor
You are approached on a busy street by a young person holding a clipboard. He says to you, "Hello, I'd like a few minutes of your time." Do you stop and chat? Maybe you do, but perhaps you just smile, shake your head and walk on.
Now imagine the same scenario, except that rather than being approached by a young person holding a clipboard, you are approached by a police officer. In this case, you wouldn't dream of just smiling and continuing on your way -- the reasonable Canadian will always stop.
But a staple of television crime shows provides a contrasting scenario. A police officer asks someone for information about a crime. Rather than politely doing as he has been asked, the subject bolts, leading to an exciting chase and, usually, a triumphant police officer catching a criminal. It's a good thing that most Canadians don't choose this option. The police, after all, are there to protect society, and so it is appropriate to co-operate with them.
That said, the fact that reasonable people feel they cannot just "walk away" from the police has important consequences -- thanks to a trio of related decisions released last Friday by the Supreme Court of Canada. In a majority decision, the court found that a person is considered "detained" when he is arrested or "where the individual has a legal obligation to comply with a restrictive request or demand, or a reasonable person would conclude by reason of the state conduct that he or she had no choice but to comply."
The legal definition of detention, which is what the Supreme Court sets down here, is important. As soon as someone is "detained," he immediately must be told that he is entitled to speak to a lawyer. Thus, if we take the above-described "reasonable Canadian" test seriously, almost every time a police office speaks to someone, he henceforth should begin by explaining the right to counsel. Practically speaking, stymied in their investigations.
Is there a better answer? Perhaps. In his dissent in one of the three related cases, Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie suggested that "police words and conduct should be interpreted in light of the purpose of the encounter from the police perspective."
In other words, rather than ask what would the reasonable Canadian think when questioned by police, we might ask why the police are conducting the questioning. If the police are seeking an inculpatory statement from a suspect, then there is a detention and a need for the right to counsel. If, however, the police are seeking general information and have no special focus on the individual then there is no detention.
Like most Canadians, I believe that we must protect the rights of Canadians. But at the same time, we must do so without prejudicing law enforcement. Justice Binnie's compromise fulfills both of these imperatives.
National Post
James Morton is a Toronto lawyer and past president of the Ontario Bar Association. He teaches evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Posted: July 21, 2009, 10:00 AM by NP Editor
You are approached on a busy street by a young person holding a clipboard. He says to you, "Hello, I'd like a few minutes of your time." Do you stop and chat? Maybe you do, but perhaps you just smile, shake your head and walk on.
Now imagine the same scenario, except that rather than being approached by a young person holding a clipboard, you are approached by a police officer. In this case, you wouldn't dream of just smiling and continuing on your way -- the reasonable Canadian will always stop.
But a staple of television crime shows provides a contrasting scenario. A police officer asks someone for information about a crime. Rather than politely doing as he has been asked, the subject bolts, leading to an exciting chase and, usually, a triumphant police officer catching a criminal. It's a good thing that most Canadians don't choose this option. The police, after all, are there to protect society, and so it is appropriate to co-operate with them.
That said, the fact that reasonable people feel they cannot just "walk away" from the police has important consequences -- thanks to a trio of related decisions released last Friday by the Supreme Court of Canada. In a majority decision, the court found that a person is considered "detained" when he is arrested or "where the individual has a legal obligation to comply with a restrictive request or demand, or a reasonable person would conclude by reason of the state conduct that he or she had no choice but to comply."
The legal definition of detention, which is what the Supreme Court sets down here, is important. As soon as someone is "detained," he immediately must be told that he is entitled to speak to a lawyer. Thus, if we take the above-described "reasonable Canadian" test seriously, almost every time a police office speaks to someone, he henceforth should begin by explaining the right to counsel. Practically speaking, stymied in their investigations.
Is there a better answer? Perhaps. In his dissent in one of the three related cases, Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie suggested that "police words and conduct should be interpreted in light of the purpose of the encounter from the police perspective."
In other words, rather than ask what would the reasonable Canadian think when questioned by police, we might ask why the police are conducting the questioning. If the police are seeking an inculpatory statement from a suspect, then there is a detention and a need for the right to counsel. If, however, the police are seeking general information and have no special focus on the individual then there is no detention.
Like most Canadians, I believe that we must protect the rights of Canadians. But at the same time, we must do so without prejudicing law enforcement. Justice Binnie's compromise fulfills both of these imperatives.
National Post
James Morton is a Toronto lawyer and past president of the Ontario Bar Association. He teaches evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Crime down
As usual, this can be interpreted two way -- either the "tough on crime" policies are working or we don't need those policies.
Since the statistics date back to 2008, before the majority of the new initiatives kicked in, it makes sense to suggest "tough on crime" isn't the basis for the drop.
Now, in fairness, not all crime (maybe not even most) is reported -- but a drop in reported crime suggests a drop in crime overall.
Police-reported crime down in 2008: StatsCanPolice-reported crime dropped by five per cent in 2008, according to a Statistics Canada report, which also found a decline in the severity of those crimes.
According to the report, there were 77,000 fewer reported crimes last year, including:
28,000 fewer thefts of $5,000 and under
22,000 fewer break-ins
20,000 fewer motor vehicle thefts
The drop marked the fifth consecutive year that police-reported crime fell in Canada.
...
Statistics Canada also reported Tuesday that crime severity was down in almost every province, particularly in Manitoba, where the Police-reported Crime Severity Index (PRCSI) was down 14 per cent.
The PRCSI did increase in one province: Prince Edward Island, by seven per cent. However, it was still lowest in the country, at 68.
Crime severity was highest in the North and West, with Saskatchewan posting a PRCSI of 156 in 2008, well above the national average of 90. The PRCSIs in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories were double that of Saskatchewan.
Since the statistics date back to 2008, before the majority of the new initiatives kicked in, it makes sense to suggest "tough on crime" isn't the basis for the drop.
Now, in fairness, not all crime (maybe not even most) is reported -- but a drop in reported crime suggests a drop in crime overall.
Police-reported crime down in 2008: StatsCanPolice-reported crime dropped by five per cent in 2008, according to a Statistics Canada report, which also found a decline in the severity of those crimes.
According to the report, there were 77,000 fewer reported crimes last year, including:
28,000 fewer thefts of $5,000 and under
22,000 fewer break-ins
20,000 fewer motor vehicle thefts
The drop marked the fifth consecutive year that police-reported crime fell in Canada.
...
Statistics Canada also reported Tuesday that crime severity was down in almost every province, particularly in Manitoba, where the Police-reported Crime Severity Index (PRCSI) was down 14 per cent.
The PRCSI did increase in one province: Prince Edward Island, by seven per cent. However, it was still lowest in the country, at 68.
Crime severity was highest in the North and West, with Saskatchewan posting a PRCSI of 156 in 2008, well above the national average of 90. The PRCSIs in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories were double that of Saskatchewan.
Reuters News
Reuters' founder, Baron von Reuter, was born on this day in 1816. Born Israel Beer Josaphat, he adopted the name Paul Julius Reuter on becoming a Lutheran in 1844 and was made a Baron in 1871. He spent most of his professional life in Great Britain but was made a Baron by the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The title was confirmed by Queen Victoria as "conferring the privileges of the nobility in England".
Remarkable decision on spousal incompetence
Spouses are, generally, incompetent to testify against each other in a criminal proceeding while legally married and not separated.
Section 4 of the Canada Evidence Act reads as follows:
(1) Every person charged with an offence, and, except as otherwise provided in this section, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of the person so charged, is a competent witness for the defence, whether the persons so charged is charged solely or jointly with any other person.
...
(3) No husband is compellable to disclose any communication made to him by his wife during their marriage and no wife is compellable to disclose any communication made to her by her husband during their marriage.
Cases have, to date, made clear the protection does not extend to common-law couples. See:
R v. Duvivier, (1990), 75 O.R. (2d) 203 (Gen. Div.) at 210-211, affirmed, (1991), 3 O.R. (3d) 49 (C.A.)
R. v. Hawkins, 1996 CanLII 154 (S.C.C.), [1996] 3 S.C.R. 1043 at 1071-1072
R. v. Edelenbos 2004 CanLII 875 (ON C.A.), (2004), 71 O.R. (3d) 698 (C.A.) at paras. 32-38
R. v. Martin, [2009] S.J. No. 149 (C.A.) at para. 21
R. c. Campeau 1996 CarswellQue 326 (C.Q.)
That said, a case released last week, R v Masterson, 2009 CanLii 36305 (Ontario Superior Court)holds otherwise based on the Charter. This author is doubtful of the validity of the decision but it is important.
The Court holds:
[57] Having considered all of the Supreme Court's comments on both the question of the cautionary approach to be used in considering this rule, and the requirement to ensure the constitutionality of our law, I am persuaded that this is one of those cases in which reading up the statute is justified. Section 4 of the Canada Evidence Act shall be read up to include common law spouses where there is a reference to husband or wife. This reading in will cure an injustice that otherwise would continue to apply to a historically disadvantaged group of common law spouses.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Section 4 of the Canada Evidence Act reads as follows:
(1) Every person charged with an offence, and, except as otherwise provided in this section, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of the person so charged, is a competent witness for the defence, whether the persons so charged is charged solely or jointly with any other person.
...
(3) No husband is compellable to disclose any communication made to him by his wife during their marriage and no wife is compellable to disclose any communication made to her by her husband during their marriage.
Cases have, to date, made clear the protection does not extend to common-law couples. See:
R v. Duvivier, (1990), 75 O.R. (2d) 203 (Gen. Div.) at 210-211, affirmed, (1991), 3 O.R. (3d) 49 (C.A.)
R. v. Hawkins, 1996 CanLII 154 (S.C.C.), [1996] 3 S.C.R. 1043 at 1071-1072
R. v. Edelenbos 2004 CanLII 875 (ON C.A.), (2004), 71 O.R. (3d) 698 (C.A.) at paras. 32-38
R. v. Martin, [2009] S.J. No. 149 (C.A.) at para. 21
R. c. Campeau 1996 CarswellQue 326 (C.Q.)
That said, a case released last week, R v Masterson, 2009 CanLii 36305 (Ontario Superior Court)holds otherwise based on the Charter. This author is doubtful of the validity of the decision but it is important.
The Court holds:
[57] Having considered all of the Supreme Court's comments on both the question of the cautionary approach to be used in considering this rule, and the requirement to ensure the constitutionality of our law, I am persuaded that this is one of those cases in which reading up the statute is justified. Section 4 of the Canada Evidence Act shall be read up to include common law spouses where there is a reference to husband or wife. This reading in will cure an injustice that otherwise would continue to apply to a historically disadvantaged group of common law spouses.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Global Day of Action for Human Rights and Solidarity with Iran
Global Day of Action for Human Rights and Solidarity with Iran on July 25th 2009
‘Rallies Planned in More Than 50 Cities all over the World’
PURPOSE: People all around the world, in more than fifty cities, will gather in solidarity with the Iranian people following over a month of intensified state repression against citizens peacefully demonstrating for their rights. Many have been killed in the streets, hundreds have been beaten and injured, and at least 2,000 are thought to have been detained.
Our core demands are as follows:
1. That member states and civil society organizations of the international community give sustained attention to the Iranian people’s human rights as a matter of international concern, and that the UN should immediately initiate an investigation into grave and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including the fate of prisoners and disappeared persons, unlawful killings, and torture and other ill-treatment;
2. An end to state-sponsored violence, accountability for crimes committed and no recourse to the death penalty.
3. The immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, including
politicians, journalists, students, and civil society activists; and
4. Freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression (including
freedom of the press) as guaranteed by the Iranian constitution and Iran’s obligations under international covenants that it has signed.
DATE: Saturday 25th 2009
TIME: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
PLACE: Wellesley St. West & Queens Park Crescent East Intersection North of Ontario Parliament (accessible through both Museum and Queens Park Subway Stations)
Map:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Wllesley%20street%20west%20and%20queens %20park%20crscent%20east%20intersection
OPENING & CLOSING CEREMONY:
• At 11:30 am the rally will start with bidding farewell to a group of Iranian and Canadian cyclists
who will travel over 450 km from Toronto to Ottawa to deliver a petition initiated by Amnesty
International to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa. Please visit
http://www.cyclingforhumanrightsiniran.org
for more information regarding the petition being
delivered.
• Next, the rally walk will start at Queen’s Park North. We invite our respected Canadian politicians and members of government to join us in this walk in support and solidarity with Iran.
• The rally will end with a scheduled 24 hours hunger strike in unison with New York hunger strike in front of the UN. Please visit http://strike4iran.com for more information.
SPONSORS:
International:
• Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate
• Iranian League for Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI)
• International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
• Human Rights Watch
• Reporters without Borders
• Amnesty International USA
• PeaceJam
• FIDH
• Nobel Women’s Initiative
• Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
• Omid Advocates for Human Rights
Canada:
• Amnesty International Canada
• Cycling for Human Rights in Iran
• Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC)
• Iranian Television Canada
• Iran star
• Labour Start Canada
• Neda Peace for Iran
• Salam Toronto
• Shahrvand
CONTACT:
• Global Organizers: www.united4iran.com
• Toronto Organizing Sponsors: www.solidaitywithiran.com
• Toronto Contact Person:
Lily Pourzand
Tel: (647) 284-0281
Email lily.solidaritywithiran@gmail.com
‘Rallies Planned in More Than 50 Cities all over the World’
PURPOSE: People all around the world, in more than fifty cities, will gather in solidarity with the Iranian people following over a month of intensified state repression against citizens peacefully demonstrating for their rights. Many have been killed in the streets, hundreds have been beaten and injured, and at least 2,000 are thought to have been detained.
Our core demands are as follows:
1. That member states and civil society organizations of the international community give sustained attention to the Iranian people’s human rights as a matter of international concern, and that the UN should immediately initiate an investigation into grave and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including the fate of prisoners and disappeared persons, unlawful killings, and torture and other ill-treatment;
2. An end to state-sponsored violence, accountability for crimes committed and no recourse to the death penalty.
3. The immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, including
politicians, journalists, students, and civil society activists; and
4. Freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression (including
freedom of the press) as guaranteed by the Iranian constitution and Iran’s obligations under international covenants that it has signed.
DATE: Saturday 25th 2009
TIME: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
PLACE: Wellesley St. West & Queens Park Crescent East Intersection North of Ontario Parliament (accessible through both Museum and Queens Park Subway Stations)
Map:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=Wllesley%20street%20west%20and%20queens %20park%20crscent%20east%20intersection
OPENING & CLOSING CEREMONY:
• At 11:30 am the rally will start with bidding farewell to a group of Iranian and Canadian cyclists
who will travel over 450 km from Toronto to Ottawa to deliver a petition initiated by Amnesty
International to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa. Please visit
http://www.cyclingforhumanrightsiniran.org
for more information regarding the petition being
delivered.
• Next, the rally walk will start at Queen’s Park North. We invite our respected Canadian politicians and members of government to join us in this walk in support and solidarity with Iran.
• The rally will end with a scheduled 24 hours hunger strike in unison with New York hunger strike in front of the UN. Please visit http://strike4iran.com for more information.
SPONSORS:
International:
• Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate
• Iranian League for Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI)
• International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
• Human Rights Watch
• Reporters without Borders
• Amnesty International USA
• PeaceJam
• FIDH
• Nobel Women’s Initiative
• Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
• Omid Advocates for Human Rights
Canada:
• Amnesty International Canada
• Cycling for Human Rights in Iran
• Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC)
• Iranian Television Canada
• Iran star
• Labour Start Canada
• Neda Peace for Iran
• Salam Toronto
• Shahrvand
CONTACT:
• Global Organizers: www.united4iran.com
• Toronto Organizing Sponsors: www.solidaitywithiran.com
• Toronto Contact Person:
Lily Pourzand
Tel: (647) 284-0281
Email lily.solidaritywithiran@gmail.com
It's not Miller's fault
I'm not a big fan of Toronto's Mayor Miller -- but fair is fair and the attacks on him for the Toronto garbage strike are misguided.
Yes, there were optics that could have been dealt with better. The police raises were arbitrated and that's not widely known and the Council increases were COLA which is also not widely known. But perfect optics would not have avoided a strike.
The main issue is that the City wants to remove banked sick days.
Now, while banked sick days seem odd, they are a vested entitlement of the employees and it's reasonable for them to fight for them. That said, they are likely too costly for the City. The banked sick days may well have to go or be compromised but the fight over them is legitimate from both sides.
Bottom line, we'd have strike regardless of who was Mayor.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Monday, July 20, 2009
Healthy vegetarian food ... for a polar bear?
Vegetarian food, in general, is very healthy and I urge readers to consider eating vegetarian food more. It's green, healthy and humane.
But if you're a Polar Bear I'm not sure going vegetarian works as well (perhaps readers can guide me on this?).
Anyway, Flocke's playmate Rasi has gotten a bit tubby and the keepers have put him on a vegetarian diet for now. Apparently it is helping him to lose weight but he's not too keen on it ... .
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Iran again
A few days ago someone gave me a Canadian Iranian newspaper. She wanted me to see a specific ad - it had to do with real estate litigation.
What struck me, however, was the newspaper itself. It featured well dressed men and women together, ads from business women and a vigorous debate over democracy. There was not a veil in sight.
Now, granted, Canadians of Iranian heritage are in Canada for a reason and they may not reflect the majority thinking in Iran but ...
Iran is a sophisticated nation with a tradition of intellectual thought and tolerance dating back literally thousands of years (yes, with glitches I know but where would, say, a Jew, prefer to live 1000 years ago -- Persia or England?).
The tyranny in Iran will not last forever.
Iran continues to self-destruct
NP Editor, National Post
Monday, Jul 20, 2009
When your enemies are in the midst of destroying themselves, stay out of the way. If ever there was an example of that aphorism, this is it:
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned senior officials on Monday not to help Tehran's enemies after two former presidents expressed defiant opposition to the result of June's disputed presidential poll.
Clashes erupted between police and reformist protesters for the first time in weeks in Tehran on Friday after former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared the Islamic Republic in crisis and said there were doubts about the election result.
That statement was a clear challenge to the authority of Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure whose endorsement of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide victory was meant to be the final word on the fairness of the June 12 poll.
Reformist former president, Mohammad Khatami, on Monday weighed in, calling for a referendum on the legitimacy of the government and defeated reformist candidate Mirhossein Mousavi called for the release of hundreds arrested in widespread June street protests against the election result.
"Elites should know that any talk, action or analysis that helps (the enemy) is a move against the nation. We should be very careful," Khamenei said in a speech to Iranian officials in a clear reference to recent statements questioning the poll.
"People regard with hate anyone, in any position, who wants to move society toward insecurity," Khamenei said. "There are things that should not be said. If we say them, we have moved against the nation. This is now a test for the elites and failing in this test ... means falling down."
Mousavi said it was wrong to accuse those detained after the protests to plots by foreign powers. It was unclear whether he made the comment in response to Khamenei's remarks.
Khamenei normally mediates above the political fray, but backed Ahmadinejad's victory soon after the poll while reformists cried foul and said the result was rigged.
Rafsanjani, a veteran insider who heads a body that can in theory dismiss the supreme leader, is now fighting for political survival because Khamenei ignored pleas to rein in Ahmadinejad after he accused the former president of corruption.
On top of the June protests, the biggest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the public battle within Iran's clerical establishment poses an unprecedented challenge to the authority of Khamenei who came to power in 1989.
Reformers, aware of the rising expectations of a population mostly born since the revolution, argue the Islamic Republic must become more open and accountable to its people to survive.
"The only way out of the current situation is to hold a referendum," websites on Monday quoted Khatami as saying.
"People should be asked whether they are happy with the current situation ... If the vast majority of people are happy with the current situation, we will accept it as well."
Hardliners condemned Rafsanjani's Friday sermon. One cleric said Iran's government drew its legitimacy from "almighty God."
The election dispute has further strained ties between Iran and the West, already at odds over Tehran's nuclear program, with Western powers criticizing the crackdown. Iran's government accused them of plotting the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
At least 20 people died in the violence before riot police and Islamic militiamen suppressed the daily June protests and, rights groups say, arrested hundreds of people, including senior pro-reform politicians, journalists, activists and lawyers.
Defeated reformist presidential candidate Mousavi said mass arrests would not solve the dispute.
"Let people freely express their protests and ideas," Mousavi was quoted as saying by the reformist Mosharekat website. "Our dear ones in prison have no access to lawyers and are under pressure to make confessions."
Mousavi was critical about linking those detained with plots by foreign countries. "Isn't it an insult to 40 million voters ... linking detainees to foreign countries?," he asked.
"Who believes these people, many of them prominent figures, would work with the foreigners and to endanger their country's interests? ... They should be immediately released."
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
MPs call for release of listeriosis probe report
Good for Harper -- I don't say that much, and there are other issues with the Report, but releasing it directly and in full is the responsible approach.
MPs call for release of listeriosis probe report
Canadians will be able to read every page of a soon-to-be released report on last year's deadly listeriosis outbreak, without any of its contents being removed or edited, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday.
Kory Teneycke said the report will be released Tuesday, the day after investigator Sheila Weatherill handed it in to the government.
"We're looking at the report right now and she'll present it to the public tomorrow," Teneycke said Monday.
He said the report will be not edited or altered before being released.
Liberal MP Wayne Easter, the party's agriculture critic, demanded Monday that all the documents be made public immediately.
MPs call for release of listeriosis probe report
Canadians will be able to read every page of a soon-to-be released report on last year's deadly listeriosis outbreak, without any of its contents being removed or edited, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday.
Kory Teneycke said the report will be released Tuesday, the day after investigator Sheila Weatherill handed it in to the government.
"We're looking at the report right now and she'll present it to the public tomorrow," Teneycke said Monday.
He said the report will be not edited or altered before being released.
Liberal MP Wayne Easter, the party's agriculture critic, demanded Monday that all the documents be made public immediately.
Windows in court
The hearing room I am in overlooks a golf course. What a terrible thing -- all the stress and anxiety of Court overlooking people having fun on a sunny day!
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Forty years ago today
The moon landing took place 40 years ago today. I remember the landing clearly. The television was fuzzy and the sound almost inaudible yet somehow it seemed something world changing had happened. Yet after the trip to the moon things seemed pretty much the same. Of course, when Europe encountered America not much changed for the first few years ... .
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, dies at 78
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Recession, broken promises posing health disaster: AIDS experts
Readers may remember the Pope recently suggested that intellectual property rights, where limiting access to drugs, needed to be curbed.
Canadian researcher blasts rich nations for their 'criminal' silence on failing to deliver medicine as politically charged conference begins
Geoffrey York
Cape Town, South Africa — From Monday's Globe and Mail
At one of their most politically charged conferences ever, AIDS scientists are warning of a looming health catastrophe because of the global recession and the "criminal" silence of world leaders on their faltering HIV-AIDS promises.
Thousands of people are dying unnecessarily of AIDS every day because of a growing gap between what science demands and what politicians deliver, Canadian scientist Julio Montaner told the conference
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Canadian researcher blasts rich nations for their 'criminal' silence on failing to deliver medicine as politically charged conference begins
Geoffrey York
Cape Town, South Africa — From Monday's Globe and Mail
At one of their most politically charged conferences ever, AIDS scientists are warning of a looming health catastrophe because of the global recession and the "criminal" silence of world leaders on their faltering HIV-AIDS promises.
Thousands of people are dying unnecessarily of AIDS every day because of a growing gap between what science demands and what politicians deliver, Canadian scientist Julio Montaner told the conference
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Reader comments on incarceration
In response to a post on incarceration a reader made several points. He suggested, among other things, jail worked for sure because criminals weren't committing crime while in jail.
And that's a fair comment -- I won't address the other issues raised by the reader here.
No matter how you slice it, broadly put, so long as criminals are separated from society they don't commit crimes in society.
My response is to agree -- but to note that if we just focus on separation then, whenever there is any material risk of re offending, we should have life imprisonment.
Now that's obviously extreme -- and since we aren't going to put wife abusers in jail forever (forget the cost issue) we better try to rehabilitate.
Broadly put we do better not sending them to jail, unless we send them to jail forever.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
Incarceration
This is an important story from the Star. The lead-in shows that even Texas is rethinking its criminal justice system. It's time we realize here that prisons have failed -- either we radically revamp them or we replace them. If we want to lower crime let's use an evidence based approach. If we just want to make political noise then, ok, but try to not make crime worse with badly thought our 'tough on crime' initiatives. Remember when medicine used magic it didn't work -- the same thing is true for law.
http://mobile.thestar.com/mobile/NEWS/article/668064
A real-estate guide to incarceration
Jim Rankin
Staff Reporter
Texas is looking for jail guards and offering $1,500 recruiting bonuses for those willing to move to understaffed prisons. The need is not surprising in a state with the highest incarceration rate, in a country with such fervour for imprisonment that one in 100 adult males sits in jail.
But here's the news: Soaring prison costs – and neighbourhood maps that show where inmates come from and return to, and the underlying social conditions in those areas – have caused policy makers, Republican and Democrats alike, to rethink this love affair. "It's such a socio-economic concern. Inmates come from poor neighbourhoods, and they go back to neighbourhoods, and it just happens that they have some of the worst schools, worst health-care delivery system," says Texas Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
"How do you fix that? It's a generational deal, almost," he says. "But, that don't mean you don't try."
Instead of building prisons, Texas is investing in programs to keep people out of jail.
Similar thinking is occurring in Wisconsin, where the prison population is projected to go up by one-quarter within the next decade, and in seven more states with out-of-control prison bills, including Michigan, Kansas and Nevada.
http://mobile.thestar.com/mobile/NEWS/article/668064
A real-estate guide to incarceration
Jim Rankin
Staff Reporter
Texas is looking for jail guards and offering $1,500 recruiting bonuses for those willing to move to understaffed prisons. The need is not surprising in a state with the highest incarceration rate, in a country with such fervour for imprisonment that one in 100 adult males sits in jail.
But here's the news: Soaring prison costs – and neighbourhood maps that show where inmates come from and return to, and the underlying social conditions in those areas – have caused policy makers, Republican and Democrats alike, to rethink this love affair. "It's such a socio-economic concern. Inmates come from poor neighbourhoods, and they go back to neighbourhoods, and it just happens that they have some of the worst schools, worst health-care delivery system," says Texas Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
"How do you fix that? It's a generational deal, almost," he says. "But, that don't mean you don't try."
Instead of building prisons, Texas is investing in programs to keep people out of jail.
Similar thinking is occurring in Wisconsin, where the prison population is projected to go up by one-quarter within the next decade, and in seven more states with out-of-control prison bills, including Michigan, Kansas and Nevada.
Detention – there is a better approach
You are approached on a busy street by a young person holding a clipboard who says to you "hello, I'd like a few minutes of your time". Do you stop and chat? Perhaps you do but just as likely you'll smile, shake your head and walk on.
Now imagine the same scenario but rather than being approached by a young person holding a clipboard you are approached by a police officer who says "hello, I'd like a few minutes of your time". You won't smile and walk on; the reasonable Canadian will always speak to the police officer. The reasonable Canadian certainly will not feel free to ignore a police officer's request for information and walk away.
Indeed, a staple of television crime shows is where a police officer asks someone for information and, rather than politely giving the information, that someone runs away leading to an exciting chase and take down with a triumphant police officer catching a criminal.
It's a good thing that the reasonable Canadian feels obliged to answer basic police questions. The police are here to protect society and it is appropriate to give them cooperation.
That said, the fact – and fact it is – that reasonable people have a sense they cannot just "walk away" from the police has an important consequence because of three decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada released July 17, 2009.
The Supreme Court, in a majority decision, found that a person is "detained" when they are actually arrested or "where the individual has a legal obligation to comply with a restrictive request or demand, or a reasonable person would conclude by reason of the state conduct that he or she had no choice but to comply."
The finding of detention is important. As soon as someone is "detained" they are immediately to be told they are entitled to speak to a lawyer.
If we take the reasonable Canadian test seriously, almost every time a police office speaks to someone they should begin by giving the right to counsel. As Justice Binnie said in one of the cases (Binnie J disagreed with the majority), "the Canadian reality is that … people will almost always regard a direction from a police officer as a demand that must be complied with."
Practically speaking that will lead to no one ever telling the police a thing – as a reasonable Canadian, as soon as I am told by a police officer that I have the right to speak to a lawyer, I will stop saying anything at all.
So the effect of the Supreme Court's test will either be the reasonable Canadian will be considered to know the right to silence (a legal fiction at best) or the police will be increasingly stymied in their investigations.
Is there a better answer? Perhaps, as mentioned not all the judges on the Supreme Court agreed. Justice Binnie, in particular, suggested that "police words and conduct should be interpreted in light of the purpose of the encounter from the police perspective". In other words, rather than ask what would the reasonable Canadian think when questioned by police, we might ask why are the police conducting the questioning. If the police are seeking an inculpatory statement from a suspect, then there is a detention and a need for the right to counsel. If, however, the police are seeking general information and have no special focus on the individual then there is not detention.
We have to protect the rights of Canadians without prejudicing law enforcement – Justice Binnie's compromise does both.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
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