This and that for your weekend reading. – Doug Saunders points out that we have a relatively simple choice between seeking to exact revenge on criminal offenders and actually reducing crime: We know exactly why Norway has such lower recidivism numbers. Prisoners, being under constant observation, are very easy to
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Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: May 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 1 saw more debate on a couple of relatively non-contentious bills – along with a prime example of the Cons’ blinkered focus on mandatory minimum sentences. The Big Issue In continued debate on the Lucky Moose self-defence bill, the NDP pointed out some of the ways the legislation
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 27, 2012
Friday, April 27 saw another day of relatively non-contentious debate on the main bill up for discussion in the House of Commons. But there was plenty of reason to question why the focus would be as narrow as it was. The Big Issue That main bill was the Cons’ elder
Continue readingWise Law Blog: False Conviction Syndrome
A University of Michigan study looks at wrongful convictions in America, and reaches predictable conclusions: [University of Michigan Law Professor Samuel] Gross co-authored a report on the database that pulls together statistics on exonerations from January 1989 through February 2012. While the database is constantly updated and new exonerations are being added
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 25 saw one of the more noteworthy economic debates we’ve seen in the current session of Parliament, as a former-PC-turned-Liberal raised the issue of income inequality to a noteworthy response from the Harper Cons. The Big Issue Scott Brison presented what should have been a relatively non-controversial motion
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 24, 2012
Tuesday, April 24 saw a day of debate focused on a relatively non-contentious piece of legislation: a citizen’s arrest bill which largely reflected Olivia Chow’s work after charges were laid against David Chen of the Lucky Moose. The Big Issue When it came to the substance of the bill, there
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Vic Toews Strikes Again
Apparently dissatisfied with the way society currently holds criminals to account, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has decided that its high time to make them literally pay for their crimes. In a move that will save taxpayers $10 million per annum and leave more for Bev Oda’s special travel requirements,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 3, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 saw the final day of debate at second reading of the Cons’ budget – and once again featured plenty of work by Peter Julian to introduce the types of perspectives the Cons would never tolerate if they could avoid it. The Big Issue Once again, Julian
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: A Healthy Society – Chapter 5 Discussion
Chapter 5 of Ryan Meili’s A Healthy Society deals with our justice system. And once again while there’s little to dispute in Meili’s broader point, it’s worth noting just how much distance there is between Canada’s current governing philosophy, and anything which could possible be expected to produce healthy outcomes.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – In an excerpt from the Occupy Handbook, Paul Krugman and Robin Wells discuss how a right-wing obsession with exacerbating inequality led to the U.S.’ disastrous response to the 2008 crash: How did America become a nation that could not rise to the biggest
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – In the surest sign yet that the Robocon scandal involved a calculated decision by political operatives rather than having anything to do with mere overzealous volunteers, the Star reports that call centre staff hired by the Cons to perform live calling actually tried
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 15, 2011
Thursday, December 15 was the final day in the House of Commons before the winter break. The Big Issue Once again, debate focused primarily on Bill C-26 to clarify the availability of self-defence under the Criminal Code. And the opposition parties started proceedings by granting unanimous consent to an effort
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Mike de Souza’s report on the Cons’ attempts to hide both the oil industry’s involvement and its own lack of credibility is well worth a read in full. But let’s focus on a more basic revelation: Harper has set up a publicly-funded
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Michelle Lalonde notes that despite continued giveaways from both the federal and provincial governments, Quebec’s asbestos industry may soon fade away due to a lack of any economic case for private funding. – Jessica Bruno reports on major cuts to the federal public
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A few leadership notes covering the gap between Sunday’s informal debate and tonight’s version in Saskatoon… – Niki Ashton unveiled her justice platform, proposing a “judicare” program to ensure greater access to the legal system as well as soft drug decriminalization. – Nathan Cullen took questions from Aaron Wherry, featuring
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: December 1, 2011
In the midst of a week of acrimonious debate over both the substance of the Cons’ dumb-on-crime legislation and the government’s procedural maneuvers to prevent even improvements which it recognized as necessary, December 1 served as a comparative beacon of cooperation (as noted specifically by Don Davies). The Big Issue
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jack Knox comments on how the rest of the world sees Canada under the Harper Cons: A week after bleating about foreign radicals slowing the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, you have to figure Joe Oliver just wishes he had kept his cakehole corked.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 18, 2011
Friday, November 18 saw two pieces of legislation discussed. And the contrast couldn’t have been much more stark between an opposition effort to develop better legislation, and a government focused on nothing more than sticking to talking points regardless of whether they made the slightest sense in context. The Big
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More Joy in Heaven
The above title, taken from both The Bible and the title of a Morley Callaghan novel, suggests the possibility of redemption. There was a report in yesterday’s Star amply demonstrating that potential. When 37-year-old Maxwell Beech was facing sentencing for gun and drug-related charges seven years ago, he expected the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 17, 2011
Thursday, November 17 saw a Liberal opposition day turned into a discussion about the sad state of water supplies to Canada’s First Nations. But while all parties were able to support the motion, there was plenty of room for contrast as to who was most interested in dealing with the
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