The Docket

This week Emilie and I sat down for a chat about jail and justice with Kim Pate. Kim is the executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies. She is was named a Member of the Order of Canada for her work on behalf of women who are marginalized, victimized or incarcerated. In short - she is awesome.

A bit of a short but special episode this week. I was invited to moderate to Toronto stop of Dean Strang and Jerry Buting's speaking tour - A Conversation on Justice. Ya - that Stang and Buting - from the super popular Nexflix Documentary Making A Murderer. So Emilie and I ditched the kids and hopped a train to Toronto for the weekend. It was a fantastic weekend: a crazy hotel upgrade, a packed Sony theatre, a good conversation, and a promise from Strang to do what Buting did earlier this year - come on the podcast! Emilie and I break down the weekend and share a couple audio clips we smuggled out of the Sony theatre.

This week Emilie and I catch up on the last two weeks. She was in China and I kept the kids alive. I also wrote an open letter to Ottawa's Chief of Police about some shocking behaviour by the local cops and then wrote about issues I had with a report on major problems at the Ottawa jail. But then we dive into the really important and complex issue of medical assistance in dying, the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Carter, and the government's legislative response - bill C-14. There are some real problems with the Liberal's new bill. The Alberta Court of Appeal and the Ontario Superior Court both indirectly questioned the constitutionality of bill C-14. The legislation is now before the Senate and Emilie and I reflect on the first day of testimony - including some serious questions raised by constitutional scholar Peter Hogg. So we sort of nerd out a bit.... Fun.

This week Emilie and I were joined by Liberal MP for Beaches—East York Nathaniel Erskine-Smith to talk about his private members bill designed to reform some of Canada's animal cruelty laws. Of course we also could not resist talking about marijuana and a couple other justice issues. Erskine-Smith has a law degree and a masters in political philosophy and constitutional law. He has worked at litigation firms and spent time volunteering for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He has been an outspoken critic of his own party's drug policy and raised concerns about the Liberal's assisted-dying legislation. There has been some misleading criticism of Erskine-Smith's animal justice bill - including by the Liberal parliamentry secretary to the Minister of Justice Bill Blair. Bottom line - it is a really interesting bill and we had a very thought provoking discussion.

This week Emilie and I dive into two cases and then take aim at former Justice Minister Peter MacKay. First After almost two and a half years in jail Connie Oakes is a free woman. Last month the Alberta Court of Appeal over turned Oakes' conviction and the Crown declined to re-prosocute. The case bears some similarities to the convictions documented in Making a Murderer - tunnel vision, questionable confessions, and lives destroyed. Second On April 26th David Stephan and Collet were convicted of failing to provided the necessities of life in the death of their 19-month-old son Ezekiel. How far can the criminal law stretch into parenting and what sentence might the Alberta couple receive. Last Peter MacKay defended the Conservative government's tough on crime legacy and wrote some other dumb stuff in a National Post op-ed. Emilie and I talk about it and throw up a little in our mouths.....

This week Emilie and I almost made it through the whole Duffy decisions - almost. Spoiler alert - Mike Duffy was found not guilty of all charges last week. The decision was long, and a bit confusing, and really long. So we dragged back peter Sankoff back on the show to talk about the 'ol Duff and help us understand what happened Peter Sankoff is a Professor at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law. He concentrates his teaching and research on legal issues surrounding the criminal trial process. Sankoff is also a bit of a Duffy expert and has written two great papers on the trial: The Worst $90,000 Ever Spent: 10 Questions About Mike Duffy, Nigel Wright, the Criminal Code and the Canadian Criminal Justice System and the follow-up: Still The Worst $90,000 Ever Spent: 10 More Questions About Mike Duffy, Nigel Wright, the Criminal Code and the Canadian Criminal Justice System

This week Emilie and I phoned it in - we called former Supreme Court Judge and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to talk about last weeks United Nations General Assembly Special session on the drug problem. Canada will legalize marijuana in 2017 but there may be some problems with our international obligations. What are the road blocks and what went down last week at the UN - i guess you gotta listen to find out. Oh - you will also find out one of my top ten fears.

This week we talked with Rob Boyd director of the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre's Oasis program. The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre provides medical and social services for people living with HIV and/or hepatitis C, and who encounter barriers to services because they use street drugs, have a mental illness, are homeless or are involved in the sex trade. The Centre is also in the process of conducting community consultations in support of an application to operate a supervised injection site in Ottawa. As you may expect there has been some controversy about the proposed injection site - but Rob breaks it down and makes a very compelling case. So.... something happened with the audio of the last 10 minutes of our interview with Rob. Not sure what - maybe when the Mail Chip money starts rolling in we can do better. We also chat about the latest Supreme Court case striking down a Conservative minimum sentence for drug trafficking. Yep - another cruel and unusual law bites the dust.

What the hell is happening at the Dickensian hell scape otherwise known at the Ottawa Jail? Prisoners locked in the shower, women inmates spending 22 hours in solitary because the is no room anywhere else, oh and a guy died there too. Seriously it is bad. Then we stumble about talking about privacy. On a recent re-watch of The West Wing we were struck by a 15 year old line by Rob Lowe's character Sam Seaborne - so we talk about how not far we have come since then.

This week we talk about the prejudicial impact of admitting rap lyrics in court. It seems to happen too often in Canada. Why? Check out Windsor law professor David Tanovich's paper: R v Campbell: Rethinking the Admissibility of Rap Lyrics in Criminal Cases. And then on to bail. An Ottawa Justice of the Peace wrote a scathing indictment of Canada's bail system. In her words - its a disgrace. It may be true but was it appropriate. Then I tell a story.