Stories of Corruption!!

OPP get heads up on brutality investigation | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

2010-12-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

OPP get heads up on brutality investigation Ottawa and Region News Ottawa Sun

Another police department will likely be called to probe allegations of Ottawa police brutality if the Ontario Special Investigations Unit declares the case outside its mandate.

Police are waiting for the SIU to say whether or not it will pick up the investigation into the officers involved in Stacy Bonds’ mistreatment in cellblocks two years ago.

Police actions have been called into question based on surveillance video released by the courts.

On Thursday, Chief Vern White and Mayor Jim Watson met with the three councillors who sit on the police services board to discuss the Bonds case and other cases of alleged police misconduct that have surfaced.

White asked the SIU to see if the Bonds case falls within its mandate.

“If the SIU were return the case to us, which is always a possibility, then we’ve already had some discussions about an external police service taking jurisdiction, primarily for the purposes of guaranteeing to the public there’s a level of independence and hopefully to increase the level of confidence,” White told reporters after his meeting with the mayor at City Hall.

The SIU only investigates cases of serious injury, death or sexual assault involving police. Even then, the mandate has the unit only looking for evidence of a criminal offence, not disciplinary or policy violations.

Bonds did not receive serious physical injuries and it’s unclear whether her treatment would be categorized as a sexual assault.

City sources say the OPP have already been given a heads up on the matter in case the SIU punts it back to Ottawa police.

Attention is also being focused on the oversight of special constables.

Watson said the city might ask the province to edit the Police Services Act to have special constables fall under the legislation.

“For instance, the SIU doesn’t, as I understand it, have jurisdiction over special constables,” Watson said.

The same special constable involved the Bonds altercation was also involved in a case in which cellblock video caught the officer kicking a prisoner.

Watson fully expects a report to the police board on the incidents to be made public.

City councillors continue to receive emails from concerned residents.

“I just started this job yesterday and I’ve already receives several dozen emails from people who are upset and disturbed,” Watson said.

jon.willing@sunmedia.ca

Lawsuit alleges police brutality

2010-12-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

Eight Ottawa cops — including two embroiled in another abuse scandal — are facing new allegations of police brutality from a woman who complained her arm was broken in a 2008 arrest.

It’s the sixth police brutality allegation to rock the force in the past two weeks.

Roxanne Carr filed notice in court in August she’ll sue eight officers and the police services board.

Carr says the mistreatment — which included a broken arm — involves two of the same officers involved in the ongoing Stacy Bonds saga.

The allegations include excessive force, assault, false arrest and false imprisonment in the Aug. 23, 2008 incident — although an officer was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the province’s civilian watchdog.

Only more public accountability can root out this “systemic” misconduct among Ottawa cops, said Lawrence Greenspon, Carr’s lawyer.

“These are two cases of many,” he said. “There is and has been for many years a systemic problem with police misconduct as long as I’ve been practicing — 30 years — and there has not been a proper remedy process in place that’s accessible for people who are victims.

“The police complaints process is one that needs to be overhauled,” he said.

Greenspon won’t file a statement of claim until Carr deals with criminal charges, including assaulting a police officer, scheduled for trial in May.

Police went to Carr’s home to arrest her in a domestic dispute and charged her with assaulting a man. Police allege she resisted arrest by Const. Michael Adlard before assaulting him and vandalizing a cruiser.

After her release, she went to the hospital where it’s alleged her arm was found to be broken.

A spokesman for the province’s Special Investigations Unit said that one officer was the subject and three others witnesses in a two-month probe launched in April.

“There were no charges laid against any police officers,” Frank Phillips said. “That’s our mandate, to see if there was any criminality on the part of the police.”

It’s then up to the police force to determine if its policies and procedures were followed, he said.

Two of the officers named in Carr’s court documents — Sgt. Steven Desjourdy and Special Const. Melanie Morris — were singled out in a judge’s ruling last month.

He stayed a charge Bonds assaulted a police officer and called illegal her Sept. 6, 2008, arrest on a charge of public intoxication. He also called the officers’ behaviour toward her “appalling.”

Morris delivered two “extremely violent knee hits” to Bonds and pulled her hair, the judge concluded. Desjourdy cut off her shirt and bra with scissors while the unresisting woman was held down with a riot shield by other officers, he said.

Morris, another judge concluded, is seen in a July 2009 cellblock video kicking another man in custody.

Desjourdy was also temporarily demoted for kicking and shocking a female prisoner with a Taser.

Another woman, Velvet Laclair, 29, is also suing police over a 2007 incident during which she said she was sexually assaulted.

Also named in Carr’s notice of action are constables Cindy Cybulski, Darren Shore, Shawn Virgin and David West and Special Const. Richard Marcil.

megan.gillis@sunmedia.ca

Ottawa cops named in clothesline suit | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

2010-12-01T12:46:00.001-08:00

Ottawa cops named in clothesline suit Ottawa and Region News Ottawa Sun

$225K suit against cops alleges violent takedown | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

2010-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

$225K suit against cops alleges violent takedown Ottawa and Region News Ottawa Sun

Nine lawsuits claim brutality, false arrest against cops | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

2010-12-01T12:45:00.001-08:00

Nine lawsuits claim brutality, false arrest against cops Ottawa and Region News Ottawa Sun

Police union, public speak on brutality allegations | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

2010-12-01T12:45:00.000-08:00

Police union, public speak on brutality allegations Ottawa and Region News Ottawa Sun

Police misconduct is a 'systemic problem': lawyer

2010-12-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

Police misconduct is a 'systemic problem': lawyer

Ottawa man sues police after struck by cruiser at crime scene

2010-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

Ottawa man sues police after struck by cruiser at crime scene

Chief White bucks up officer morale

2010-12-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

Chief White bucks up officer morale

Police 'undermine' public health efforts: report

2010-12-01T12:39:00.000-08:00

Police 'undermine' public health efforts: report

Ban great in theory, but in practice?

2010-12-01T12:38:00.001-08:00

Ban great in theory, but in practice?

Abuse standard treatment: sex workers

2010-12-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

Abuse standard treatment: sex workers

Video released of homeless man kicked by guard in police cells

2010-12-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Video released of homeless man kicked by guard in police cells

Ottawa cop charged with DUI, leaving accident scene

2010-06-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Ottawa cop charged with DUI, leaving accident scene

By DOUG HEMPSTEAD, Ottawa Sun

Last Updated: May 27, 2010 2:40pm

An investigation into a hit and run has ended with an Ottawa police officer being charged.

The investigation dates back to March 18 when a hit and run was reported on Montreal Rd. at about 1 a.m.

Investigators found an abandoned vehicle that had first struck a pole before crashing into another vehicle.

The vehicle was a police officer’s personal ride.

Thursday, police charged Sgt. Christopher McGuinness with impaired driving, dangerous driving and fail to stop at the scene of an accident.

He also faces a charge of fail to remain at the scene of an accident under the Highway Traffic Act and discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

McGuinness has been suspended with pay and will appear in court June 16.

doug.hempstead@sunmedia.ca

Cop charged in collision

2010-06-16T17:39:00.002-07:00

Cop charged in collision

By KENNETH JACKSON, Ottawa Sun

Last Updated: May 29, 2010 8:06pm

An Ontario Provincial Police officer has been charged with failing to yield after he tried to do a U-turn and was hit by the car behind him.

Police said at about 2:35 p.m. Saturday Const. Jonathan Bigford was driving a marked cruiser westbound on Highway 7 near Townline Rd. when he tried to make the quick turn to stop an eastbound vehicle.

The car behind the officer hit the cruiser during the U-turn.

No one was injured but both vehicles were severely damaged.

Bigford has been on the force for five years and works out of the Lanark County detachment.

Court upholds firing of cigarette-stealing cop

2010-06-16T17:39:00.001-07:00

Court upholds firing of cigarette-stealing cop

By Eric Thibault, QMI Agency

Last Updated: May 31, 2010 7:49pm

QUEBEC CITY – The Quebec Superior Court has upheld the firing of a police officer who was sacked for stealing evidence cigarettes and rejected the claim he had "a compulsive need to smoke while obtaining sexual gratification.”

Justice Christiane Alary ruled last week that the dismissal of Eric Benjamin, an officer with the Montreal police, did not constitute an unreasonable penalty given the seriousness of the offences.

This latest ruling was in line with an arbitrator’s decision in June 2009.

The judge also dismissed an appeal made by the police organization, Fraternite des policiers, which argued that the disciplinary measures taken were disproportionate to the crime.

In August 2008, the Montreal police fired Eric Benjamin, a 12-year veteran, after he admitted to a half-dozen thefts of cigarettes kept in evidence storage between 2004 and 2005.

Psychiatric assessments given as evidence in court concluded the officer suffered from paraphilia and that “this state manifests itself mainly, in his case, by a compulsive need to smoke while obtaining sexual gratification in peep-shows, where he goes after his shift.” The psychiatric issues “do not remove the police officer’s responsibility for the wrongs commited,” the report concluded.

Retired OPP Officer = PEDOPHILE

2010-06-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

Pedophile deserves jail, Crown says

Retired OPP officer admits he has ‘unnatural sexual attraction to young girls’

By Andrew Seymour , The Ottawa Citizen June 16, 2010 8:02 PM

A retired OPP officer and diagnosed pedophile who confessed that he had an “unnatural sexual attraction” to young girls should be sentenced to up to two years in jail after sexually abusing a three-year-old, a Crown prosecutor argued Wednesday.

Assistant Crown attorney David Elhadad said John Bateman, 70, “should have known better” than to sexually assault and sexually interfere with his young victim on two occasions between 2007 and 2009.

“As a seasoned investigator that had a lengthy career, he knows the effects this has on victims,” said Elhadad, who argued that the one-time police officer and security guard should be sentenced to between 18 and 24 months behind bars for fondling the girl and trying to force her to perform oral sex.

In a victim-impact statement written by her mother, the girl said she has nightmares that Bateman will be “mad” and come over to her house. Her mother said that her once happy-go-lucky five-year-old, whose world revolved around “ponies and rainbows,” has been left with shattered self-esteem.

“She told me that she wants to throw herself in the garbage because she is a bad girl,” the mother wrote.

In her own victim-impact statement, the mother spoke of her disbelief that a “respected retired OPP officer” could do the “unthinkable” and rob her child of her innocence.

“This man has stolen something so precious from her that can never be replaced,” said the mother. “The consequences of his actions will be felt forever.”

But Bateman’s lawyer, Gary Barnes, argued that Bateman learned his lesson after spending 86 days in jail and any more time would be “excessive.”

“It was an exceedingly unpleasant environment for him. He had to stay out of everyone’s way and hope they didn’t learn about his past,” said Barnes. “It’s my submission he’s already done enough time in jail and the focus here should be on his continuing treatment.”

Barnes said a psychiatrist found Bateman, who now lives in a men’s shelter, was a low risk to reoffend. But in the same report, Bateman also admitted to feeling an “unnatural sexual attraction” to girls between three and five years old since he was 14, Elhadad said.

Bateman is to be sentenced Aug. 23.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Pedophile+deserves+jail+Crown+says/3163248/story.html#ixzz0r4ADIy1Q

Wait- How'd he get a job with the OPP?? A diagnosed PEDOPHILE worked for the OPP?! Hmmmm... -W

Cops/Hunters not just an Ottawa problem- Quebec has 'em too!!

2010-06-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Gatineau police wound bear, call off search

By Dave Rogers, The Ottawa Citizen June 16, 2010 4:11 PM

OTTAWA — Gatineau police have abandoned their search for a problem bear an officer shot this morning near a residential neighbourhood west of the downtown Hull sector.

Const. Isabelle Poirier said the bear often visited garbage bins at a pizza takeout, a butcher shop and an Esso gas bar. Poirier said a resident sighted the bear near Saint Raymond and des Grives boulevards in the Manoir des Trembles community Wednesday morning and called police at about 10 a.m

After encountering the bear, police asked the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife to trap the animal in woods nearby but no one was available to do the job. Poirier said an officer shot and wounded the bear with a handgun.

Officers fired three shots before the bear disappeared into the woods. Police were searching for the injured bear at about 12:30 p.m. but called off the search later.

Poirier said residents have complained for weeks that the bear has been eating their garbage.

"The officer shot the bear because he was always on the road in the neighbourhood and in the garbage," Poirier said. "We had a lot of complaints from people on des Noisetiers, des Prés, des Alouettes and Boulevard St-Raymond.

"The police could not have trapped the bear because that is the job of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife. No wildlife agent was available so the ministry authorized the police to shoot the bear. The woods are big and the bear could be anywhere so we stopped the search."

Ottawa ecologist Dan Brunton said the bear probably wandered into the area from Gatineau Park. "It would be better to let the bear wander back to the park but public safety is paramount," Brunton said. "The consequences are worse if somebody gets hurt than if the bear gets hurt.

"Tranqulizing large animals is a tricky business. But if the bear is still alive it could be dangerous. The potential for damage to people and property increases when an animal is wounded or in distress."
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Gatineau+police+wound+bear+call+search/3161736/story.html#ixzz0r49dPl5Y

I wish they hunted pedophiles down with such tenacity!-w

Ottawa Cops shoot and kill 3rd MOOSE!! I'm glad I pay taxes??!!

2010-06-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Third loose moose shot and killed by police in Ottawa area

By Nicki Thomas, The Ottawa Citizen June 16, 2010 4:43 PM Comments (30)

OTTAWA — Another moose wandering through a residential area has been shot and killed, this time by police in Rockland.

Ontario Provincial Police said the moose was spotted around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday near St. Jacques Street.

Efforts were made to locate a tranquilizer gun but none was available, said OPP Sgt. Mike Fortier.

He said the moose, which appeared to be a young male, wandered the area for about an hour, causing damage to hedges and fences.

By 6:30 a.m., it came close to the schoolyard at Carrefour Jeunesse Elementary School, where children were being dropped off for daycare, and the decision was made to put it down, Fortier said.

Nate Miville, whose house backs on to the parking lot of the elementary school, was brushing his teeth when he heard the first gunshot. Another rang out as he reached his back door and saw officers standing over the moose’s body.

Miville said he regularly uses the school’s parking lot as a makeshift off-leash area, closing its two gates to create a secure area where his dog can run around.

He said the officers might have tried doing the same, containing the moose safely until it was tranquilized and relocated. But he said he understands why they took a different course of action.

“It was 6:30 in the morning, school was about to start and the officers had to make a decision,” he said.

It's the third time since June 1 that police have shot and killed a moose that wandered into an urban area and the second involving a school.

On June 1, a young bull moose was shot by police after wandering into a park behind an Orléans elementary school. A second moose that had been shot with tranquilizer darts managed to escape.

Less than two weeks later police were called when a moose was spotted near St. Laurent Boulevard and Highway 417 last Saturday morning. Police shot the moose after it had been corralled in a vacant lot on Triole Street and became agitated. They were not able to find anyone with a tranquilizer gun to assist.

A meeting is to be held this week to deal with the issue.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Third+loose+moose+shot+killed+police+Ottawa+area/3161403/story.html#ixzz0r49FYvel

Hey Jacky... Still Cocky?

2010-06-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Decision in Ottawa police officer's disciplinary hearing expected this summer

By Nicki Thomas , The Ottawa Citizen June 10, 2010

OTTAWA — A disciplinary hearing for an Ottawa police officer accused of wrongly arresting and strip searching an alleged drug dealer came to a close Thursday.

Jacky Lord pleaded not guilty to the charges of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and insubordination under the Police Service Act.

The complainant, Magabi Suleiman, claimed Lord ordered him to drop his pants and underwear and touch the ground following his arrest outside a Lowertown 7-Eleven on July 31, 2008. He was arrested for being in a "red zone," an area he was banned from as a condition of an earlier release from jail. The 7-Eleven was later found not to be within that "red zone."

Lord's lawyer, Mark Wallace, said his client believed Suleiman was violating his release conditions and had the right to be wrong. He said he told the hearing that Suleiman's evidence was unreliable and that the strip search did not happen as the complainant testified.

A decision in the case is expected later this summer.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Decision+Ottawa+police+officer+disciplinary+hearing+expected+this+summer/3137456/story.html?cid=megadrop_story#ixzz0r48hup3N

Ottawa Cop says: "Call My Boss"

2010-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ottawa police officer arrested for intoxication
Last Updated: Monday, May 31, 2010 | 6:17 PM ET Comments45Recommend26
CBC News

Ottawa police have confirmed that a female sergeant from their force was arrested Sunday night after refusing to leave a restaurant while she was intoxicated.

The off-duty officer was at the St. Louis Wings and Ribs restaurant on Elgin Street near Gladstone Avenue. The staff declined to serve her and called the police after she refused to leave, said Supt. Mike Flanagan.

Witnesses say four police cars arrived at the scene.

Chris Cochrane happened to be on the street as police were taking the officer away.

"They were trying to get this woman in the car and she just kept saying 'call my boss' and she just didn't seem to be listening to anybody. All they wanted her to do was get up off the sidewalk and get in the car."

The woman was arrested for being intoxicated in a public place. That's not a criminal offence, but she could still be charged under the Police Services Act, likely for discreditable conduct.

The sergeant spent the night in jail and was released Monday morning. She is expected to be back to work later this week.

Police didn't confirm the sergeant's name because she has not been formally charged.

The incident is the latest in a string of bad news involving police.

An Ottawa police officer was charged last week with impaired driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident that happened in March. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 16th.

Earlier in May, another senior Ottawa police officer was disciplined after a gun was stolen from his locker at Ottawa police headquarters.

An investigation determined that the officer failed to store his gun properly, which is considered misconduct under the Police Services Act.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/05/31/ott-police-arrest.html#ixzz0r4852NHV

Ottawa Cop guilty...

2010-06-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Ottawa police officer found guilty of discreditable conduct

Constable involved in 2008 Riverside Drive crash that totalled a BMW

By Nicki Thomas, Ottawa Citizen June 15, 2010

OTTAWA — An Ottawa police officer was found guilty Tuesday of one count of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act after a 2008 crash in which he totalled a BMW.

In earlier testimony at the police disciplinary hearing, it was alleged Const. Umer Khan was driving recklessly along a rain-soaked stretch of Riverside Drive south of Walkley Road May 31, 2008, when the car struck a lamppost and eventually skidded to a halt almost 90 metres away.

Khan later pleaded guilty under the Highway Traffic Act to speeding and driving with bald tires. He was fined $325.

Khan had no comment following the decision Tuesday morning.

Retired deputy chief of the York Regional Police Terence Kelly, who presided over the hearing, said in his decision that the car's speed, the weather and the bald tires on Khan's BMW were a "recipe for disaster" and it was lucky that no one was injured in the crash.

Sentencing was put over until Sept. 14.

Khan gained attention in May 2005, when Emmanuel Innocent put a revolver to Khan's head and pulled the trigger during an altercation near a ByWard Market strip club. Five of the gun's six chambers were loaded. Innocent was declared a dangerous offender in August 2009 and imprisoned indefinitely. In 2007, Khan forfeited three days' pay after pleading guilty to three disciplinary charges for failing to file an arrest report, using profane language in a heated confrontation with a restaurant customer, and suggesting staff at a drop-in centre go after a problem youth with hockey sticks. Khan faced two other charges under the Police Services Act, but was declared not guilty in April 2009. Two years ago, he revealed he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from the 2005 incident.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/Ottawa+police+officer+found+guilty+discreditable+conduct/3156302/story.html#ixzz0r47arswp

It's been too long...

2010-06-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to begin...
Cops have been charged with murder, assault, domestic abuse, hit and runs, uttering threats... They're running wild!
I'll grab some of the stories and get posting...
Stay tuned

Ottawa Police Const. Bargh- MISCONDUCT AGAIN!!!

2009-04-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Cop again eyed for misconduct

By JON WILLING, SUN MEDIA

A familiar face appeared at a police hearing yesterday to answer more allegations of misconduct.

Ottawa police Const. Daniel Bargh has not yet entered a plea to a charge of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. He is accused of associating with someone known to mix with members of organized crime groups.

The charge has not been proven in a tribunal.

The prosecution filed a notice of increased penalty if Bargh is found guilty.

Hearing officer Gregory Connolley adjourned the matter for a teleconference May 8 to set new dates.

Bargh has a history of appearing as an accused at various police tribunals.

Earlier this year, he was fined five days' pay for receiving a 12-hour driving suspension at a RIDE program.

Last year, Bargh was fined for an off-duty incident at an Elgin St. bar, and in 2007 he was fined after being found guilty of roughing up a drunk homeless man.

He also faces several disciplinary charges in a separate matter connected to his alleged use of police databases. That hearing is scheduled for May 12.

Last week, when Bargh pleaded guilty to mishandling a traffic investigation, a different adjudicator told him to "get things under control because you're not heading in the right direction."

JON.WILLING@SUNMEDIA.CA

(So... How many more chance does he get? And this is only the stuff he's be caught for- what about everything else he has committed that has more than likely just ontinued to go unreported. Is he really there to serve and protect? I wouldn't want my kids coming acorss a guy like this- not in their personal lives or in any other capacity. And dirty cops are like roaches; where you find 1 there are 100's! They need to be shaking down this guys buddies on the force, his partner(s)... they never act alone! This disgusts me and makes me feel ashamed!)-W

Police Officer Demoted for Excessive Force

2009-04-11T06:05:00.000-07:00

Police Officer Demoted for Excessive Force
Daniel Proussalidis
Thursday, April 9, 2009

An Ottawa police officer will be demoted to First-Class Constable for 90 days after pleading guilty to using excessive force on an aggressive suspect last summer.

Sergeant Steven Desjourdy kicked then Tasered a woman in her jail cell as officers struggled to get control of her.

She spat on officers and struggled to get away from them.

Police arrested the woman on a charge of public intoxication as she was begging for cash outside the LCBO on Rideau Street on September 2nd.

DIESEL SPILLS INTO RIDEAU RIVER

2009-04-07T03:19:00.000-07:00

Diesel Spill at Hurdman Yard Facility
Josh Pringle Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The City of Ottawa insists a spill of diesel at the Hurdman Yard facility has been cleaned-up.

Councillors have been advised that approximately 50 gallons of fuel spilled last Friday, with an unknown quantity entering a catch basin on property that drains to the Rideau River.

A boom was set up around the outlet to contain the spill at the river.

The Ministry of Environment, Ottawa Public Health and downstream drinking water system operators have been notified of the event.
(Just in case RAW SEWAGE isn't bad enough... CITY COUNCILLORS MUST BE FIRED! You cannot expect a city to function properly when idiots are in charge! Seriously, this is the most moronic City Council I have ever seen. They're debating building a SOCCER STADIUM... Ummm.. HELLO! WAKE THE FUCK UP! Where are your priorities?)-W

Another 23.6M Litres of RAW SEWAGE into the river!

2009-04-07T03:16:00.000-07:00

23 Million Litres of Sewage Flows into River
Josh Pringle Tuesday, April 7, 2009

April showers and spring snowmelt has sent more raw sewage overflowing into the Ottawa River.

City Councillors have been told an estimated 23.6 million litres of raw sewage spilled into the Ottawa River between Friday and Monday.

General Manager of Environmental Services Dixon Weir says combined sewer overflow events can occur as a result of rainfall or snowmelt events.

The Ministry of Environment, Ottawa Public Health and downstream water system operators have been notified of the spills. (...and, um what EXACTLY does that do to remedy the situation? Are they just going to keep pretending it's not affecting our eco-system? WOW! MORONS RUN THE CITY OF OTTAWA!)-W

FREEDOM OF SPEECH??!! NOT IN CANADA!

2009-03-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

Controversy helped spread message, Galloway says
By Joseph Brean and Shannon Kari, National PostMarch 30, 2009

TORONTO — Controversial British MP George Galloway took shots at Immigration Minister Jason Kenney on Monday night as he gave a speech he was not permitted to deliver in person.

"It is poetic justice that the message I would have brought . . . will now be heard and seen by so many more people than Jason Kenney could have imagined," said Galloway.

He was speaking to a Toronto audience by video link after a Federal Court judge declined to issue an injunction that would have allowed him to enter Canada Monday.

Justice Luc Martineau said Galloway has not suffered "irreparable harm" as a result of a finding by Immigration officials that prevented Galloway from entering the country to speak at a series of antiwar and pro-Palestinian rallies this week.

It is just not credible, he said, to suggest he is a threat. The real terrorists, he said, are the "right-wing occupation government in Israel. ... that you (Kenney) seem determined to be an ambassador for."

In his decision, Martineau cited a lack of information.

"A proper factual record and the benefit of full legal argument are lacking at the present time," said the judge in his ruling. "I am not ready to exempt Mr. Galloway from the provisions in the (Immigration and Refugee Protection) Act and Regulations respecting entry and examination," he wrote.

The judge issued his ruling Monday afternoon after a rare Federal Court hearing on the weekend.

Barbara Jackman, who represented Galloway and his supporters, said she was disappointed with the decision.

"The court was asked to do something courageous, to defend free speech," said Jackman, who added that she is not aware of any other British MP ever being denied entry to Canada.

Jackman smiled when asked if the decision to rule Galloway inadmissible has resulted in his receiving more publicity for his causes than if had he been admitted into the country.
"It was Mr. Kenney who brought this up in the first place," she said in reference to federal Immigration minister.

The supporters of Galloway had gone to Federal Court as a result of a letter dated March 20 that he received from a senior Canadian government official.

The letter stated Galloway was inadmissible because of his "material support" for Hamas, which has been listed as a terrorist organization.

While Galloway was informed he could seek a temporary residence permit, "it is unlikely that the application would be successful," said the letter from the Canadian High Commission in London.

After the contents of the letter were made public, Kenney denied that the Conservative government played any role in the decision. The minister indicated he would not take steps to overturn the findings and allow Galloway into the country.

Galloway participated in a convoy of food aid to Gaza earlier this year.

"Support for the Palestinians does not mean you are calling for the destruction of Israel," Jackman said outside court Monday.

Martineau noted it was not for him to decide on the credibility of what he called "hearsay" evidence against Galloway. Instead, the judge explained he was ruling on whether there were grounds for an injunction.

Galloway would have to try to enter the country and be detained, before the court could properly rule on whether immigration officials acted correctly, said Martineau.

National Post
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
(The Canadian Government is not only going to control what is being said in Canada- they are going to try control and limit our access to IDEAS. Without access to other people's ideas, we won't learn to analyze and critique; we will have a lower ability to reason and make informed decisions. We have the right to information and ideas; just because the idea isn't popular among them and their friends, doesn't mean they can decide for the rest of us. Last time I checked, I didn't sign myself over to the Government. I have never expressed any concern about my ability to care for myself or educate myself... Why has the Government decided to very blantantly appear to be "over-protectively parenting" us? Do they really think nobody will see beyond their rhetoric? The beauty of freedom is that we all have the choice of what we listen to, where we go, what we read, etc. So if some Canadians don't agree with his message, the answer should be clear: You don't have to listen/read/ see anything about him, unless you freely choose to do so. You can close newspapers, turn off the radio... whatever you want to do. The same should also be true if you want to hear him. Freedom implies that we have a choice. As human beings- we would like ALL of the information BEFORE we choose and we sure as hell don't want others choosing for us without our permission!)-W

GEORGE ORWELL, for those who don't know

2009-03-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Orwell vs. 2009??

Orwell was BRILLIANT and wrote the novel "1984" in the year 1949. He was speculating at what the world would likely be like in the year 1984 at the current rate of intrusion and oppression. Orwell's book holds several key concepts (written in 1949!) that have appeared in today's society:

Doublethink: is the act of simultaneously accepting as correct two mutually contradictory beliefs. It is related to, but distinct from, hypocrisy and neutrality

According to the novel, doublethink is:
“The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth."

Big Brother: is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence - where the ruling elite ('the Party') wield total power for its own sake over the inhabitants.
In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state. The physical description of Big Brother is reminiscent of Joseph Stalin or Lord Kitchener. His moustache is also similar to that of Adolf Hitler.

Newspeak: is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it is described as being "the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year". Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an appendix[1] in which the basic principles of the language are explained.

Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suits the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim is to make any alternative thinking — "thoughtcrime", or "crimethink" in the newest edition of Newspeak — impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on. One character says admiringly of the shrinking volume of the new dictionary: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."

The Newspeak term for the

English language is Oldspeak. Oldspeak is intended to have been completely eclipsed by Newspeak before 2050.

The genesis of Newspeak can be found in the

constructed language Basic English, which Orwell promoted from 1942 to 1944 before emphatically rejecting it in his essay "Politics and the English Language".[2] In this paper he laments the quality of the English of his day, citing examples of dying metaphors, pretentious diction or rhetoric, and meaningless words – all of which contribute to fuzzy ideas and a lack of logical thinking. Towards the end of this essay, having argued his case, Orwell muses:
“I said earlier that the decadence of our language is probably curable. Those who deny this would argue, if they produced an argument at all, that language merely reflects existing social conditions, and that we cannot influence its development by any direct tinkering with words or constructions.”

Thus forcing the use of Newspeak, according to Orwell, describes a deliberate intent to exploit this degeneration with the aim of oppressing its speakers.

all available from Wiki.com by searching for 1984 Orwell.

City reports another sewage spill; Heavy rain dumps 6.2M litres into Ottawa River

2009-03-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

City reports another sewage spill
Heavy rain dumps 6.2M litres into Ottawa River
(In case you aren't sure.. Yes, the "M" stands for MILLION!!!)

By DEREK PUDDICOMBE, Sun Media

The mix of snow melting and the weekend rain has forced 6.2 million litres of sewage to spill into the Ottawa River.

City councillors received a memo yesterday on the latest sewage spill which totals about 50 million litres over the last month.

From last Friday into Saturday 2.8 million litres of sewage flowed into the river, while an estimated 3.4 million litres of sewage spilled into the river from Saturday into Sunday.

The city says it has informed the Ministry of the Environment’s Spills Action Centre, the Public Health department and municipal water system operators.

Last week city crews noticed a leak outside a raw sewage pumping station in Richmond Village. The city said two bolts that secured a coupling between two sewage pipes rusted, so the pipe failed and raw sewage spilled into the ground.

With the help of some financial aid from both the provincial and federal governments, the city is installing real-time controls at five downtown sewer discharge locations that will help staff better monitor and report overflows. The real-time control systems are expected to be in operation by the fall.

Ottawa’s combined sewer system allows the sanitary sewer operation to provide capacity for storm water runoff when volumes are high, particularly during a rainstorm.

Normally, raw sewage from homes and businesses flows through a dedicated pipe to a treatment plant. But in a heavy rainfall excess storm is mixed in with the sewage, and when levels are too high for the system to handle, rather than letting it back up onto city streets and into homes, the mixture enters a bypass that overflows into a nearby waterway.
(Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Canada's capital. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I live in Ottawa. Last year we had thousands of dead catfish reported along our river shores. City Officials said it was localized and that it wasn't causing that big of a problem. Let me tell you, I went for a walk along the river in the Parkdale area and there were not only 40-50 dead catfish on the shore (well beyond the geographic area designated by City Officials as "localized") in various stages of decomposition, there were 20-30 dead sea birds littering the shores as well. I can't believe this is STILL happening! We get a lot of snow EVERY YEAR. EVERY YEAR it melts away. This isn't NEWS! WAKE THE FUCK UP! I can't believe this. And we wonder why the world is going to shit? Mayor Larry O'Brien is going to court for election scandals/ corruption; we spew RAW SEWAGE by the shit-load, into our waterways; the Police run around 'above-the-law'- ILLEGALLY beating, detaining, robbing, searching, assaulting, sexually harassing, (personally heard a female officer comment on a 15yrd old boy's genetalia; We filed a formal complaint with the Ottawa Police and we were invited to a meeting and then absolutely ditched at the Elgin police station by the Sgt. in Professional Standards- despite numerous phone calls and station-wide intercom pages) humiliating, intimidating, bullying and violating CHARTER RIGHTS of citizens of this City. This is the most ridiculous place to live... unless you work for the Government and have the same mindset and life style. It's so frustrating to live in this place! It's like screaming at the top of your lungs and then you look around and nobody seems to have ears! It all seems so pointless! MORONS have taken over the world! Welcome to 1984 (Orwell) ) -W

2009-03-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

Feds want to end two-for-one credit for criminals
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

SURREY, B.C. — Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson was preaching to the converted when he made a tough-on-crime announcement in Metro Vancouver, which has been in the throes of a violent gang war for three months.

Legislation introduced by the Conservative government Friday would see criminals doing more time behind bars, wiping out the current two-for-one sentencing credit given to those who spend time in jail before conviction.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson made the announcement outside the Surrey, B.C., pretrial centre, alongside politicians and Lower Mainland police chiefs who have been trying to calm public fears after more than 40 shootings and 17 fatalities since late January.

“You know the challenges in fighting crime,” Nicholson told the group. “There have been numerous shootings here and in other parts of Canada.
“I want Canada to have confidence in the justice system.”

If the legislation passes, the general sentencing rule would count on a one-for-one basis.

Double time has been given to compensate criminals while they await trial in overcrowded provincial jails which lack rehabilitation programs.

The law would allow for a one-and-a-half-to-one ratio in circumstances where a judge could justify the higher ratio.

Nicholson said the two-for-one credit sends the wrong message to criminals.
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said the new law would give more credibility to the justice system.

“This is very good law, because it addresses the subject of accountability,” he said.

Oppal, who’s a former B.C. Supreme and Appeal Court justice, told reporters he knew of instances where some inmates didn’t bother to apply for bail because the longer they stay in pre-trial, the shorter their sentences would be.

Vancouver Police Chief Const. Jim Chu welcomed the new legislation.

“The Canadian Association of Police Chiefs has long been asking for this. This legislation is important to keep the community safe and it will provide greater deterrence,” Chu said.

Earlier this month Chu admitted the Metro Vancouver area was in the middle of a “brutal” gang war.

Nicholson called on all parties in Parliament to provide unanimous consent for quick passage of the bill.

The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois have already said they have general support for the aims of the bill, but don’t plan to rubber stamp it.
(The Canadian Criminal justice system is very very slow. The 2 for 1 dead-time rule should be seen as an incentive for the Criminal Justice System to process cases in a timely manner. If a person is going to be incarcerated without a finding of guilt, for any amount of time, they should get 2 for 1. If the Government has a problem with that, hire more Judges, Lawyers etc. Until you have been involved in the System, in any way, you will not fully understand the value of 2 for 1. The abuse is by the System; not the offenders. Before you jump up and back the Tories on this one, please think about the people who have been in jail for over a year... waiting for their trial, but it never comes. The Crown doesn't have enough evidence to get a finding of guilt, so they just keep putting it over... the 'innocent, until proven guilty' person is still sitting in a cell. Taking away 2 for 1 takes away a persons right to a fair and timely trial. Look at what the Tories have been doing to the 'justice system', follow their pattern, KICK THEM OUT OF OFFICE! )-W

Ottawa Police Use Guns to Kill Animals

2009-03-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Cops Use Guns to Kill Animals
By Jon Willing
Ottawa Sun

Ottawa police officers fired their guns 62 times in 2008, 11 more times than the previous year.

Only once last year did an officer fire at a person. It happened at an apartment on Pinecrest Rd. and two people survived being hit by the same bullet.
The Ontario Special Investigations Unit cleared the officer of criminal responsibility.

All other firearm discharges in 2008 were to kill dangerous or injured animals, according to a police use of force report for 2008.

Officers reported 482 incidents in which they used force in 2008, a decrease of about 7% from the previous year.

The number of times police used a Taser, in 2008 more than doubled to 27. Before frontline supervisors received Tasers in November 2007, only the tactical unit carried the weapons. Police used a Taser 12 times in 2007.

There are now 130 frontline supervisors, 34 tactical officers and three professional development instructors trained to use Tasers.

(Maybe we should just put more funding into the Humane Society... I wonder how accurate these statistics are?)-W

START RECORDING!

2009-03-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Get out your cell phones, video cameras and recording devices- You will soon have a place to post them for all to see and as evidence in your fight against their lawless pursuit of their own greed and self-worth!

Technology is our best weapon!

Sewage spills a national shame: Cullen

2009-03-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sewage spills a national shame: Cullen
Another 25,500 litres of sewage spilled into the Ottawa River

By DEREK PUDDICOMBE, Sun Media

The city today reported two more sewage spills into the Ottawa River.
The water and wastewater department notified city councillors that over a two-day period this week, about 25,500 litres of sewage spilled into the river as a result of the melting snow.

The city reported that 12,900 litres spilled into the river on Tuesday and another 12,600 litres overflowed on Wednesday.

The city’s combined sewer operation allows the sanitary sewer system to provide capacity for storm-water runoff when volumes are high, particularly during a rainstorm.

When the system isn’t accepting storm water, raw sewage from homes and businesses flows through the same system to a treatment plant. But when a combined system is subjected to heavy rainfall or melting snow, both raw sewage and storm water flow through the same pipe. When levels are too high for the system to handle, rather than letting it back up onto city streets and into homes, the mixture enters a bypass that overflows into a nearby waterway.

Bay Coun. Alex Cullen said he hopes the city is taking the issue seriously and calls the continuing spills into the historic Ottawa River a “national shame.”
(We have had chemical and biological sewage spills, we have had chemicals released into the water/air which could hurt those living around these Plants...We get no information until days later and they always excuse their actions. And believe it or not- These spills never seem to be toxic... Or so say City Officials. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHO IS MAKING THE $$ HERE! Ottawa City Council cannot let this continue! Our Mayor is going to Trial for corruption, our City Councillors are LITERALLY becoming obese right in front of our eyes and they really can't tell up from down!)-W

Cop questioned about faulty memory

2009-03-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

Cop questioned about faulty memory
Testimony contained same mistakes as colleague
By TERRI SAUNDERS, Sun Media

A man accused of first-degree murder questioned a police officer this morning as to why mistakes in his recollection of events at the scene were identical to those of another officer.

Wahab Dadshani asked Ottawa police Sgt. Hugh O’Toole about references in the officer’s report to an incident at the Midway Family Fun Park on Sept. 4, 2003.

In those notes, O’Toole refers to two specific elements of the crime scene — that he observed a group of men getting into a black Corvette and that Dadshani was “physically slow” to comply with orders to get down on the ground in the parking lot of the amusement centre.

Both those observations, which have been shown through the use of surveillance video to be incorrect, are also included in the notes of another officer, Const. Rebecca Vanderwater, who testified in court earlier this week.

“Is it a coincidence you both saw things which corroborate each other that never happened?” Dadshani asked O’Toole.

The officer said he was not aware of Vanderwater’s evidence. O’Toole said that after viewing the video surveillance he realized he was wrong about seeing a group of men getting into a black Corvette at the scene, although he suggested his notation regarding Dadshani’s slowness in complying with orders to get down on the ground was more related to the fact the accused continued to talk louldly once he was on the ground.

Dadshani and five other men - Tawab Dadshani, Tarik Echrif, Fahim Payman, Shaun Hulbert, and Mohamed Abed - are on trial for the first-degree murder of Charbel Chaar. Prosecutors have alleged the six men chased Chaar inside the fun park where they murdered him using a sword and a knife.

(Hmmm...)-W

Troubled students forced to fight in cage at Dallas school: report

2009-03-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

Troubled students forced to fight in cage at Dallas school: report
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
19 March 2009 02:29

DALLAS - Workers at a Dallas high school staged cage fights among troubled students, making them settle their differences with bare-knuckled brawls in a steel utility cage inside a boys' locker room, school district documents show.

The principal and other employees at South Oak Cliff High "knew of the practice, allowed it to go on for a time, and failed to report it," according to a 2008 report from the Dallas school district's Office of Professional Responsibility.

The documents were obtained by The Dallas Morning News for a story in its Thursday editions.The report describes two instances of cage fighting between 2003 and 2005.Dallas schools Superintendent Michael Hinojosa confirmed that there were "some things that happened inside of a cage" and called the fights "unacceptable."

No criminal charged have been filed in the case.

Former principal Donald Moten denied the allegations, saying he had nothing to comment on because the fights never happened.

"That's barbaric. You can't do that at a high school. You can't do that anywhere," said Moten, who resigned in 2008. "Ain't nothing to comment on. It never did happen. I never put a stop to anything because it never happened."

But a middle school counsellor who was fired from the high school and has filed a whistleblower lawsuit said Moten and members of the school's security staff encouraged the fights."It was gladiator-style entertainment for the staff," said former South Oak Cliff employee Frank Hammond. "They were taking these boys downstairs to fight. And it was sanctioned by the principal and security."

A district spokesman declined additional comment Thursday."This is a personnel matter and we're not authorized to talk about personnel," spokesman Jon Dahlander told The Associated Press.

The report said Hammond didn't see any of the fights. Hall monitor Gary King told investigators he witnessed the head of campus security and an assistant basketball coach place two students in the cage to fight.

District investigators described the cage as an equipment area in the boys' locker room separated by metal lockers and wire mesh.In one incident, a security monitor tried to fight a student in the cage, but Moten broke up that fight. In another incident, Moten told security personnel to put two fighting students "in the cage and let 'em duke it out," according to the report.

The district's report is dated March 17, 2008, and emerged from an investigation into grade-changing allegations that eventually cost South Oak Cliff its 2006 state basketball championship.

Last month, the University Interscholastic League stripped the school of its 2005 title as well because the team used academically ineligible players.

In 2006, Moten accused Hammond of changing a student's grade, and the district placed Hammond on administrative leave. Although an appeals judge reinstated him, he was later fired.
(WHAT?! This is what is POSSIBLE! Believe your kids!)-W

Armed Robberies- One with the Ottawa Police in the PARKING LOT!!

2009-03-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

March 6, 2009
Gun-toting bandit follows through on threat
Robs Carling Ave. store for second time ... as cop car sat parked outside
By BETH JOHNSTON, Sun Media

As a city police cruiser sat parked outside, a brazen gunman walked into a Carling Ave. store early this morning and robbed the clerk at gunpoint. It is the fifth time in four weeks the store has been robbed.

The clerk at Food Frenz, on Carling Avenue, said the robber walked in the front door as an Ottawa Police Service cruiser sat parked in the parking lot. Once inside, the man pulled out a large silver handgun on the clerk, telling him he'd shoot him if he alerted the police.

"He said 'I told you I'd be back,'" owner Alice Jadon said.

The last time the store was robbed, last week, the thief threatened he'd be back again.

He took cash, lottery and bus tickets and cigarettes and fled. Two police officers chased with a dog, but he escaped. ( He escaped dogs and cops? How long was his head start? How long did it take the Ottawa Police to put it together? I bet the shop owners had to go outside and tell the officer they were robbed. See, here's the part nobody thinks about when it comes to law enforcement: They don't prevent crime; they just do their 'very best' to solve a crime after the damage has been done. They don't prevent murders, they simply investigate them after the murder has been attempted. Even with a cop in the parking lot the store was robbed- ARE YOU KIDDING? I wonder if that speaks to the level of competency found with in the Ottawa Police Service? I guess Ottawa is a pretty good place to be if you're looking to do anything illegal. The cops just can't figure shit out. If their militaristic, brutal tactics were effective- would this be happening? I wonder if Police Chief Vince Bevan is proud of his squad of incompetent goons? Knowing that this is the type of protection being offered by the Ottawa Police, vigilantism will spread like wildfire! Protect yourself, because the Ottawa Police Service just can't handle the job! I'm sure that's what this article was about ;) Please start asking them questions, holding each and every officer accountable. )- W

Jadon, 63 and her husband Sam Jadon, 66, are fed up. The couple, originally from Palestine, have run convenience stores and food markets in Ottawa and Newmarket for two decades but this location is turning into a problem.

"I feel I've lost my freedom in this country," Alice Jadon said.
"This is not right, this is not fair - not in Ottawa, man," Sam Jadon said.

Technicians were installing colour video cameras today, and they're looking into hiring a private security guard.

Police were unavailable for comment this morning. (Hmmm... Wonder why the Ottawa Police weren't available?! They are not a model force, by any means! WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY?! They can't even produce an answer for the public; WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT THEM? WHAT WERE YOU DOING? Is there an issue with officer training? If they were going to tell anything even remotely close to the truth, it would not take this long to release a statement... Would it?)-W

The suspect is described in an Ottawa Police Service press release as a black male, 5-ft.-9 to 5-ft.-10, wearing a green winter jacket and blue jeans.

The robbery was one of two armed thefts within an hour of each other this morning in Ottawa.

In the first incident a lone man armed with a gun robbed an Esso gas station on the 3500 block of Strandherd Road around 3:30 a.m. Brandishing a gun, he demanded the clerk hand over the money.

There were no injuries and the robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect is described as a white male, in his mid 20s, 5-ft.-6 to 5-ft.8, stocky build, with short hair and wearing a puffy green jacket.
(Do you the think owner would feel reassured if the Ottawa Police offered to post an officer outside their store for protection?)-W

A lot of Ontario gangsters are moving to Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver—a sort of ‘Go West, Young Man’ movement of gangsters.

2009-03-06T07:46:00.000-08:00

“A lot of Ontario gangsters are moving to Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver—a sort of ‘Go West, Young Man’ movement of gangsters.”
Mar 5, 2009 by Nancy Macdonald
Macleans.ca
Canada’s only national weekly current affairs magazine.

Q: The body count in B.C. is nearing the double digits. Have we reached a tipping point?
A: There’s still a perception that, as long as gangsters are shooting other gangsters, nobody’s going to give a damn. The majority of what you’ve seen has affected those that have chosen the lifestyle of gangster or drug dealer. For many people there’s this sense that a Darwinian game is being played out on the streets, and that’s fine.

Q: Yet some innocent bystanders have been caught in the fray?
A: Winnipeg had Philippe Haiart. Hobbema had Asia Saddleback. Vancouver had Ed Schellenberg [and Chris Mohan]. In Toronto, Jane Creba was our rallying point. It certainly has crossed over into the general population, so people are very concerned. As a result you get this high degree of activity to mollify an ill-informed population. Vancouver is going through what Toronto did in 2006 and 2007.

Q: What was that?
A: It crossed over. All of a sudden, all hell broke loose: We saw massive investments in front-line officers, investments in getting officers to work in collaboration with the Crown, gang sweeps, which began to choke the criminal justice system—dozens of gangsters arrested, hundreds and hundreds of charges—money thrown at gang prevention programs. That’s what we’re going to start to see in Vancouver, as the community confronts the size and scope of the problem.

Q: In the last round of violence in Vancouver, two women were shot. Has a line has been crossed?
A: There is a code on the street: it shouldn’t affect women, it shouldn’t affect kids, and it shouldn’t affect people who haven’t chosen the lifestyle. Today’s gangsters are doing things a previous generation would not consider okay. The general level of violence has increased, the level of firearm power on the street has increased, and the stakes are higher, in terms of money from the drug trade. Those lines are being crossed. Not only are more kids going to join, but we’re going to see more violence than we have really considered possible in Canada—that we tend to think of as “American.”

Q: What’s happened in Vancouver over the past two months? Was it a case of reprisal and counter-reprisal that’s dominoed?
A: When there is an increasing competition for a very lucrative drug trade, there are bad dealers or bad deals. If a gang recognizes that a rival gangster’s been very successful, he’s perceived as being a walking ATM—so we have drug rip-offs. For the successful, gang-affiliated drug dealer in Vancouver, his primary threat is not the police: it’s another gang that wants his share of the drug trade and the cash in his pocket. When one gang goes after the other, there’s a reciprocation, back and forth, back and forth, before it gets so hot that even these guys say, “We’ve got to cool our jets.” You get these peaks and valleys. What you’re seeing right now is not the start of a trend: This is just a spike in activity.

Q: Why does Vancouver’s gang problem appear to have exploded in the past two years?
A: Although it’s been very, very lucrative for organized crime, they’ve tended to keep quiet about their business—and made a lot of money as a result. Now, we have more and more street-level gangsters: Those are the ones producing the violence you’re seeing. On top of all that, we’re facing the massive growth and demand for illicit drugs—from which B.C. is the No. 1 starting point.

Q: The perfect storm conditions?
A: You also have trans-border trade in Canadian-made drugs for American guns, and cocaine and heroin from [places] further south, like Mexico and Peru, and the inter-provincial movement of gangsters trying to escape police heat in Montreal and Toronto. Put all that into the mix, what’s going to result? Violence. It’s not just Vancouver. Gang violence in Alberta has gone through the roof in lockstep with the vibrancy of their resource trade. There’s a lot of young guys making a lot of money: They like their girls, they like their booze, and they like their drugs. Because of the perceived richness of the drug trade, a lot of Ontario gangsters are moving to Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver—a sort of “Go West, Young Man” movement of gangsters.

Q: What’s the difference between street gangs and organized crime?
A: Young gangsters become street gangsters; if they’re good at their business and they don’t get thrown into jail, they become tomorrow’s organized crime members. It’s like a hockey team: you start in Pee Wee, then Midget, Bantam, Junior A, American Hockey League then you make it to the big leagues: the NHL. That’s organized crime.

Q: Did Harper serve notice to B.C.’s gangsters?
A: Gangsters didn’t wake up with a pit in their stomach and say, “Boy, the federal government’s getting tough on crime: I should change my ways.” Those sanctions don’t really enter into the mind of a young gangster who has an exaggerated sense of self, an exaggerated risk-taking profile, and who has gotten a taste of the gang business—a lot of money, drugs, and access to women. You think gangsters are going to be really concerned that if they kill somebody in the commission of a gang crime, that, instead of being a second-degree charge, it’s going to be a first-degree? The other day, I talked to 10 reformed gangsters, including one in witness protection. I asked them what they thought of the law. It’s not going to make a difference, they said. That’s where the disconnect lies.

Q: Was this a purely political response?
A: What we’re seeing in Vancouver, if you really want to get cynical about it, is: “okay, we have to curry favour to people who are concerned about a growing gang problem.” It’s convenient: They’ll say, “This is the product of the soft-on-crime Liberals over the last 20 years.” Our approach to tackling violent crime is not a strategy: it’s a patchwork quilt of policy prescriptions, which aren’t particularly well thought out. They’re modeled on a tough on crime, U.S.-style policy arc that has proven to be very ineffective. Despite a get-tough approach and a $1-trillion investment, they have a gang problem that’s 10 times as large as when they started. What I think we’re dealing with right now is the triumph of rhetoric over reason. [Harper] needs to be seen as doing something really big and tough on crime. As long as the frame of reference for politics is three or four years, they’re not really concerned about effective long-term solutions.

Q: You posit that Canada has a 10-year window before its gang problem becomes a “full-blown epidemic”?
A: If we assume that the next three to five years are going to be very challenging economically in North America, and we know that petty crimes tend to spike in hard times, it’s going to be a very challenging 10 years. I can’t tell you how disturbing it is when I go across the country and I see eight and nine-year-old drug-dealers.

Q: Big city crime appears to have declined since the ‘90’s. Is that perception or reality?
A: We think of the New York miracle: Giuliani, 40,000 plus cops on the street. Did it change the dynamics of the incidence of murders in New York? Yeah, but in other big cities, like San Francisco, where this wasn’t implemented, they had even a larger drop in crime and victimization. Then we started to wonder: Why is Newark, N.J. the murder capital of the U.S.? Because we’re seeing a displacement—a suburbanization of gangsters. I’ve got clients who are in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Peterborough—communities that, all of a sudden, have gangsters. It’s not just a Vancouver-Downtown Eastside problem. It is Abbotsford. It is Kelowna.

Q: Whose police force is doing things right?
A: One of the most effective and informed police agencies in the country is the Ottawa Police Service. They’ve identified roughly 600 street gang members, and have the DART team—the “direct action response team”—a militaristic, in-your-face approach to known gangsters, enforcing bail conditions, and the like. We know through some of the chatter, that this has made a big impact—so much so, that the Ledbury-Banff Crips—mostly Ethiopian and Somali kids—got out of dodge.
(I live and work in Ottawa- right in teh eye of the storm. Let me clear this up for all of you. DART is targeting YOUTH; NOT known gangsters. They utilize BRUTE FORCE, INTIMIDATION, HARASSMENT and VIOLENCE on kids as young as 14yrs old! They slander people's reputations, disrupt pro-social activities, fabricate stories, assault people and generally feel that they are above the law. In fact, there is an overall lack of respect shown to these officers because they have extreme biases; they appear to be racially motivated; they make suspects and "persons of interest" out of regular people; they blantantly disregard the Rule of Law; ignore Due Process; Question, search and intimidate Young Offenders without parental consent or presence; and they do not generally identify themsevles to community members as DART officers. They are definately militaristic in nature, yet they are POLICE OFFICERS?! RESPECT and EQUALITY go a long way. If every DART officer enforced the Rule of Law fairly, across the board, they would be more respected by EVERYONE! They are BULLIES! In 2008, the Federal Government introduced legislation to prevent violence in the workplace- It requires employers to develop policies and programs dealing with such issues as bullying, teasing and other harmful behaviour- WHY is this policy not applicable to Municipal Employees? BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE IS ILLEGAL- but perfectly acceptable from the DART squad on the streets of Ottawa. Put funding into Youth Programs; into community centres; increase minimum wage; stop giving youth bullshit charges when they're young, for dumb offences. When they catch a case as a youth and then realize that almost every job requires a clean criminal record check, they can't secure meaningful employment so they continue their cycle. Courts mandate youth to get jobs- What are they to do when nobody will hire them? The adults in this country are creating a vicious cycle of crime, poor self-image, poverty, violence and despair for our youth, and yet we expect them to just break free. WE HAVE ALLOWED A SYSTEM TO REMAIN IN PLACE THAT PUTS OUR CHILDREN AT A DISADVANTAGE AND ALLOWS THEM TO BE MISTREATED AND BRUTALIZED BY THE FORCE THAT WAS MEANT TO PROTECT THEM! Now, you tell me, is DART or this ridiculous Harper Government really going to put a dent in crime/ gangs? Or are they exacerbating the situation and exploiting youth, families and communities for profit?)-W

Q: Where’d they go?
A: Calgary

Q: You advocate a combined program of suppression and prevention to combat street gangs. Suppression involves putting more police on the streets, and engaging in frequent and visible gang sweeps—which, in your book, you say is akin to “ridding your lawn of dandelions by snipping off their heads.” What is prevention?
A: In Toronto, we’d say, the gangsters are here, let’s sweep ‘em all up, and throw them into jail, only to find that, for every one you take off the street, there’s another one that’s more than happy to play that role. I advocate a five-pillar approach: suppression and enforcement at the one end, and prevention, intervention and diversion at the front end. If we want to be effective we have be open rather than take the default position: more cops on the street. It’s not an either-or proposition, but everything’s being set-up to be. When you start talking about prevention and intervention, you’re called a soft-on-crime lefty. That is insulting.

Q: Harper’s proposed legislation would affect criminals after conviction Should we have considered more proactive laws—that would help police make arrests?
A: And all of a sudden, we have a whole new class of law for drive-by shootings; I can count the number of drive-by shootings we had in Canada last year on one hand. We missed the opportunity to bring in some really innovative legislation. In the U.S., 95 per cent of gang crimes feature witness intimidation. If I cooperate, or even talk with a cop, it could result in the loss of my life, or of my child. Why not new laws around witness intimidation? Why not beef-up our contempt of court laws, or obstruction of justice charges—rather than just implementing what Americans did, which was an utter failure. He’s taking the lazy way out. He’s looking at the vote-getting route. I think that’s a lost opportunity.
(Some how, I don't believe that any opportunity was lost- Mr. Harper's Government would have had access to the research and statistics to back up the approach talked about above- They chose not to listen, they chose to follow the failures of the USA, they chose to make arrests profitable (in the long run), they chose this legislation. The conservative government does not see this as a lost opportunity. They see this as the opportunity they have been waiting for! I didn't vote for them!)- W

'Disgraceful' soldiers free from charges

2009-02-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

'Disgraceful' soldiers free from charges
By SAM PAZZANO
Last Updated: 26th February 2009, 3:04am
Three soldiers were acquitted yesterday of beating an Iranian immigrant in the Entertainment District, but a Superior Court judge lambasted the trio, saying their "conduct was nothing short of disgraceful."

After a day of deliberations, a jury cleared Sean Jones, 21, and Ryan Crossman and Ryan Livesey, both 23, of aggravated assault upon Hesam Zeinal-Zedeh on July 14, 2006.

After the verdict was read, Justice Robert Clark admonished the newly acquitted young men, saying the military "should take a sober second look" at admitting them into their ranks.

"You've all been acquitted by the jury. But your behaviour was nothing short of disgraceful," Clark told the court.

A photograph -- which wasn't admitted as evidence -- would have exposed them "as the gang of drunken louts you are," said the judge. "The fact they were boasting about being in the military is offensive.

BROUGHT DISRESPECT
"I'm satisfied you left (the complainant) lying unconscious. It was a cowardly act. You've brought disrespect to the military."

The accused's families hugged the three men in court after the verdict and some of them wept tears of joy at the outcome. One of the accused's relatives said aloud in court that the complainant "ought to be charged" in light of the acquittals.

Crown attorney Lorna Spencer said the verdict means the jury agreed either the accused acted in self defence during the fracas or the jury was left with a reasonable doubt.

The accused testified that Zeinal-Zedeh overreacted when Jones spoke to the complainant's girlfriend, Nasim Mahani.

The accused denied earlier testimony that each held one of the complainant's arms while a third punched him and later stomped on his head while he lay on the ground.

Livesey and Crossman told the jury that Zeinal-Zedeh punched Jones in the back of the head after he walked away from a verbal altercation. Then, Zeinal-Zedeh threw a few punches at Jones' chest while he lay on the ground until Livesey intervened, court heard.

SELF-DEFENCE CLAIM
When Livesey grabbed Zeinal-Zedeh's shoulder, he swung but missed Livesey. He counter-punched. His single blow to Zeinal-Zedeh's chin sent him sprawling on to the sidewalk and roadway under a parked van, testified Crossman.

Zeinal-Zedeh, now 25, suffered a skull fracture and was physically disabled for months after the incident, court heard.

The incident started after Jones approached Mahani for "directions to a bar" on Richmond St. W. Jones tapped her on the bicep when she ignored his question and looked at her boyfriend, said Crossman.

"Zeinal-Zedeh was very aggressive, he pushed Miss Mahani against the fence and got very close to Mr. Jones," testified Crossman.

Crossman said he and Livesey pulled Jones away and walked away. But Zeinal-Zedeh charged after Jones, hitting him in the head.

RCMP admit they should have searched sooner for skiers

2009-02-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

RCMP admit they should have searched sooner for skiers
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Last Updated: 26th February 2009, 1:44pm
GOLDEN, B.C. — The RCMP say a search should have been called as soon as they were informed that an SOS had been spotted on a B.C. mountainside where two skiers were lost.

A couple from Quebec were out of bounds on a mountain at a Revelstoke resort for nine days before they were found, but the wife had died.

The two had managed to stamp the rescue symbol out in the snow, and its discovery was reported to police, but a search wasn’t called until three days later.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told a news conference in Golden that an independent review will be called into why it took so long.

Gilles Blackburn, 51, has been released from hospital after being treated for frostbite and is on his way back to Quebec.

An autopsy on his wife, Marie Josee Fortin, 44, is to be done in the coming days.

Killers walk free??

2009-02-26T15:35:00.000-08:00

Accused killers freed
By IAN ROBERTSON, Sun Media
Last Updated: 26th February 2009, 6:09pm

Two men accused of gunning down a teenager Abdikarim Abdikarim in Lawrence Heights 11 months ago were ordered freed Thursday morning after their first-degree murder charges were withdrawn.

Due to a lack of prisoner transfer guards, neither was in court to hear the ruling.
Both Owen Anthony Smith and Wendell Damian Cuff walked out of jail this afternoon.

Crown prosecutor Joe Callaghan told a judge in a North York courtroom that a review of the investigation -- "including a dramatic video of the shooting, which drew international attention on YouTube -- yielded no "prospect of conviction at this time. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME? SINCE WHEN IS VIDEO TAPE NOT ENOUGH TO CONVICT?!?!?!)-W

A preliminary hearing for the pair, both 25, was due to begin in April.

Smith was accused of shooting Abdikarim, 18, in the head while socializing with friends on March 14, 2008. Cuff was accused of being an accomplice.

Smith's girlfriend, Jessica Speranza — accused of being an accomplice after the fact to murder — also had her charge withdrawn. She has been under strict house arrest since her release on bail last year.

Five of Abdikarim's pals, aged 18 to 21, were wounded in the gunfire.

Toronto Police at the time said the group was not known to be involved in any criminal activity. (They were the 'good' kids! They were the ones doing the right thing and there is NO JUSTICE!)

Investigators released a building surveillance video of the shooting — but Callaghan said "I have concluded that the evidence of the identity of the shooter and the evidence of participation of the second male are insufficient to pass the test at a preliminary inquiry."

Cuff's lawyer, John Struthers, praised the Crown's "courage" for withdrawing the charges.

"They were having difficulty with the witnesses ... There is fear and people live by the code, not co-operating with police,," Struthers said. "They did the right thing."

The presiding judge said the case was delayed this morning because the pair had not been transported to the Finch Ave. courthouse: Smith was at the Maplehurst Detention Centre in Milton; Cuff was at the Toronto West Detention Centre.

Lawyers said jails throughout Ontario have been hit be a series of work slowdowns by unionized staff in recent weeks and Maplehurst has been in lockdown for five days.

Outside court, Mohamed Gilao, spokesman for the victim's family, said "we feel unsafe in Canada," alleged racism against blacks and vowed the Somalian community is "going to fight back."
(How are you expected to feel safe when the people who are being PAID to protect YOU won't? The Police are paid for nothing! They can't prevent crimes, they can't stop them in progress and they can't solve them after the crimes are committed...)- W

PM Supports New Crime Bills

2009-02-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says public supports tough new crime bills
Thu Feb 26, 2:10 PM
By The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says strong penalties deter crime and changes to the Criminal Code proposed by his government will toughen the criminal justice system in Canada.

Harper says the Conservatives expect criticism but that the public supports the measures introduced by his justice minister Thursday in Ottawa.
"We got elected because we know the people of Canada want us to take a tougher stand on crime, want us to deal toughly with those who perpetrate these crimes," Harper said in Vancouver, where there have been 18 shootings in the past month in an ongoing gang war.

The government has introduced new legislation that would label gang killings as first-degree murder, carrying a sentence of at least 25 years without parole.
The bill introduced by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson would also create a new offence and a minimum jail term for drive-by shootings. Such attacks would carry a minimum sentence of four years in prison and a maximum of 14 years.

The anti-crime strategy, and British Columbia's eagerness for it, have offered Harper some respite form the ongoing economic crisis hitting the country.
Still, critics say the tough-on-crime strategy is not effective in reducing crime. Harper disagreed.

"Look, we know we're going to hear these critics. We know we're going to hear the Opposition parrot some of these critics because they all believe in soft-on-crime policies," Harper told reporters.

He said the reforms introduced by the justice minister are among many the Conservatives are looking at.

Another section of the legislation creates new offences for aggravated assault against a police officer and assault with a weapon against a police officer, both carrying 14-year sentences under the proposed new law.

"We will not tolerate attacks on police or peace officers," Nicholson said in Ottawa.

Charles Momy, head of the Canadian Police Association, welcomed the legislation.

"We all know that front-line police officers . . . have to deal with the influx of gangs across this country," he said. "They certainly appear to have run amok."
Other sections of the bill would get tough on people who try to intimidate witnesses.

The legislation follows a public outcry about a rash of gang-related violence in British Columbia.

Nicholson said it's time to crack down.

"We are moving forward on our justice agenda to address the impact of gangs and organized crime on Canadian families and society," he said.
He also said more measures may come: "We're not done yet."
He said he wants gangsters to take note of the latest measures.
"They send out a very clear message about the seriousness with which we take gang activity," he said. "This kind of activity, this kind of behaviour, will not be tolerated."

Although the Conservative government pushed crime legislation through the last Parliament by making it a matter of confidence - threatening an election if the Opposition voted No - the minister said the current bill will not be a confidence measure.

"I'm hoping that this will get the support of all political parties."
(The more people we can incarcerate the better, right? Then we can build and privatize more jails. Anyone ever thought about increasing minimum wages, social supports and services? Ever thought of improvingliving conditions? Guess not.)-W

Complaints at Ottawa Police Service!!

2008-04-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Complaints Jump at Ottawa Police Service
Josh Pringle Monday, April 28, 2008

The number of public complaints filed against Ottawa Police officers has hit a five year high.

A report for the Ottawa Police Services Board shows the public filed 247 complaints in 2007, up from 204 in 2006.

The complaints include excessive force, improper conduct, harassment and neglect of duty.
A full explanation for the increase in complaints will be given this evening at the Police Services Board meeting.

The number of Chief's complaints against officers also jumped from 174 in 2006 to 235 last year.

Think about it...

2007-12-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

Jail didn't know prisioner was tasered the night before?!?!?

Taser used to subdue Vernon man before shooting: P...

Teen Tasered by Ottawa Police

Jail didn't know prisioner was tasered the night b...

►Alcantara-Gomez breaks window and ACCIDENTALLY FAL...

The man police hit with their car is dead!

Cops run over a mentally ill man!

► Shoot at the cops, plea to posession with intent t... (THIS ONE begs the question: why didn't this guy get MURDERED by the cops? He shot and wounded officers, but people with knives get MURDERED?!)

► Man killed by cops had mental capacity of a 12yr o...►

Taser used to subdue Vernon man before shooting: POLICE SAY

2007-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Taser used to subdue Vernon man before shooting: police
Fri Dec 28, 10:59 PM

An agitated man shot dead by RCMP in Vernon, B.C., on Thursday was initially hit by a Taser after he refused to drop the knife he was holding, a senior police officer says.

RCMP District Cmdr. Don Harrison told reporters Friday that the man died after police arrived at a Vernon apartment building on the 3800 block of 27th Avenue with a warrant issued under the Canadian Mental Health Act. (They already KNEW that he had mental health issues!)-W

The victim was 23-year-old Chris Klim, the CBC has learned.

Harrison said the officers initially tried to contact Klim by phone, and could hear the phone in his apartment ringing through a closed door, but no one answered.

Police reacted by forcing open the door and confronting Klim, who, according to Harrison, was wielding a knife. (Well, Yes. I think I can understand why he had a knife... he had MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND YOU KICKED IN HIS DOOR! Of course he thinks someone is after him and out to kill him. He armed himself to protect himself! This is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE. Knife or not; killing this young man is unacceptable. What if he was just off his meds for a bit... OH well... right? This is how we can irradicate all people with mental health issues! It's not the first time, read back about the Renfrew man in my blog!)-W

When he refused to drop the knife, police used a Taser to try to subdue him. (Please see possible reason above)-W

But when that didn't work, and Klim continued to wield the knife, he was shot twice, Harrison said. (They couldn't have fired NON-FATAL shots? It was MANDATORY that this young man was murdered?)-W

Regional coroner Tonia Grace has ordered an autopsy.

The Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP will also investigate the incident.
(Oh I'm sure they will, and I'll bet a lot of $$ that officers are cleared of any wrong-doing... as usual!)-W

Harrison said seven police officers, including the detachment commander, were involved in the confrontation. But none was hurt. (What kind of training do these guys go through? They have no negotiation skills? No people skills? No understanding of mental health issues? They can't remain employed to protect and serve a community that they don't understand!)-W

Seniors mostly in building

An elderly resident told CBC that the apartment building was occupied mainly by senior citizens.
He said he heard loud banging noises outside his apartment at around midday Thursday, but for his own safety decided not to get involved.

The elderly resident said the apartment was occupied by a man named "Chris,'' who he understood to be "a fairly decent guy.''

Keith Brumwell, a former RCMP trainer who now works for the Canadian Metal Health Association, said police officers typically receive half a day of mental health training at the national RCMP academy in Regina. (WOW! In a 1/2 day (less than 4hrs) these officers have a firm understanding of how to deal effectively and humanely with people with mental health issues?! GUESS NOT! In fact, instead, they SHOOT THEM, TWICE!!! Oh wait, AFTER they taser them!)-W

"That's really insufficient in a six-month training program,'' he said. (WOW! But now a young man is dead. Good job boys!)-W

"You know from going to school or university, if you have a lecture one afternoon, how much of that are you going to retain?"

In British Columbia, police officers take an additional five-day course at the Pacific Region Training Centre.

RCMP Const. Steve Hiscoe, an instructor at the centre, said that while lessons don't specifically focus on mental-health issues, officers are taught to recognize the symptoms of mental distress. (So, once they can regognize 'symptoms of mental distress' what are they supposed to do about it? Taser? Shoot? Run them over with their car [see Alcantera-Gomez incident, Ottawa]... Perhaps ADDITIONAL training would be a good start. MORONS!)-W

However, if somebody comes at police with a weapon, they have to react, he added.

With files from the Canadian Press

Copyright © 2007 CBC

Teen Tasered by Ottawa Police

2007-12-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

Teen Tasered by Ottawa Police
Josh Pringle
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Ottawa Police Service is defending the use of a Taser on a teenager last week.

Police say officers found a 17-year-old boy "acting in a strange manner" on a street near Rideau High School last Thursday. Staff. Sgt. Peter Couillard says officers incapacitated the teen with a Taser and took him into custody.

The teen was reportedly acting erratically, running through traffic near the school and asking cars to run over him.

Couillard calls it a "very zero incident", adding "from the police standpoint, it's just an average everyday call."

Couillard told The Canadian Press if Ottawa Police issued a news release every time officers used a Taser, "we'd be writing them 10 times a day."

(Interesting... The RCMP inquiry said to only use a taser when their life is in serious danger... but I guess the Ottawa Police know better eh? So now we permit tasering of mentally ill people, adults and youth! HOORAY! Maybe soon we can have have those bark collars be mandatory for all people... the cops would have the remotes! )-W

FINALLY!

2007-12-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

News Releases

Ottawa Police Service

For Immediate Release: 05/12/2007

OCCPS dismisses Appeal of Ottawa Police Officer

(Ottawa) – Today, the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police
Services (OCCPS) dismissed the appeal of Constable Kevin
Hall from the penalty of dismissal imposed by Deputy Chief
(retired) Terence Kelly (Hearing Officer) in a decision
delivered on December 4, 2006.

“We agree with the Hearing Officer that Constable Hall’s
misconduct was not singular but rather demonstrated a
course of conduct,” noted the OCCPS presiding members in
the Reason for Decision document. “It took place over
almost a full year. It involved multiple offences that
occurred in several locations, both on and off duty.”

“We accept the decision of OCCPS and we believe it is the
right decision,” noted Acting Chief Larry Hill. “This is a
serious situation that has now been addressed. The decision
allows the officer and the organization to move forward.”

In December 2006, the hearing officer overseeing the Police
Service Act charges against Cst. Kevin Hall rendered a
decision requiring the officer to resign within seven days
or face dismissal. His decision followed a Police Act
Hearing where Cst. Hall pled guilty to the charges in May
2006. The Police Act charges followed a thorough
investigation by the Professional Standards Section of the
Ottawa Police. Cst. Hall was charged in December 2005 with
two counts of corrupt practice, six counts of discreditable
conduct and one count of neglect of duty.

Cst. Hall, who has been suspended from duty with pay since
December 2005, has to either resign or appeal the
OCCPS “Reasons for decision” with the Divisional Court
within seven days.

- 30 -
The “Reasons for Decision” document of OCCPS is available
at:
http://www.ottawapolice.ca/en/serving_ottawa/compliment_comp
laint/hearings.cfm

(For more info on this please go to this link: http://storiesofcorruption.blogspot.com/2007/02/pubdate-tue-05-dec-2006-source-ottawa.html

It is truly a shame that Kevin Hall is/was a police officer. He's a phony and has done a huge disservice to society!)-W

Larry "the snake" O'Brien: CHARGED! read on for hypocracy!

2007-12-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Tuesday » December 11 » 2007

'It is a relief'
OPP forwards O'Brien file to RCMP to probe role Baird played in bribery case; Minister's office denies any wrongdoing
Gary Dimmock
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Hours after the Ontario Provincial Police charged Mayor Larry O'Brien over an alleged scheme to bolster his chances against a rival in last year's municipal election, a senior police official said his provincial force will be forwarding its investigation files to the Mounties.

Supt. Dave Truax, director of the OPP's anti-rackets unit, confirmed yesterday that the OPP investigation includes statements from more than 40 people and a confidential source.

Supt. Truax told the Citizen that while the public wanted a speedy investigation, the nine-month probe was "complex" and "major" and took time because it involved the "integrity of the municipal election."

Mr. O'Brien was quick to respond to yesterday's charges.

"While I'm personally very embarrassed that I have to face these charges, in a real sense, it is a relief to finally get to the point where the truth will be determined in a court of law," he said "I believe with every fibre of my being that I am innocent."

The OPP launched the investigation following a report in the Citizen that documented two meetings between Mr. O'Brien and Terry Kilrea, who insisted in an affidavit that Mr. O'Brien offered him money and help to land a federal appointment with the National Parole Board if he dropped out of the 2006 mayoral race.

After getting a request from the Liberal party, the Mounties said they would be willing to assist in the probe, but hadn't been asked by the OPP.

Supt. Truax said yesterday the OPP will now be sharing its files with its national counterpart.
In November, the Liberals asked the Mounties to review any role federal Environment Minister John Baird, and other top Tories, may have played in the alleged bribery affair.

Mr. Baird, the cabinet minister whose office handles frontline requests for political appointments, has said he was never approached to give an appointment to Mr. Kilrea.

OPP detectives were told by a confidential source about an alleged meeting between Mr. Baird and Mr. O'Brien at Hy's Steakhouse around the time Mr. Kilrea was talking about the alleged offer.

Mr. Baird has been interviewed twice by the OPP.

He has said that he never had a scheduled meeting with Mr. O'Brien, but may have bumped into him at the upscale eatery.

A statement yesterday from the cabinet minister's office said:
"Minister Baird has given his full co-operation to those (OPP) looking into the matter. At no time has anyone, other than the Opposition Liberals, alleged any wrongdoing on the part of the Minister.
"Minister Baird championed high ethical standards when he brought forward the Federal Accountability Act.
"An appointment was never considered."

Yesterday, at 8:30 a.m., Det. Sgt. Brian Mason filed the following charges under Criminal Code sections titled: Frauds on the Government (121), and Influencing or negotiating appointments or dealing in offices (125).

The mayor faces two Criminal Code charges, under Section 121 (1) (d) and the second under Section 125 (b).

The charges are: Pretending to have influence with the government or a minister, contrary to Section 121(1)(d)(ii), and negotiating an appointment contrary to Section 125(b).
An OPP detective served Mr. O'Brien with a summons to appear in court on Jan. 9. The notice was served at his lawyer's office at 200 Elgin St.

Last night, Mr. O'Brien called an emergency council meeting to discuss the charges against him. But it was cut short after city solicitor Rick O'Connor warned councillors not to talk about the charges because the matter is now before the courts.

Bay Councillor Alex Cullen stopped short of calling for the mayor to resign or even step aside while the charges are dealt with.
However, he said "things have changed" and it's time to look at limiting Mr. O'Brien's powers and spreading some of the mayoral responsibilities around council.

"I think the mayor understands that it's not business as usual any more," Mr. Cullen said.
In October, the OPP won a court order to seize reservation and payment records from Hy's.
The Citizen went to court and successfully unsealed the documents.

In an affidavit to win the court order for the records, Det.-Sgt. Brian Mason, wrote:
"I am seeking information and supporting records from Hy's ... to confirm that Larry O'Brien and John Baird met there for lunch during the period when O'Brien was telling Kilrea that he was trying to arrange an appointment to the National Parole Board for him (Kilrea) ...
"Such evidence would support the proposition that O'Brien was in fact in contact with Baird and that he was trying to get Baird to support or approve (an) appointment.
"It is believed through this source (Mr. X) information that Larry O'Brien and John Baird had a dinner at Hy's steakhouse during the time when Greg Strong (a former vice-president at Calian Technologies, a publicly traded company founded by Mr. O'Brien in 1982) was O'Brien's campaign manager.

"The information provided by (Mr. X) is partially corroborated by the information I received from Craig Stevenson, Hy's steakhouse general manager that John Baird dined at Hy's steakhouse on July 26th, 2006 with one other person."

Mr. Baird has told the Citizen that he checked his appointment book, which shows no record of a meeting with Mr. O'Brien at Hy's.

Mr. Baird did say he frequents the restaurant and could have bumped into the mayor in the summer of 2006.

The Liberal Party of Canada asked the Mounties to investigate any role Mr. Baird and other top Tories may have played in the case, and the RCMP, through its commissioner, William Elliott, has said the force is prepared to assist in the investigation, but that a request must come from the lead police agency, the OPP.

If Mr. O'Brien decides to fight the criminal charges, two key witnesses include Heather Tessier, the mayor's niece and former executive assistant, and Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa McLeod.
According to an executive summary of a May 3 interview with OPP detectives, Ms. Tessier told police she was aware of an offer of about $20,000 to $30,000 which was made to Kilrea."

According to an executive summary of a May 4 interview with OPP detectives, Ms. McLeod "met with Larry O'Brien in her constituency office and she was impressed with him ... and O'Brien was talking about Terry Kilrea and sort of announced to her that there was going to be an appointment or 'we're talking to Terry about an appointment' and he did say the National Parole Board and she (Ms. McLeod) just sort of said OK."

GARY DIMMOCK is a senior reporter and can be reached at
gdimmock@thecitizen.canwest.com.
(I have to tell you the BEST part about all of this: I cannot hire ANYONE on withthe City of Ottawa if they have a criminal conviction on their record: Y.O. or Adult! So we can't have any City staff with a record, but we can have a MAYOR with a record?! GIVE ME A FUCKIN' BREAK! HE SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE! LARRY O'BRIEN IS A LIAR, A CHEAT AND IS DRIVING OTTAWA INTO THE GROUND AT A RAPID RATE!)-W

Ottawa Mayor Larry 'The Snake' O'Brien to face charges!!!!!

2007-12-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Charges expected
Mayor vows to stay in office and fight to restore reputation

After an eight-month investigation, it's expected Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien will face criminal charges next week.

Sources close to the mayor confirmed yesterday a story the Sun published online at ottawasun.com -- reporting charges could be laid as early as Monday -- is accurate.

Sources told the Sun the exact charge being considered falls under corruption and disobedience Section 121(d) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

The section covers anyone "having or pretending to have influence with the government or with a minister of the government or an official, demands, accepts or offers or agrees to accept for himself or another person, a reward, advantage or benefit of any kind as consideration for cooperation, assistance, exercise of influence or an act or omission."

The Criminal Code also says "every one who commits an offence under this section is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."

The Sun has also learned O'Brien could also face several other charges in connection with the investigation.

In October, many details of the allegations were made public when a judge unsealed an affidavit used by the OPP in their investigation of the allegations against O'Brien.

The 45-page document alleges O'Brien offered political rival Terry Kilrea $30,000 to cover campaign expenses if he dropped out of the mayor's race and alleges O'Brien also offered Kilrea a position on the National Parole Board.

O'Brien has said all along he never offered Kilrea anything to drop out of the race.

"I have never offered Mr. Kilrea a position on the Parole Board in exchange for his dropping out of the mayoralty race. No. 2, I have never had any discussion with (federal) Minister John Baird on the issue of an appointment to the Parole Board for Mr. Kilrea in exchange for him dropping out of the mayoralty race. These allegations and rumours are simply false," O'Brien said at yesterday's council meeting.

BREAKS SILENCE
The mayor told the Sun he won't step down and intends to fight any charges that may result for the investigation.

O'Brien ended a long silence over the bribery allegations, which have swirled around him for months, at the conclusion of yesterday's city council meeting.

The first-term mayor refuted the allegations and expressed anger at the damage he feels the probe is doing to his reputation.

"It has gone on far too long for the interests of council and the interest of the citizens of Ottawa to be well served," O'Brien said, calling the probe "the elephant in the room."

He then demanded that he either be charged or have the probe wrap up.

"Today, I would like to call for this investigation to either end or to be handed to the courts, where witnesses will have to testify under oath about their statements. I cannot and will not sit on the sidelines any further while my reputation is being attacked," he said.

Ottawa District and Labour Council president Sean McKenny -- who set the probe in motion after obtaining a copy of Kilrea's affidavit -- called O'Brien's public statement "aggressive and unnecessary."

"The whole community wants to see this put to bed, but I guess Mr. O'Brien wanted to make it a very public attack against the Crown and the OPP," said McKenny. "It's almost as if he's trying to goad the Crown and the OPP."

The OPP's investigation has closed, and police findings are in the hands of Crown prosecutors in Toronto.

Robert Latimer Denied Parole

2007-12-08T07:19:00.001-08:00

Latimer's parole denial saddens wife
HAYLEY MICK
December 7, 2007

Every day, Laura Latimer speaks to her husband on the telephone - a small comfort that bridges the 1,650 kilometres between their Saskatchewan farm and his Vancouver Island jail cell.

Now, despite what Mrs. Latimer had hoped, that routine will continue at least another two years, after the National Parole Board denied day parole to Robert Latimer, who is serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of his severely disabled daughter.

"It's just a sad day, that's all. Really sad," Ms. Latimer said yesterday from her home near Wilkie, Sask.

Ms. Latimer did not attend her husband's parole hearing on Wednesday, because she wanted to avoid attention from the media, she said. Soon, Mrs. Latimer and her grown son will travel west and visit Mr. Latimer at the William Head minimum security prison near Victoria.

He won't have another chance to apply for day parole for two years.

The board's decision has reignited an ethical debate that gripped the country in 1993, when Mr. Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer, was charged with murder in the death of his 12-year-old daughter, Tracy.

Some called Tracy's death a "mercy killing" - one that saved the 45-pound girl with cerebral palsy from a life of constant pain and multiple surgeries. But advocates for the rights of disabled people say that would send the message that their lives are worth less than others.

Mr. Latimer has never wavered from his position: That he saved his daughter from a life racked by pain. At his parole hearing, the three-member board said they were struck by his refusal to admit his actions were wrong, and apparent lack of remorse.

The board recommended to Corrections Canada that Mr. Latimer participate in some counselling.

Mrs. Latimer declined to be interviewed at length yesterday, saying she had decided not to speak to the media about her life or her husband's situation.

"It just sort of turns into a circus," she said.

In the past, Mrs. Latimer has been publicly steadfast in her support of her husband. During her husband's trial, she testified that she and Mr. Latimer, who have three other children, always provided the best care possible for Tracy.

She sobbed after he was convicted of second-degree murder on Nov. 16, 1994, saying outside the Battleford, Sask., court that "whatever hell they put him through will not begin to match the hell that our little girl went through."

She also criticized a justice system that could lock up a "good and loving" father, who would bathe Tracy and rock her for hours.

At a 2001 vigil outside Saskatchewan Penitentiary, where Mr. Latimer was incarcerated at the time, Mrs. Latimer said in front of a crowd of about 300 supporters: "We love you, Bob, we want you home, we miss you.

"We're going to keep watching, we're not going to rest, we won't rest until you're home."
(You decide...)-W

Political parties are the most corrupt institutions

2007-12-08T07:19:00.000-08:00

Canadians think government war on corruption ineffective: poll
Majority think graft on the rise
Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, December 06, 2007

UNITED NATIONS -- A new survey says almost two-thirds of Canadians believe the government is doing an "ineffective" job of keeping graft in check, and almost half say it's on the rise.

The survey also says Canadians see political parties as the most corrupt of 14 institutions named, but business and the media are not much better. Tax revenue authorities are the cleanest.

The findings are contained in Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2007, released Thursday in Berlin. While the organization also issues an annual country ranking based on expert analyses, the "barometer" gauges people's personal perceptions and experiences of corruption.

It turns out that Canadians aren't so different from people in other developed countries when it comes to believing their governments aren't taking the corruption fight seriously.

"This is a clear signal to governments to step up their efforts," said Huguette Labelle, Transparency's chairwoman. She called for more transparency in public spending, and said people are particularly concerned about what lies behind donations to political parties.

"If large sums are given to a party, (people believe) they are being bought," Ms. Labelle said.
But the survey, conducted in 60 developing and developed countries, also showed Canada continues to be one of the world's most corruption-free places to live.

Only one per cent of Canadians surveyed said they'd bribed someone, either by choice or as a result of solicitation, to acquire a service.

Canadian companies also continue to resist offering bribes to win overseas business. The survey ranks Canada fifth-honest among 30 leading export countries.

Politicians in advanced democracies don't make the fight against corruption central to their agendas because efficient police and judiciary are already taking care of the problem, according to an analysis with the survey.

People's perception that the government is doing little, therefore, is "based on prosecution of headline cases, not the work of anti-corruption commissions or the relative success of anti-corruption strategies."

By contrast, in Nigeria, where the government has launched an anti-corruption commission, 64% of survey respondents said their country is doing a good job battling graft, even though 40% admitted they'd paid bribes.

The survey found the poor are most often targeted for bribes in both developing and developed countries. In Africa, more than half of respondents said they'd slipped money to the police, usually because they had to. The judiciary in many developing countries also routinely holds out its collective hand.

"This troubling finding means that corruption is interfering with the basic right to equal treatment before the law," said Transparency's managing director, Cobus de Swardt.
Globally, 54% of people polled thought corruption would increase in their countries, compared to 43% when the survey was first conducted in 2003.

In the United States, two per cent said they'd made under-the-table payments for unspecified services. Among European Union countries, Greece emerged as the most corrupt, with 27% saying they'd bribed somebody.

Ahead of Canada on the business honesty list were Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and Austria, in that order. Companies most likely to offer bribes were from Russia, China and India, in that order.

Conducted for Transparency by Gallup International Association, the survey questioned 63,199 people between June and September 2007. Gallup guarantees the results with an accuracy of 95%.

Jail didn't know prisioner was tasered the night before?!?!?

2007-11-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

Jail didn't know Hyde was Tasered Prisoners' mental, health conditions not necessarily passed on to corrections staff: official

PAUL MCLEOD
The Daily News

Corrections officials likely were not aware Howard Hyde had schizophrenia or that he had been Tasered the day before his death.

These are some of the revelations released yesterday by corrections officials after they completed an internal review of the hours and moments leading up to the 45-year-old man's death last Thursday.

Hyde arrived at the Burnside jail last Wednesday afternoon. Early that morning he had been arrested and charged with assaulting his common-law wife, Tasered by Halifax Regional Police, hospitalized and then released.None of this, nor that Hyde was schizophrenic, was formally relayed to jail guards."Our staff essentially knew what they had to know," said Fred Honsberger, executive director of correctional services with the Justice Department.

Only anecdotallyHonsberger said staff would have known Hyde had come from hospital, but if they had heard about the Tasering or schizophrenia, it would only have been anecdotally.Honsberger said staff wouldn't be told about things like that "unless it had a bearing on the dealings we had with the offender. Say, for instance, a person had a broken arm and it was just taken out of the cast or something, and they had come from the hospital. Our staff would know that. They would know that arm is very vulnerable."

Health workers at the jail examined Hyde and had him placed in health cells - single cells adjacent to the health-care area to allow a subject to be observed more closely. Honsberger said keeping a prisoner transferred from hospital in a health cell is not uncommon. Honsberger said Hyde spent much of the night pacing in his cell, though he did lie down at some points.In the morning, Hyde was escorted to the admissions area when he began to resist."

The level of resistance he showed was, I suppose, typical of offenders sometimes when they don't want to go somewhere," said Honsberger.Hyde was handcuffed and calmed down temporarily. But as he was being brought to a holding cell, he began to struggle again. He was wrestled to the ground."He was already cuffed, so it was just an issue of calming him down and keeping him from flailing around," said Honsberger.Then Hyde suddenly stopped resisting and staff called for medical attention.

Honsberger couldn't say what state Hyde was in."It's hard to say whether he was conscious or not, quite frankly," he said. "When the behaviour becomes abnormal, the staff don't wait too long, they move fairly quickly. So the health-care staff were called right away when his behaviour changed."Health-care staff arrived within 90 seconds and began CPR until paramedics arrived to take Hyde to the Dartmouth general Hospital.

He was pronounced dead there.

The internal review concluded staff followed proper procedures.

The RCMP continue to investigate the incident.Hyde's widow, Karen Ellet, says the shock of the death is just hitting her now. She wants to look into ideas such as mental health courts and identifiable bracelets for people with mental illness, to ensure no one else gets into the same situation as her husband."It hasn't even had time to set in," said Ellet. "But it's my hope, it's my wish, that things will change from here on."

pmcleod@hfxnews.ca
27/11/07

CONVICTED PEDOPHILE RELEASED! READ ME!!

2007-10-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Predator fears he will reoffend: police; Pedophile released to halfway house says medication isn't working
Posted By Rob Tripp
October 20, 2007

The release to a federal halfway house of a sexual predator who fantasizes about torturing and murdering children has prompted a warning from Kingston Police.

Christopher C. Goodwin, a 26-year-old pedophile, moved into the Portsmouth Centre at 508 Portsmouth Ave. on Thursday afternoon, after he was released from prison.

Const. Gerry Doherty, who reviews roughly 150 high-risk inmate releases a year, interviewed Goodwin yesterday and considers him one of the most troubling cases he has handled recently.

"He is very high on my list of guys to [watch]," Doherty said. "He's sending up red flags."
He said Goodwin was very honest and open in the interview, confessing that he fears he will reoffend. (DON'T LET HIM OUT! Our kids are far more important!)

"He's on medication [but] he says it's not working for him, it's not keeping his sex drive down," Doherty said. "His sexual therapy while he was in Warkworth [prison], he says didn't do him any good. "

"I think he's in a plan to fail, that's my gut feeling on it." (WHAT THE F*CK IS WRONG WITH SOCIETY?)

Because of concern about Goodwin, police released his photo and description, with a caution that parents should steer children clear of him and call police if they believe they see Goodwin outside of the halfway house by himself. He is under orders not to leave the facility without supervision.

The community alert is the fourth this year about a freed convict. Police issued eight alerts last year.

"He actually tells me ... he doesn't care whether [his victims] are boys or girls, [but he] prefers little girls," Doherty said. (I'm STUNNED that this man has been freed! Honest or not, this is NOT OK! He preys on children and steals their innocence! THIS IS NOT OK!!)-W

Goodwin has two months left on a 49-month sentence for sexual assault. He is an unusual case: a relatively young offender with only one apparent federal prison term for a sex crime. Yet he was handed a stiff sentence of four years, plus he is under supervision for another 10 years in the community once the sentence expires.

In June 2003, Goodwin pounced on a seven-year-old girl who had wandered away from her parents in a store in a Scarborough mall.
In front of horrified shoppers, he threw her to the floor, crouched over her with one hand around her neck choking her while he yanked her pants down and tried to molest her.
A store employee pulled him off the child and police were called. (This man, once released into the community will be murdered. Is this why they're releasing him? Wouldn't it be better to institutionalize this man for the rest of his life? HONESTLY?! He's going to hurt and maybe kill another child and then he will be murdered as well! THIS IS BULLSHIT! COMPLETE BULLSHIT! WE KNOW HE'S GOING TO DO IT AGAIN, HE KNOWS HE'S GOING TO DO IT AGAIN AND WE PERMIT HIM TO BE FREE?! NO!)-W

During his trial, the judge was told that Goodwin has a deviant fantasy life that includes torture and murder.

Last year, while at the regional treatment centre inside Kingston Penitentiary, Goodwin was caught with a hidden cache of drawings and stories he had created that depicted adult sex with children and child rape.

Goodwin was convicted of distributing child pornography. Prison staff discovered he was sharing his work with other sex offenders.

He had 150 days added to his prison sentence.

Goodwin is prohibited from being in areas where children under 14 years would be found, including parks, playgrounds, schoolyards, and places such as shopping centres, recreation and community centres, and sports facilities. (But children OVER 14yrs of age are ok? WHY?! He can rape and murder a 15 year old just as easily! THIS IS NOT OK!!!!!!!!!!!)-W

He is also not to be in the company of anyone under the age of 18 unless supervised. (So now 19 year olds are fair game?)-W

Goodwin told Doherty he is not selective in choosing his victims.

Doherty asked him about his last victim.

"He said it was predatory random," the officer said.
Doherty said Goodwin also is concerned about his placement at the Portsmouth Centre, which is adjacent to a public park and an elementary school. (He RANDOMLY preys on young children so he's placed next to a public park and an elementary school? Advice to the public is to be VIGILIANT? Here's my advice to the Judge who decided this case: ROT IN HELL! You made a horriffic call on this case. Children are going to get raped and murdered... Even the convict knows that! HE'S telling YOU that and you're IGNORING him! This man needs to be perminantly institutionalized NOT REALEASED into the community! You must not live in the area in which he's being released. you must have a big fuckin house in a gated and guarded community somewhere because if my child was ever injured, touched or even looked at the wrong way, I'd come hunting for you! This is the biggest pile of shit that I have ever read! I fear for the community! You have single handedly harmed chidlren. You should go to jail for endangering the welfare of God knows how many people! YOU are a criminal!)-W

Goodwin is white, about five feet, four inches tall and weighs 167 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair and a moustache.

He is one of roughly 200 inmate releases so far this year to Kingston that have been reviewed by police. At least a third of those are sex offenders, Doherty said.

His advice to the community is simple. "Be vigilant," he said.
rtripp@thewhig.com

Ottawa's Mayor Larry O'Brien... He's a SNAKE!

2007-10-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Mayor told police that discussing appointment was 'offside'
PM says report linking Tory insider to probe 'malicious rumour'
Gary Dimmock
The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, October 13, 2007

Mayor Larry O'Brien has told lead detectives working on a bribery investigation involving him that he never offered Terry Kilrea a dime to drop out of last year's mayoral race, but acknowledged that he spoke to him about landing a federal appointment on the National Parole Board.

According to an executive summary of an April 3 interview with the Ontario Provincial Police's anti-rackets section, Mr. O'Brien, who was accompanied by his personal lawyer, said he recalled talking to Mr. Kilrea about putting in an application for a federal appointment, but had difficulty remembering the context.

"He states that the message was clear that (Kilrea) do this on his own. (O'Brien) stated that he knew at this point discussing the Parole Board appointment was offside, but didn't know how far offside," the OPP document states.

A day after Mr. O'Brien arranged to meet Mr. Kilrea last July at an outdoor coffee shop, he called his mayoral rival and acknowledged that he had made a mistake.

"In regards to a phone call, which occurred on the sixth of July, O'Brien acknowledges that he called Kilrea and stated that he screwed up. It was a mistake and that even talking to him was wrong." According to the OPP's summary of Mr. O'Brien's recorded statement, the mayor said he called someone for advice about what he had told Mr. Kilrea in the July meeting at a coffee shop at 700 Sussex Dr., where the mayor keeps an apartment.

"O'Brien said he called someone to make inquiries as to whether or not what he had said was proper and as a result of a call he learned that it was not. He was given very clear advice -- "don't touch it period full stop." This is not something one (1) you have the power to do and two (2) that it's probably going to be illegal, it will be illegal don't do it. Don't touch it." Mr. O'Brien is the subject of an Ontario Provincial Police bribery investigation, which was launched March 27 following an investigative report in the Citizen that documented two meetings -- including one in the parking lot behind a Tim Hortons -- between the mayor and Mr. Kilrea, who alleged that Mr. O'Brien offered him up to $30,000 and help to get a federal appointment if he bowed out of last year's mayoral race.

Mr. O'Brien has not been charged with any crime, and none of the allegations have ever been proved in court.

On Thursday, a judge unsealed police documents in the case, which included a summary of an OPP interview with John Light, a political aide to Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre. Mr. Light said he was told that Mr. O'Brien's 2006 campaign was secretly working on a plan to offer Mr. Kilrea "something" to drop out of last year's mayoral race, and that the unspecified offer was "in the works" through Doug Finley, the campaign director for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday that "the story regarding our national campaign director is simply that someone heard a malicious rumour that he didn't believe." Mr. Harper said that the "fact of the matter is this government had never appointed Terry Kilrea to anything, this government had not given Mr. Kilrea any kind of special consideration, nor is there any reason why the Government of Canada would." The Citizen has never reported that Mr. Kilrea was given a federal appointment. Hours after Mr. Harper's statement, John Light, who named Mr. Finley in his statement to police, gave the Citizen this statement: "I would like to respond to the Ottawa Citizen article, O'Brien Bribery Probe Reaches PM's Inner Circle ... Key facts of what I actually said to the OPP were absent from the story." (The Citizen quoted only from an executive summary of Mr. Light's OPP interview and has not been able to obtain Mr. Light's complete police statement, nor any of the other 38 statements from witnesses, including Mr. Finley and John Reynolds, the co-chairman of the Tories' last federal campaign.) In a prepared statement to the Citizen yesterday, Mr. Light said: "I told the OPP that I was wary about these claims because I was told by political operations for the Conservative party at that time they were not going to endorse or get involved in the mayoralty campaign.

"I would like to add that after my conversations referenced in the Ottawa Citizen, that I saw and heard absolutely nothing that would indicate that the Conservative party or Doug Finley were involved in any way in this incident or in the municipal elections." Mr. Light's statement continued: "I did not help on the Larry O'Brien campaign and my only role has been to share with the OPP everything I have heard about the matter." Hours after the initial July meeting between Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Kilrea -- a meeting arranged by Mr. O'Brien -- the mayor called Mr. Kilrea at 2 p.m. and, according to the police interview, said: "(O'Brien) still wanted Kilrea to get out of the race. He stated that he suggested that Kilrea put in an application in case things didn't work out, as there was nothing he could do for (Kilrea)." In the police interview, Mr. O'Brien also acknowledged that he believed that he called John Reynolds, the co-chair for the last federal Tory campaign, the one that put Mr. Harper into office.

On Sept. 17, Mr. Reynolds told the Citizen that he never spoke to Mr. O'Brien about an appointment to the parole for Mr. Kilrea.

"If I ever talked about it, I don't remember that. I know I never did anything or sent anything forward or talked to anybody about this guy (Terry Kilrea). I don't know who the hell he is," Mr. Reynolds said.

In the April 3 statement to police, Mr. O'Brien told detectives that the only thing he offered Mr. Kilrea compensation for was a website. (He told the Citizen the same thing on Jan. 12.) Mr. Kilrea has denied that Mr. O'Brien offered him anything for his website. In fact, at the Citizen's request and expense, he swore in an affidavit that Mr. O'Brien offered him up to $30,000 to cover his campaign expenses if he dropped out of the 2006 mayoral race. Mr. Kilrea also swore in the affidavit that Mr. O'Brien offered to help him land a federal job if he bowed out of the mayoral race.

Mr. Kilrea also passed a polygraph test about the contents of the affidavit. In the April 3 police interview, Mr. O'Brien was questioned in the presence of his personal lawyer.
Mr. O'Brien has told the Citizen that he didn't do anything wrong.

Gary Dimmock can be reached at gdimmock@thecitizen.canwest.com

Alcantara-Gomez breaks window and ACCIDENTALLY FALLS to his death?

2007-10-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Bank break-in suspect plunges from hospital window
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2007 3:49 PM ET
CBC News

A man has serious head injuries after falling from a second-floor window at an Ottawa hospital while in police custody, a day after he was hit by a police car.

Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is looking into how Carlos Alcantara-Gomez, 32, was injured before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning at the Civic campus of the Ottawa Hospital, said an SIU news release.

Alcantara-Gomez allegedly broke the window of his hospital room and fell out, landing on a roof, the release said. (Broke the window and FELL OUT? I thought hospital windows were made of shatter-proof glass... I didn't realize that it was so easy to just break a window and then FALL OUT?! Nurses at the hospital are corroborating the police version of events, but really, if they said that he jumped out, it'd be more believable. This is nonsense!)-W

At the time, he was under police guard and being treated for back injuries he received after being hit by a police car Tuesday, the release said.

The collision took place while police were pursuing Alcantara-Gomez as a suspect in a break-in at a National Bank branch on Rideau Street. (KEYWORD: SUSPECT (innocent until proven guilty)!? Well, he WAS a suspect, until the Ottawa Police murdered him. I'm glad I wasn't a suspect!)-W
(One more thing: I hope all of the news stations who reported this story as 'the suspect gets what he deserves' type of story feel like assholes)-W

Single mom to pay $220, 000 to Record Labels!

2007-10-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

Woman fined £110k($220, 000 USD) for illegal file-sharing
By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 2:05am BST 05/10/2007

A single mother has been ordered to pay $220,000 (£110,000) to the music industry after losing a test case trial in which she had illegally downloading songs from the internet.

A jury in Minnesota ordered Jammie Thomas, 30, to pay an alliance of six major record companies $9,250 for each of 24 songs for which they sought damages. They could have awarded damages as low as $750 per song.

Thomas, a Native American and mother of two, made legal history by becoming the first of 26,000 people sued by the Recording Industry Association of America over alleged use of filesharing software to take the case to court.

Thomas, of Brainerd, had denied offering 1,702 songs online ranging from Enya to Swedish death metal through a file-sharing account on the website Kazaa.

Thomas had denied wrongdoing and during the trial testified that she didn't have a Kazaa account.

The trial could set a legal precedent.

Record companies say illegal downloading has hurt sales because it allows people to get music for free instead of paying for recordings in stores.

Many other defendants have settled by paying the companies a few thousand dollars.

During the three-day trial, record companies presented evidence they said showed the copyrighted songs were offered by a Kazaa user under the name "tereastarr."

Their witnesses, including officials from an Internet provider and a security firm, testified that the Internet address used by "tereastarr" belonged to Thomas.

Brian Toder, defending, had argued in summing up that record companies never proved that "Jammie Thomas, a human being, got on her keyboard and sent out these things".

"We don't know what happened," Toder told jurors. "All we know is that Jammie Thomas didn't do this."

Richard Gabriel, the music industry's main lawyer, called that defence "misdirection, red herrings, smoke and mirrors."

He asked the jurors to find Thomas liable to send a message to other illegal downloaders.
"I only ask that you consider that the need for deterrence here is great," he said.

Copyright law sets a damage range of $750 to $30,000 per infringement, or up to $150,000 if the violation was "willful." Jurors ruled that Thomas' infringement was willful, but awarded damages in a middle range.

Before the verdict, an official with an industry trade group said he was surprised it took so long for such a lawsuit to come to trial.

Illegal downloads have "become business as usual, nobody really thinks about it," said Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, which coordinates the lawsuits.

"This case has put it back in the news. Win or lose, people will understand that we are out there trying to protect our rights."

Though Thomas denied wrongdoing, her testimony was complicated by the fact that she had replaced her computer's hard drive after the sharing was alleged to have taken place - and later than she said in a deposition before trial.

Record companies said Thomas was sent an instant message in February 2005, warning her that she was violating copyright law. Her hard drive was replaced the following month, not in 2004, as she said in the deposition.

The record companies involved in the lawsuit are Sony BMG, Arista Records, Interscope Records, UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Warner Bros. Records.
(This is the most ridiculous story I have ever heard. In fact, the best thing to do would be to universally boycott the labels that are profiting even ONE CENT off of the prosecution of a single parent! This is NONSENSE! The artists are getting rich and famous, if not from record deals than from sponsors and advertising and tv shows... Give me a break!)-W

The man police hit with their car is dead!

2007-10-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

Suspect Dies in Police Custody
Greg Hebert
Thursday, October 4, 2007

The Special Investigations Unit continues to look into some bizarre and tragic events during the arrest of a 32-year-old man.

Carlos Alcantara-Gomez died in hospital early Thursday. He was arrested following an incident that occurred at the intersection of Daly Avenue and Waller early Tuesday morning.

During his arrest, Alcantara-Gomez was struck by a police cruiser and was taken to the Ottawa Civic Hospital for treatment. He then suffered serious back injuries after he fell from a second floor window on Wednesday, leaving him in critical condition.

The SIU is probing the circumstances of his arrest that led to his initial injuries as well as what led to him falling from the hospital window while still in police custody.
(i'm sure the police will come up clear in this one. SIU is going to investigate what people SAW... not what happened. They don't scratch too deep below the surface unless they have to so I suppose the interviewing of witnesses has begun)

Cops run over a mentally ill man!

2007-10-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

Police Chase Sends One to Hospital (Wait until you read more about the 'chase'!?!)
Norman Jack
Tuesday, October 2, 2007

A suspect is in hospital and a police officer has been treated for minor injuries, following a police chase in downtown Ottawa Tuesday morning. (Visions of a high-speed motor vehicle race are zipping through your head now... RIGHT? Read on...)

Around 5:30 a.m., officers were chasing a man armed with a knife on Besserer Street. During the chase, the suspect was struck by a police car on Waller near Daly, shattering the cruiser's windshield. The man is in hospital in undetermined condition. (They were running after a mentally ill man whom they couldn't catch so they RAMMED him with their car! In fact, they rammed him so hard that he flew fast enough to SHATTER the windshield... Do you think that MIGHT be excessive force?!)

Police say the suspect is known to them, and they there may be mental health issues involved. (If he's known to them, as they say, then wouldn't they KNOW if he had mental health issues?!)
The provincial Special Investigations Unit has been notified.

Debating magnets... as costly as ever!!

2007-09-25T17:14:00.003-07:00

Chief's decal decision wins unanimous support
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Ottawa's police board yesterday unanimously backed Chief Vern White's decision to put "Support our Troops" stickers on police vehicles. Chief White came under fire over the decision because some critics say the stickers have become a political symbol of support for Canada's role in the war in Afghanistan.

In its motion of support, the board said "the decals express support for the service and sacrifices of the military men and women serving our country at home and around the world in various missions, and do not express an opinion on a particular operation or campaign."

Two weeks ago, council voted to put the stickers on all city owned vehicles, including buses.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007
(I seriously feel robbed when I hear that people are getting paid to debate a little magnet?! Honestly. Either stick it on or don't... NOBODY cares. If they care that mush, they'll rip it off your car, if not, carry on. Replacing stolen ones is probably cheaper than debating it! Seriously, City council is debating it, the police board is debating it, everyone is debating these little magnets! Give me my money back because I never wanted you to debate it, never felt it warranted a debate and still don't give a damn either way! GIVE ME MY $$)

Hating Iranians Isn't Racism... It just makes sense?!?!?!?!

2007-09-25T17:14:00.002-07:00

He's 'Public Enemy No. 1'
Iranian president's visit riles up New York protesters

NEW YORK -- Spitting-mad New Yorkers took to the streets yesterday to protest a controversial visit by the man they call "Public Enemy No. 1."

Hoisting placards that screamed "Hitler Lives" and "Block the Bomb," thousands demonstrated outside Columbia University, where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the VIP guest at a world leaders' forum.

'FEELINGS OF HATRED'
"He has feelings of hatred for America, for Israel, for the west in general. He has repeatedly said he wants to attack the west and he's attempting to build a nuclear arsenal. He may come here, but I'm against everything he stands for and I want him to know that," said Gabriel Homa, a 20-year-old Montreal native.

The campus clash set the stage for today's address at the UN by the international pariah who denies the Holocaust and has been accused of saying he wants to wipe Israel off the map.
Columbia had taken much heat for the invitation, but yesterday the university's president, Lee Bollinger, did not offer a warm welcome. Instead, he lashed out at the Iranian president for his record on human rights and support for terrorism, and suggested he was "brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated" for denying the Holocaust.

"Let's then be clear at the beginning: Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said.

Ahmadinejad called the remarks "an insult" and insisted more research is needed on the Holocaust. Defending Tehran's nuclear ambitions, he said it had every right to pursue a peaceful program. But when asked about executions of homosexuals in Iran, Ahmadinejad said there are no gays in his country.

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," he said to roars of laughter. "In Iran we don't have this phenomenon. I don't know who told you this."

'A DISGRACE'
Outside, protesters of all ages said Ahmadinejad should not have been granted the pulpit at such a prestigious institution.

Holocaust survivor Albert Linder was sad and disgusted. "I was there, I saw it. I saw my 18-month-old sister die, I watched my grandparents die. I watched my other grandparents being shot. I saw it all, and I don't want it to happen again and this guy is all about making it happen again."

Sharona Getz called the Iranian dictator's presence "a disgrace" that makes her feel ashamed.
"We're here to show the world that we're not going to let a murderous dictator decide our fate," she said. "He says death to America, and everyone who believes in freedom should be here protesting."

But others believe free speech must reign.

"It's not that Columbia agrees with the views that he has, we're just representing his right to have those views and to express them to the western world so the U.S. and Iran can engage and have a better community," said Columbia student James Dawson. "The only way to do that is not legitimizing his views by giving him a podium, but by hearing his views by giving him a podium."

(Like I said... as proud as a National Anthem! "Oh saaay can you see..." Racist? Even slightly? Justified (maybe)? You figure it out for yourself!)-W.

Cop BACK up on charges!!!

2007-09-25T17:14:00.001-07:00

Cop back before disciplinary board
Tuesday, Noon

An Ottawa patrol cop, who for the past two years has been trying to recover from the scare of a lifetime, was back before a police tribunal this morning.

This time, Const. Umer Khan faces a charge of using unnecessary force on a member of the public.

Khan made his first appearance this morning at an internal hearing to answer charges of discreditable conduct and unnecessary exercise of authority under the Police Services Act. In this incident, Khan is alleged to have struck a member of the public over the head with his police baton.

Last March, Khan was penalized three days' pay after pleading guilty to different charges of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty connected to three incidents in late 2005 and early 2006.

During that hearing, it was revealed Khan was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a gun was pulled on him in May 2005 during an investigation at a Byward Market strip club.

A suspect pointed a loaded gun at Khan's head and pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. Khan chased the suspect and arrested him.

After his hearing in March, Khan said that the public needs to have a better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The tribunal hearing was held over until October 25.
(Hmmm... And some people still don't think that cops are corrupt? I guess some people choose which facts to absorb and which to ignore...)-W.

Racism: Canada's NEW National anthem!

2007-09-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Most want limits on demands of immigrants
Only 18 per cent say minorities should be fully 'accommodated,' new poll shows
Chris Cobb
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Most Canadians want limits on accommodating the cultural demands of new immigrants and religious minorities, a poll to be released today suggests.

According to the poll, conducted last week by Ottawa-based SES research, only 18 per cent of Canadians say cultural and religious minorities should be totally accommodated in Canada, with 53 per cent saying immigrants should fully adapt to the Canadian way of life.

The remaining respondents fell somewhere in between.

Two out of three Canadians said that they have heard of the term "reasonable accommodation," which is at the centre of a debate that has raged in Quebec since the town of Hérouxville adopted a set of societal rules for immigrants who might want to settle there.

More than 90 per cent of Quebecers are aware of the term and are overwhelmingly opposed to accommodating minority cultures and religions. Only 5.4 per cent of respondents said reasonable accommodation reflected their views and 77 per cent said immigrants should adapt to Quebec and Canadian society.

Older Canadians tend to be less tolerant of reasonable accommodation of minorities. However, while they want limits, a significant number of Canadians of all ages hold more moderate views.
"A sizable portion of Canadians have a relatively fixed view of Canada and what it is," said SES president Nik Nanos yesterday.

"Part of that fixed view is a willingness to accommodate new Canadians, but not at the price of compromising what Canada really is.

"In Quebec, the message is loud and clear. They see Canada through the lens of two founding peoples, two founding language communities -- and anyone who comes to Canada should fit into that framework. They see this vision of two founding peoples being eroded."

Reasonable accommodation was a major issue in the Quebec election earlier this year, and the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, created by Premier Jean Charest to examine the issue, is receiving extensive media coverage in the province.

Ontario's election wrangling over public funding of faith-based schools is a variation of the debate in Quebec, Mr. Nanos said.

The majority of Quebecers, he added, have reached their limit of tolerance, but the poll results, and the faith-based school debate in Ontario, suggest the issue is going to spread to other provinces.

"In Quebec," he said, "people are saying, 'We want to accommodate new Canadians and minorities, but hold on a minute.' What we are seeing in the province is a build up of accommodation after accommodation after accommodation. It's reached a tipping point in Quebec and our leaders outside Quebec should be watching because it is coming to their neighbourhood."

The online poll was conducted among 1,083 Canadians (295 in Quebec) for the Quebec-based public policy magazine Policy Options. SES says the results are accurate to within three percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Roughly half of respondents say religious and cultural minorities should be accommodated "some of the time." About 22 per cent said they should be accommodated "most of the time." About 14 per cent said they shouldn't be accommodated at all, and 5.6 per cent said they should be accommodated all the time. The rest are unsure.

When respondents were asked whether prayer spaces should be provided free of charge in public places to accommodate religious minorities, 58.6 per cent of Canadians were "to greater or lesser degrees" opposed, with around 31 per cent in favour. In Quebec, more than 80 per cent were opposed to some degree.

SES asked respondents three separate questions to determine in what public venues Canadians might find accommodation of religious and cultural minorities acceptable.

In Canada as a whole, just 36.7 per cent said there should be no accommodation in places "like schools, hospitals and public buildings." Around six per cent said there should be full accommodation, and the rest were between those extremes. Nearly two out of three Quebec respondents said there should be zero accommodation, with just 1.7 per cent in favour of full accommodation.

About 45 per cent of Canadians were opposed to religious accommodation in the workplace (65 per cent of Quebecers were opposed), and the opposition was more intense when respondents were asked whether similar accommodation should be part of amateur sport and leisure activities.

Among Canadians as a whole, 48 per cent opposed that option; among Quebecers, 72 per cent were opposed. Only 1.7 per cent of Quebecers and 3.3 per cent of Canadians overall were totally in favour.

The issue first hit the headlines in late February when Nepean's Asmahan "Azzy" Mansour, 11 at the time, was ordered to remove her hijab or leave the field during a soccer tournament in Laval, Que.

Canadians in regions with fewer cultural and religious minorities were more inclined to favour accommodation than those in larger urban centres.

"It's because they're not dealing with the issue on a personal basis," Mr. Nanos said.

"(The poll) should be a bit of notice to Canadians that we're going to deal again with the vision of Canada as two founding peoples, or whether we have become a multicultural country where the two founding peoples are subsumed within that."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007
(Racism is still alive and kickin' in Canada... the difference between Canadians and Americans is simple: Canadians won't admit racist shit in public (evidently.) but we feel free to say it over the phone; American's will shout racist shit at the top of their lungs; and say the same shit on the phone. I KNOW this is a generalization, but seriously, I'm tired of Canadians saying dumb shit like "Canada is so multicultural" and "everyone is accepted in Canada"... BULLSHIT and the recent poll shows it. Perhaps now we can see why there are so many Black people and First Nations people in our prison system...)-W.

Ottawa Police Report on injured man

2007-09-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ottawa Police Service
For Immediate Release: 30/08/2007

Man injured in police custody

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 30, 2007,3:00 p.m.

(Ottawa) – On Wednesday , August 29th, 2007, while in
police custody, an altercation ensued between a member of
the Ottawa Police Service and a 49 year old man. The 49
year old man was injured during the altercation. He was
taken to hospital and treated for his injuries.

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has been called and is
investigating the incident. For any inquiries, your contact
in Toronto will be Frank Phillips at (416) 622-2342 or 1
800 787-8529.

CONTACT:Frank Phillips
Special Investigation Unit
Telephone: (416) 622-2342 or 1 800 787-8529

Natives vow to defy judge's order- GOOD FOR THEM!!

2007-08-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

August 29, 2007
Natives vow to defy judge's order
Continue to blockade proposed Sharbot Lake uranium mine
By MEGAN GILLIS, SUN MEDIA

Algonquins blockading a proposed uranium mine near Sharbot Lake say they won’t obey a judge’s order to leave -- and the Ontario Provincial Police say there is no plan to force them to do so just yet.

About 200 people were at the camp site by yesterday with more expected to arrive today, said Robert Lovelace, a spokesman for one of two First Nations groups demanding Premier Dalton McGuinty ban mining on the territory they claim.

“We will not relinquish the gate here to save our land,” he said. “The occupation could be ended by the declaration of a moratorium.”

The Algonquins had a pipe ceremony with OPP brass yesterday and both sides agreed to keep the peace.

On Monday, a Kingston judge ordered the Algonquins to give Frontenac Ventures Corp. access to the site.

Police officers have been on the peaceful scene since the two-month-old blockade began but the OPP is still deciding how to proceed, said Const. Paige Whiting.

“We’re approaching it cautiously and ensuring public order is maintained,” she said. “Public safety is paramount. If we were to remove people, our understanding is there would be resistance.”

Frontenac’s lawyer, Neil Smitheman, said the injunction still has to go to the sheriff, who will ask for police assistance.

“It’s something the OPP has to decide, what they want to do,” he said. “The OPP seems to be making the decision it’s a civil matter. Refusing to obey a court order, in my view, takes this out of the realm of a civil matter.”

Ottawa supporters were heading to Sharbot Lake yesterday and OPIRG Carleton expected more to go in the next week or two.

“The OPP at this point seems to be hands-off. Hopefully that will continue,” Dan Sawyer said. “If it’s anything like the land reclamation in Caledonia, hopefully it will go on for a while.”
Sarbot Lake is located off Hwy. 7 about 20 km west of Perth. The mine site is just off Hwy. 509, which runs north off of Hwy. 7.
(SUPPORT THE CAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't let the government and big business continue to fuck with everything!)

SQ to 'review practices' BULLSHIT

2007-08-25T05:48:00.003-07:00

Sûreté du Québec to review practices
CAMPBELL CLARK and INGRID PERITZ AND IAN BAILEY
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
August 25, 2007 at 12:52 AM EDT

MONTREAL, OTTAWA, VANCOUVER — The red-faced Sûreté du Québec promised to review their practices after three of their officers were caught posing as protesters trying to confront a line of officers at this week's Montebello summit.

Both the provincial police and federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day defended the police infiltration of protests as legitimate work, however, and insisted that the officers were trying to prevent violence, not incite it. (Ohhhh...So that's what the rock was for... creating PEACE?! Stop lying! Fuck off, they can't possibly think that society is so dumb that they will just readily accept this statement...CAN THEY?)-W

At the same time, the union leader who confronted the undercover officers, Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada president David Coles, said he intends to file charges against the provincial police officers. He and opposition politicians have demanded an inquiry, insisting the police tried to discredit protests by sparking violence.

Videotaped footage of the incident shows the three disguised Sûreté du Québec officers wearing masks and holdings rocks in their hands, walking near a phalanx of officers in riot gear, while Mr. Coles tries to shoo them away, demanding they put down their rocks.

The officers refuse, and one swears and shoves Mr. Coles, and the union leader begins to accuse them of being police officers.

Chanting youths from the so-called Black Bloc told Mr. Coles that the three had been trying to get them to act more aggressively against the police.

Friday, a senior Quebec Provincial Police officer, Inspector Marcel Savard, said the clip shows only a portion of the events.

Earlier, the undercover officers had infiltrated a separate group of "extremists" and one of them handed an officer a rock, he said. The officers left the group and ended up in a crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

"He had a choice, a very quick choice to make," Insp. Savard said. He held onto the rock because "he was still hoping that his cover was good … [but] he never had the intention of using that rock." (How are you UNDERCOVER at a PEACEFUL protest with a rock in your hand? A sign, a poster, a banner, drums...those are generally part of peaceful protests... NOT ROCKS... hence the term PEACEFUL)-W

He added that undercover work is a legitimate, and standard, form of police work. "If there are methods or procedures that need to be changed or adjusted, you can be reassured, that will be done," he said.

The force had initially denied that their officers were disguised as protesters, but admitted it after the footage circulated widely on YouTube.

Neither Insp. Savard nor Mr. Day would say Friday whether the RCMP, which was in charge of security for the summit, gave the Quebec force permission to deploy undercover officers. Mr. Day said that information was "operational details that I don't get into."

After a news conference in Vancouver, Mr. Day said he would not deter police from using such tactics.

"You can't start getting politicians making the calls, saying, 'It's okay for you to use undercover agents in this drug operation over here, but you can't use them in that over there,'" he said.

He said he got assurances that the RCMP does not instigate violence.

Mr. Day also said that the three officers were identified because they were not throwing rocks like other protesters — although reporters at the scene said they did not see extensive rock-throwing until long after the incident with the undercover officers.

Critics did not buy Quebec Provincial Police's explanation and said Ottawa has to give the public a more detailed accounting.

"Does this mean the next time there is a demonstration against the war in Iraq or to preserve health care, we may be in a situation where there will be police officers holding rocks?" asked NDP MP Peter Julian.

Mr. Coles said he believes the police acted on political orders to discredit protesters, and that an inquiry would find that politicians gave the police orders, just as they did at the 1997 APEC protests in Vancouver,
"They were sent in to agitate, to try to create trouble," Mr. Coles said. "I say the politicians are in this up to their eyeballs. They were at APEC and they are in this one."

Martin Courcy, an expert in conflict management who has advised several police forces in Quebec, including the SQ, says the mere fact an officer was holding a rock was an act of provocation. (Ya' think?!)-W

"They could serve as models to others, and in that sense there's provocation," he said. Police infiltration is meant to defuse conflicts. "In this case, they didn't defuse conflict, they provoked conflict."

He deemed the effort amateurish and said the officers should have unmasked themselves when confronted by real protesters. "These are not infiltration professionals," Mr. Courcy said.

"The police officers were identified by demonstrators when they refused to throw projectiles" WHAT?!?!

2007-08-25T05:48:00.002-07:00

They still don't get it
Adam Radwanski, 24/08/07 at 11:35 AM EDT

Even in acknowledging last night that the Masked Men of Montebello were cops, the Surete du Quebec demonstrated that it still hasn't quite grasped this whole YouTube thing.

From the Surete's statement: "The police officers were identified by demonstrators when they refused to throw projectiles.”
(I can't believe they even TRIED this shit! Really!? This is the most idiotic statement I have ever read!! These SAME morons are the ones who punish people in order for the criminals to take responsibility for their actions and pay the consequences... Good Job accepting responsibility there guys! IDIOTS!)-W

Nice try, guys. But as anyone with an Internet connection can see for themselves, the officers were identified by demonstrators when they refused to put down their projectiles.

That's a pretty big distinction - the difference between the protesters being a bunch of hooligans, and outright rejecting hooliganism. Lying is a lot harder than it used to be.

Cops admit to PLANTING agents at a peaceful protest

2007-08-25T05:48:00.001-07:00

SQ admit to 'agents' but not 'provocateurs'
Critics demand RCMP review
UNNATI GANDHI
Globe and Mail Update
August 24, 2007 at 1:25 AM EDT

Opposition parties are calling on the RCMP to review how it handled security at this week's Montebello summit after Quebec's provincial police force admitted late Thursday that three undercover officers had disguised themselves as demonstrators during a protest.

A video of the demonstration broadcast on the Internet – which shows three men with bandanas across their faces and large rocks in their hands taunting union members before being handcuffed and escorted away by police in riot gear – was at the centre of a controversy that erupted following the North American leaders meeting.

Those at the protest said the officers were acting like agents provocateurs by provoking violence from within the crowd.

Both the RCMP and the Sûreté du Québec initially had denied that any of their officers were involved.

Last night, the SQ said the officers were members of the force.

The SQ, however, also denied allegations its undercover officers were at the demonstrations to provoke the crowd and instigate violence.

“Their mandate was to seek out and identify non-peaceful demonstrators to avoid having things boil over,” a statement issued by the force read. “At no point did Sûreté du Québec policemen act as agents provocateurs or criminals.”

But Marlene Jennings, the federal Liberal justice critic, said the issue goes beyond the provincial police force.

“The RCMP has some explaining to do,” she told The Globe and Mail Thursday night.
“If the RCMP was responsible for all security at this summit like [Minister of Public Safety Stockwell] Day says it was, the RCMP should have known that the Sûreté du Québec was using undercover officers to infiltrate the demonstrators.”

Thursday, Mr. Day had directed those with concerns about the way security was carried out at the demonstrations to the two police forces' formal public complaints process.

Ms. Jennings said that was not enough.

“Mr. Day should be calling for, at the very least, the RCMP public complaints commissioner to look into it. … The tape was pretty incriminating.”

NDP MP Peter Julian last night echoed his party's call for Mr. Day to hold a public inquiry into the allegations.

“Now that we have this revelation that police forces were under federal supervision, it raises a whole series of questions. Did they send agents into the crowd dressed as demonstrators, aggressive demonstrators at that? What was the mandate? Why were they carrying rocks?” he asked in an interview.

Melissa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Mr. Day, said that the minister stood by his recommendation that protesters file a complaint. He said the RCMP assured him that “they do not use tactics that would encourage confrontation or incite violence.”

While experts say that it is common practice to have officers blend in with protesters at such events, undercover police should never attempt to provoke others into misbehaving to create an excuse for police to act aggressively.

“We have people who blend in with the crowd. Everyone does that. All police forces in every country,” said Jean-Guy Dagenais, who heads the union of Quebec police officers (Association des policières et policiers provinciaux de Québec) that includes the Sûreté du Québec.

A former senior police officer said to not infiltrate the crowd would be “totally irresponsible.”
“If somebody takes a gun out and shoots a police officer or the head of state, how do you identify who did it if you don't have people in the crowd? You can't afford to make that mistake.”

He said there could be myriad reasons that the officers were detained by uniformed police, including the fact that the several hundred officers didn't know who was with whom.(Sounds like some bullshit to me! You're telling me that at a summit of political leaders, with more security than you could imagine, they didn't know who was undercover and who wasn't?)-W

But union leader Dave Coles, one of the organizers of the demonstration, said Monday's incident went beyond any undercover police officer's mandate.

“We're not talking about someone that's in plainclothes just walking amongst them. They were there armed with boulders. I witnessed them trying to incite a riot. I saw it,” said Mr. Coles, of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

“I asked them to put the boulder down. They refused to. They were there to provoke trouble.”

Undercover cops try to start riot... they deny it!

2007-08-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

Fake summit protesters provoked violence: Union
Canadian Press
August 22, 2007 at 3:01 PM EDT

OTTAWA — Organizers of a peaceful protest at this week's Montebello summit want answers from the Prime Minister about three demonstrators whom they say were police agents.
Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, says the three were trying to provoke violence.

A video of a confrontation with the three, posted on YouTube, shows one of the men holding a rock in his hand.(remember this fact before you read the follow-up post!)

The men, who had their faces masked by bandannas, eventually got through police lines where they were whisked away.

But there is no record of their arrests and police have refused to comment on the matter.

Video and photos of the men show them wearing boots with the same marking as police boots.

Activists say they believe the three were planted in the crowd to provoke a confrontation to give police justification for moving on the peaceful protesters.

Mr. Coles wants the Prime Minister's Office and the office of Quebec Premier Jean Charest to say whether they had any knowledge of the protest infiltrators.

PROTEST!

2007-08-14T17:12:00.001-07:00

First Nations Should Sue Provincial and Federal Governments!

2007-08-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

First Nations should sue squabbling governments over health care for kids: journal
Mon Aug 13, 6:53 PM
By Helen Branswell

TORONTO (CP) - Canada's leading medical journal is urging First Nations advocates to sue federal, provincial or territorial governments if they withhold or disrupt health care for sick aboriginal children in disputes over who should pay for the needed services.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Canadian Medical Association Journal said the courts should be asked to redress inequities if "bureaucrats and politicians" refuse to adopt a pay first, settle up later approach to the delivery of medical care to on-reserve children.

"We haven't had a case where aboriginals have gone to court and said: 'The provision of health services is part of aboriginal rights (under the Charter of Rights).' Mark my words. We will," said Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa law professor and one of the authors of the editorial.
"If bureaucracies don't solve problems equitably, then it's not inappropriate for courts to do it. In fact, that's exactly what courts are for."

The editorial announced that the journal is formally endorsing what's known as Jordan's Principle for use in cases where there is a dispute over which level of government should cover an aboriginal child's health care costs.

The proposed policy would see the first government contacted pick up the tab for the care while it worked out the payment issue with other levels of government. The idea behind the principle is that aboriginal children in need of health care shouldn't be held hostage to jurisdictional disputes.

The principle is named after a young Manitoba boy born with a debilitating genetic disorder who spent his entire life in hospital hundreds of kilometres away from his home reserve of Norway House Cree Nation.

Jordan, whose family name hasn't been disclosed, was born with a rare condition that left him in need of complex and costly care. He was dependent on a breathing machine and was fed by tube. He was developmentally delayed and was restricted to a wheelchair.

When the boy was two his doctors decided he could be discharged from hospital, suggesting he could be cared for in a specialized foster home close to his home reserve and his family. But a dispute over which level of government should pay for his care there dragged on until his death two years later.

Mike Muswagon, a band councillor for Norway House Cree Nation, said parties disputed every aspect of the cost of Jordan's out-of-hospital care. And he said this "bureaucratic nightmare" was not an isolated case.

"This is not a unique situation. It's a day-to-day struggle for us as First Nations people, trying to get adequate services for our children, especially when they're born with medical difficulties," he said from Northern Manitoba.

A spokesperson for Indian and Northern Affairs said the federal government is trying to work with provincial and territorial counterparts to improve the delivery of health-care services to First Nations people living on reserves.

"Indian and Northern Affairs supports a child-first approach, but must work with its federal and provincial and territorial and First Nations partners to realize this objective," Patricia Valladao said.

The medical journal joins a number of political and medical groups which have urged governments to ensure other First Nations children aren't victimized by this type of bureaucratic dispute.

Attaran said he believes a court case based on a situation like Jordan's would be dealt with swiftly by the courts.

"In the case of Jordan, he was asking for services that had he been a white Canadian (living) off reserve it would have been uncontroversial. Those services would have been paid for. And that's not good enough," he said.

"That is an extremely clear example of discrimination under Section 15 of the Charter (of Rights). If that came to court it would last precisely three milliseconds."

Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press
(Finally!) -W

BIG BROTHER INVADES OTTAWA!!

2007-08-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Cameras would help cut crime in Ottawa, chief says
Surveillance would be 'deeply troubling,' privacy critic says
Andrew Seymour

The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, August 10, 2007

A closed-circuit camera system like the one recently set up in Toronto to deter crime could help combat the crack and crime problem in the capital's downtown core, Ottawa police Chief Vernon White says.

Chief White, who vowed to tackle Ottawa's growing drug problem when he took over the force earlier this year, says video cameras set up to record "problem" locations could have a noticeable effect on drug dealing, prostitution and petty crime as an evidence- and intelligence-gathering tool.

But Leo Lehtiniemi, past president of the national capital region branch of the Civil Liberties Association, said he finds the chief's support of wide-ranging surveillance "deeply troubling."

"The potential for abuse is phenomenal," said Mr. Lehtiniemi, adding there would need to be strict controls on who has access to the video and what it is being used for.

"There are situations where the use of video technology is appropriate, but that isn't necessarily in the public domain," he said. "When you move it to the public domain, that is treacherous ground." In addition to privacy concerns, Mr. Lehtiniemi said surveillance cameras are too often touted as a "magic bullet" that can make crime disappear, even though there is very little proof to back that assertion.

Mr. Lehtiniemi said studies have shown that crime just moves to another area after cameras are set up.

Chief White said the cameras could be portable, allowing police to move them from one area to another to prevent crime from spreading to new neighbourhoods away from the camera's lens.
"This isn't invading the privacy of law-abiding citizens. It is trying to protect our community," said Chief White. "We're not streaming it across the Internet so people can see where you are going for lunch." Chief White said residents are already being recorded just about everywhere they go, and installing cameras on public street corners would not be much different.

"If you walk around anywhere in this city right now, cameras are filming you," said Chief White. "You can't go into a bank, you can't go into a mall, you can't go anywhere without cameras being on the corner of every building." A $2-million pilot project to test closed-circuit cameras in Toronto began in May. The six-month project is being funded by the province. Thirteen cameras have been installed in white boxes at the top of tall poles in three Toronto neighbourhoods.

It follows a smaller three-week trial that came following the 2005 Boxing Day shooting of Jane Creba in downtown Toronto.

While Toronto police do not monitor the video feeds, investigators can access the recorded images if a crime occurs in the area.

There are currently no plans to set up a closed-circuit camera system in Ottawa, and Chief White admits he has yet to approach the province on the issue.

Neither the police department nor the city could afford to purchase and run the cameras without provincial funding, he said.

Chief White estimated a surveillance system similar to Toronto's could cost $800,000 or more.
Rideau-Vanier Councillor George Bédard, whose ward includes Rideau Street and the Byward Market, said the cameras could be a "smart investment." He credited cameras in Strathcona Park with curtailing graffiti and drinking after dark.

"It worked there, so why wouldn't it work on a public street?" he asked.

Mr. Bédard said the security of all residents outweighs people concerned about the Orwellian threat to privacy.

"If they are not doing anything criminal, why should they worry?" he asked.

The city already has cameras installed in six to eight city parks, at swimming pools and at some community centres and heritage sites.

The motion-activated camera systems are only turned on after the 11 p.m. park curfew and do not record during the day.

The systems, which have been in place in some locations since 2004, have never been challenged under privacy legislation, said the city's head of security, Bob Gauvreau.

The city has also installed cameras on some city buses and at Transitway stations, while cameras are used to catch red-light runners at several major intersections.

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said it is not yet known how effective the cameras have been, although images from the cameras have been used in police investigations.

Mr. Pugash said feedback from the public has been positive so far.

"They make people feel safer and more secure," he said.

Chief White acknowledged the idea of closed-circuit cameras available to police could evoke shades of George Orwell's novel 1984, where the state decides it needs to know too much about its citizens.

"It is a bit of Big Brother. But at the end of the day, it is a public venue," he said. "We have to weigh how we improve safety for the greater good of the community." Mr. Lehtiniemi said that argument is "flawed." "The argument that there are cameras everywhere is deplorable. The reason there are cameras everywhere is because no one" really thinks about the issue of privacy and security, he said.

However, residents of some downtown neighbourhoods said they would welcome video surveillance if it meant a reduction in crime.

Evan Soikie of the Association of Community Associations for Reform Now said Vanier residents are "fed up" with the number of used condoms, crack pipes and dirty needles they discover on their front lawns and in city parks.

"We really want to see some serious change in our neighbourhood," said Mr. Soikie. "People really want to see solutions put in place." Mr. Soikie said he supports the idea, so long as the public has assurances the videos are used for their intended purpose.

"There is always that loose cannon out there that could use it for some other gain," he said.

aseymour@thecitizen.canwest.com
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

Kelly Egan FIGHTS back!!

2007-08-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

In Swaggerville, O'Brien snuffs crack pipes with a sneer
Kelly EganThe Ottawa Citizen
Sunday, July 15, 2007

Mayor Larry O'Brien is fond of referring to the city's crack-pipe kits as "loot bags" of drug goodies.

This is supposed to be funny, or at least clever, I take it. Crack is about as funny as cancer. Being addicted to crack, in fact, is possibly the unfunniest thing I've ever heard.
HIV and hepatitis C are not funny. Being addicted to crack and contracting HIV or hep C is absolutely the unfunniest thing I've ever heard.

Not long ago, the mayor was talking on the radio about panhandlers. Too many of them downtown, His Worship said. This is true. But beggars are as old as street corners -- one of those problems many have managed, but never solved.

Why not just stop handing them money, the mayor suggested? It worked for pigeons. Stop feeding them -- they go away. Days later, he said his pigeon-panhandling analogy was "probably regrettable." Probably was. Not very funny, either.

This kind of phrasing from a politician is deliberate, and what it does, over time, is set a tone. Any mayor sets the tone of his own office. The council does not force it on him. And the public is expert at reading tone, a kind of political body language.

Marion Dewar's term in office had a distinct vibe (worldly, big-hearted). So did Jim Durrell's (old-boy sporty) and Jim Watson's (accessible Boy Scoutish). So did Bob Chiarelli's (competent plodding).

Mayor O'Brien's tone is emerging. Think of Swaggerville and alpha- male and loot bags and pigeons. Think of a millionaire in a fancy glass condo above Belinda Stronach and a chauffeured Mercedes.
And what you detect, toward the poor and the homeless and the marginal -- and he is mayor of the hobos and hookers and the junkies, by the way -- is a sneer. If he intended something else, it has gone awry.

He campaigned on dumping the program and has done so. Fine. Maybe it was a stupid use of municipal money. Maybe crack kits are the job of the Ministry of Health. But why the glib mockery?

The amount of attention paid to the city's crack-pipe program was ridiculously out of proportion to its cost, which was roughly $7,500 a year. At City Hall, this isn't even paper-clip money. And hasn't it become the poster child for profligate spending and wacky priorities?

No money for transit? Yeah, but we hand out free crack pipes. Can't cut the grass in parks and medians? Yeah, but we hand out free crack pipes. Must cut back on recycling? Yeah, but we hand out free crack pipes. Ad nauseam.

It does have a counter-intuitive feel to it. Why spend public money, especially municipal funds, to help crack addicts smoke crack?

Well, maybe in the addiction-fighting world, where they prescribe methadone to heroin addicts, we should not be guided by the opinions of politically-motivated amateurs. Everyone in the addiction field thought the program was a good idea. The city's own medical officer of health -- this is how he makes his living -- thought it was a sound idea. A harm reduction program that saves just one case of HIV or hep C saves the medical system a fortune.

But supporting a crack-pipe program requires a minor amount of sophisticated reasoning.
The politicians knew better. The vote breakdown, 15 to 7, was interesting. Every downtown councillor, save the absent Georges Bedard, voted to retain the program. Most of the suburbs and countryside voted against.

No one from the suburbs ever gets involved in crack. No, that would never happen, not in a million years. All those bad people come from somewhere else. Merivale Road can go back to peacefully aisle-grazing at Winners.

The mayor's alternative to the program was inventive, but not particularly helpful. He wants to lobby for a 48-bed treatment centre in the city, presumably to be paid for by another level of government. What may be decoded in his message -- and it comes back to tone -- is this: get the crack-heads off the street and out of my face.

What of those addicts who refuse treatment, or fail at it? And why in- house treatment, as opposed to out-patient? Why 48 beds and not 148? Why not contract out to existing, private facilities, instead? How is he an addictions expert, all of a sudden?

A city that yanks $7,500 in annual funds to fight the effects of drug addiction is hardly on the high ground in urging another public-sector arm to spend millions -- onetime and on-going -- on a treatment centre.

Loot bag? No. A different bag of tricks altogether.

Contact Kelly Egan at 613-726-5896 or by e-mail, kegan@thecitizen.canwest.com© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

(YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Ottawa THREATENS own grassroots, public health agenicies!

2007-08-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Crack pipe providers could lose funding: Ottawa councillor
Last Updated: Friday, July 27, 2007 11:35 AM ET
CBC News
(More THREATS to non-profits from City Hall aka BIG BROTHER)- W

Groups that continue to hand out crack pipes to Ottawa drug users despite city council's decision to end a distribution program can expect a rough ride at budget time, a councillor warns.

"As far as I'm concerned, any organization that will be using that as a tool to give out to our kids — I will vote against giving any funding to them," Orléans Coun. Bob Monette told CBC News on Thursday.

Orléans Coun. Bob Monette says he will vote against providing city funding to any group that wants to continue handing out crack pipes to drug users.(CBC)

"We made it very clear at council meeting that city council does not support handing out crack pipes."

The crack pipe program, started in 2005, provides free, clean, rubber-tipped glass tubes to crack users. It was intended to reduce the incidence of HIV and hepatitis spread through the sharing of homemade crack pipes.

The city-run program cost $30,000 a year, but Ottawa was only paying $7,500 annually, with the rest covered by the province. However, city council voted 15-7 on July 11 to cancel to the program.

After Monette's warning, community groups who are partners in the program — such as the Ottawa HIV/AIDS Coalition — said they are determined to keep handing out the pipes.

"Our legal advice is that there is no problem in distributing these safer inhalation devices," said Ron Chaplin, the chair of the coalition.

"We regard these as medical devices in the same way that a syringe is a medical device and we've been distributing syringes to drug users in this community for many years now."

Nevertheless, the groups are taking Monette's threat seriously, said Kathleen Cummings, the director of the AIDS Committee of Ottawa, which gets more than $50,000 from the city each year.

She said the cancellation of the crack pipe program will lead to an increase in HIV infection in Ottawa, and that means her group's services will be needed more than ever.

"I think they should be expanding our services," she said at a public forum on the crack pipe program Thursday night.

Crack pipe distribution by the city is to stop at the end of July.

These people can't be running our city!? I'm absolutely astounded by the lack of common sense and intelligence found within the walls of City Hall! Threatening the grass-roots, flat broke, struggling to survive to help people with ADDICTIONS is NEVER a good strategy. No no no, this can't be what the Mayor thinks... can it? OF COURES it can! Mayor O'Brien said, LIVE on AChannel News at 6 that those agencies who continue to hand out crackpies 'should be very careful.' With a HUGE smirk. After being pressed a little about it by the reporter, he insisted it was warning them that they could be charged with a criminal offence IF they didn't have the proper permits. He said it's illegal to be in the posession of drug paraphenalia (crackpipe kits)!

AHHHH!!!! I'm going CRAZY! I don't understand what's going on here?! Why is this OK with all of us? We just sit back until the City explodes and then we get mad. ONLY because the poor, addicted, ugly, smelly, barely human, not worth looking at people have spread into YOUR neighbourhood. I'm not even sure that you'd look at them as people eh? They're diseases and those who don't think the same should be fined and imprisoned!

Welcome to The City of Ottawa... Mayor Larry "Short-sighted and Ignorant" O'Brien would be happy to have you move here... Providing you make several hundren-thousand dollars/ year. Those who are open-minded, poor, accepting, caring and/or who like those who may fall into any one of the previously mentioned categories: DO NOT MOVE HERE! O'Brien will make you miserable!
(Please take the time to visit this site: http://www.csdp.org/news/news/canada.htm EXCELLENT INFORMATION!)

Child Welfare Officials have no duty to parents: top court

2007-07-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Child welfare officials have no duty to parents: top court
Last Updated: Friday, July 27, 2007 12:07 PM ET
CBC News

Child welfare authorities don't owe parents a duty of care, Canada's top court ruled Friday, saying such an obligation would put the treatment of children at risk by creating a conflict of duties.

The unanimous Supreme Court of Canada ruling marks the end of a lengthy battle by a southwestern Ontario family for millions of dollars in damages.

They claimed a treatment centre and social worker owed them a responsibility and had been negligent by depriving them of a relationship with their daughter.

But the court ruling found there can be no dual responsibility because it would hinder the care of the children. The system's paramount duty is to do what is best for the child, the ruling says.
"To recognize such a legal duty to the family of a child in their care would pose a real risk that a secure treatment centre and its employees would have to compromise their overriding duty to the child," the ruling says.

In 1995, the family's 14-year-old daughter, identified in the case as R.D., was taken from their custody after she wrote a short story for school claiming her parents sexually and physically abused her.

The parents claimed the allegations were false and that she had a history of mental illness. No criminal charges were ever laid and the case never went to trial.

The family filed a lawsuit against a case worker and the treatment centre asking for $40 million in damages.

The suit alleged the centre treated R.D. as if she were a sex abuse victim even though she wasn't and failed to try to reintegrate the teen into her family.

They argued the interference caused them emotional distress and nervous shock for having been deprived of a relationship with the girl.

The girl had been sent to a facility for mentally disturbed teens, the Syl Apps Secure Treatment Centre, after three suicide attempts. She later agreed to become a ward of the state, despite her parents' objections.

When the family filed the lawsuit, Syl Apps tried to have it tossed out. In 2006, the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed their attempt and the treatment centre and social worker then appealed to the Supreme Court.
( I'll comment on this soon... I have ENOUGH to say about this but I just don't have the time right now!) -W

Larry O'Brien sets stage for Provincial and Federal take-over!

2007-07-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Mayors Ready to Discuss Commuter Train
Josh Pringle
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The Ottawa Citizen

10 Mayors will ride into Ottawa next week to attend Mayor Larry O'Brien's transportation summit.

The August 1st meeting will discuss O'Brien's plan to build an eastern Ontario commuter train network connecting Arnprior, Perth, Alexandria and all points in between with Ottawa.

The Ottawa Citizen reports the Mayor's office is expecting more Mayors to confirm their attendance at the summit this week.

O'Brien wants to use the summit to draft a plan to present to the Ontario and Federal Governments.
(Mr. O'Brien... YOU ARE THE MAYOR OF OTTAWA. You are NOT the Premier of Ontario. You are NOT the Prime Minister of Canada. Focus on Ottawa... you need to make-up for $118 MILLION dollars and you have a major law suit AND you just scrapped an $8000 crack pipe program in favour of $50,000 worth of health related expenses! Excellent business ideas! Thank you for increasing poverty, cutting funding to cash saving (over long term) social programs and encouraging a LAW SUIT! )-W

Ottawa cops bragging of failures!

2007-07-23T14:50:00.001-07:00

Violent Crimes, Assaults Drop in 06 (sounds like they're bragging... and OH are they bragging. Read carefully though... There's nothing to brag about here!)
Josh Pringle Sunday, July 22, 2007

The crime rate in Ottawa held steady in 2006.

The Crime, Police and Traffic Statistics report for the Ottawa Police Service's Board shows the number of crimes in 2006 were at a rate of 5780 offences per 100-thousand residents.

The Ottawa Police Service reports the number of violent crimes decreased by five per cent last year, while the number of assaults decreased seven per cent.

There were 16 homicides in Ottawa last year, up from 11 in 2005. (If I'm not mistaken, this is a 45% INCREASE!! Hmmm... Percentages don't sound as favourable here)

Ottawa Police solved 87 per cent of the murders last year. (13 murders... why use percentages here, but actual numbers above? I guess it's to make them sound better... hmmm...)

The police solvency rate for crimes committed in 2006 was 30.4 per cent, up from 28 per cent in 2005. (Are they really saying that they only solve 30.4% of crimes? Isn't that their job... to prevent and SOLVE crimes!!?? I don't understand how this is acceptable. If I only did my job 30% of the time I'd be fired!! If I only got 30% of the questions on a test right I'd fail. HOW IS 30% an acceptable success rate?)- W

BULLSHIT COP STORY- OTTAWA!

2007-07-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

Calls for Cop Service Drop in 2006
Josh Pringle Monday, July 23, 2007

Ottawa Police received 358-thousand calls for service in 2006.
The 2006 Crime, Police and Traffic Statistics report shows the number of calls dropped two per cent from 2005.

The report for the Ottawa Police Service's Board finds the number of Priority 1 calls for urgent and/or life-threatening situations increased two per cent from 2005.

The average response time for Priority 1 calls in 2006 was 9.3 minutes(AND THIS IS OK? I'd be dying and they'd get there in 9.3mins?!). Officers responded within 15 minutes 85.4 per cent of the time. (85% of the time it takes COPS 15mins to get there?)

Response times for Priority 2 calls remained constant in 2006, with 96 per cent of urgent, but not life threatening situations handled within two hours.

(This is NOT OK! There is no way that this can even be considered even anything CLOSE to a good news story! This is the most amazingly FLUFFED bullshit I have ever read. NOTHING in this article represents anything close to acceptable. Why have cop calls fallen? BECAUSE THEY TAKE TOO DAMN LONG TO GET THERE! So what do you do? The cops are busy, you're being robbed... SHOOT HIM! That's why murders are up and violent crimes are down... people aren't assaulting eachother or waiting for cops... they're KILLING eachother... which explains the spike in murder rates in Ottawa! This is nonsense... )- W

Cop skipped traffic tickets, demanded cash!

2007-07-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cop skipped traffic tickets, demanded cash
July 21, 2007
Paul Morse
The Hamilton Spectator

A Hamilton police constable is now a convicted criminal for shaking down drivers for cash and stealing money and jewellery.

John Keosongseng, 30, a six-year Hamilton police officer, stood before a hushed court in Hamilton yesterday and pleaded guilty to three counts of breach of trust for bribery and theft.

The Laotian refugee who came to Canada with his family in 1979 and graduated from Delta Secondary School, also resigned from the force yesterday.

Keosongseng, a former Peel Regional Police officer, joined the Hamilton force in 2001 and worked as a patrol officer in the city's east end.

Last September, Keosongseng stole $600 in cash and $400 in jewellery from a reported stolen car he was sent to recover. According to special prosecutor Ian Scott, Keosongseng never mentioned the cash or jewellery in his report, "converting them to his own use."
What Keosongseng didn't know was that the car was a trap set by Hamilton internal affairs investigators.

Then, in early October, Keosongseng stopped a man on Highland Road. He told the driver to give him the contents of his wallet in lieu of issuing a traffic ticket. The driver, an undercover Toronto police officer, gave Keosongseng $305.

Two days later, Keosongseng stopped a woman on Queenston Road in Stoney Creek and told her to give him money or he would issue her a number of tickets. The woman had $340 in her wallet, and Keosongseng took $300 out of it after she asked him to leave her $40 for gas. The woman was in fact a senior undercover Toronto police operative.

"A gambling addiction was Mr. Keosongseng's downfall in this case," defence lawyer Dean Paquette told Judge Anton Zuraw.

Keosongseng and his parents fled Laos "for economic and religious freedom to find a better life under a non-communist regime," Paquette said.

The convicted officer, who teaches Sunday school at the First Christian Reformed Church in Hamilton and whose father is a pastor, developed a gambling addiction nine years ago, said his lawyer.

Although others knew he was gambling, "they didn't appreciate the hold it had over him," Paquette said. Keosongseng's gambling began with playing Pro Line and progressed to making bets through bookies.

"He was threatened and his family was threatened," Paquette told the court. "He didn't know what to do. He knew he was going to get caught."

Keosongseng, who is married with two young children, has lost everything because of gambling, Paquette said, and has declared personal bankruptcy.

Hamilton police Chief Brian Mullan said trust and integrity are two of the foremost values for police.
"I am appreciative of the fact that he has stepped up and accepted responsibility for his criminal acts."

Mullan said Hamilton police believe in holding officers accountable when they do something wrong. "This affirms our ability to investigate criminal acts and hold individuals responsible."

Keosongseng will be sentenced on Aug. 2. The Crown wants Keosongseng to spend up to nine months in jail, while Paquette asked Zuraw to impose a conditional sentence that would spare him time behind bars.

pmorse@thespec.com
905-526-3434

Justice for all?

2007-07-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ex-Gatineau cop jailed in drug case
By ALEX HEBERT, SUN MEDIA
(We revisit the case of, the now ex-cop, Peter Vranas; the original story can be found in my blog)- W

A 20-year veteran of the Gatineau police force has been sentenced to 27 months in prison after he was caught in possession of cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy pills.
Peter Vranas, 41, pleaded guilty to three charges, including possession and trafficking of narcotics.

Vranas' wife, Danielle, told Sun Media that her husband also lost his job. (That sounds about right... He should lose his job... he's NOT doing his job, in fact, he had been off for a year prior to this! He is NOT ALLOWED to be a cop if he can't manage to obey the same laws as everyone else... I have NO SYMPATHY for him)- W
"He pled guilty to make it easier for everyone (in the family)," she said, adding some of the allegations were not true. "It's finished for us."

Vranas and his brother-in-law, Claude Dorion Jr., 31, were found with 2 kg of cocaine -- worth an estimated $240,000 -- and an undisclosed amount of cash after they were pulled over on suspicion of weapons offences in Gatineau June 20.

$10-$20GS FOUND
No weapons were found.

An investigation uncovered 15 pot plants in the backyard of Vranas' Gatineau home, $10,000-$20,000 in cash, at least 1,000 ecstasy pills and 14 cases of contraband cigarettes. (Sounds like the police might need math lessons $10, 000 TO $20, 000? That's a $10,000 GAP!)-W

Four other people have been arrested in the case.

Quebec provincial police investigated -- Quebec law prohibits Gatineau police from investigating one of their own officers.

Vranas was originally charged with trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime and production of cannabis.

He had been on leave from work for the past year.

In 2003, Vranas was suspended after being charged with breach of trust and attempting to obstruct justice. He was acquitted of those charges in May 2005. (OOPS! Guess someone made a mistake!)-W

Charge Against Officer Dropped... but wait 'till you hear why!

2007-07-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Charge against officer dropped

Karen Kleiss, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Thursday, July 12

EDMONTON - An assault charge against a city police officer was dismissed last week due to an administrative error.

Complainant Raymond Anderson missed his chance to testify against Edmonton police Const. Jan Cichon at the July 4 trial because he was in a Calgary jail.

A judge's order telling jail officials to bring Anderson to Edmonton had gone astray.

ASKED FOR ADJOURNMENT
When it became apparent what had happened, Calgary Crown prosecutor Matthew Hinshaw asked Provincial court Judge Ian Kirkpatrick for an adjournment so Anderson could be brought to Edmonton to testify.

Kirkpatrick denied the request, saying he had no confidence that Anderson would appear at a future court date.

Anderson was the only witness, so the Crown was unable to proceed with the case. As a result, Kirkpatrick dismissed the charge.

"A judge's order was issued in order to have him transported to Edmonton," Hinshaw said Wednesday when contacted by The Journal.
"But that judge's order was not acted upon for reasons that were not entirely clear."

Cichon, 53, was facing one charge of assault against Anderson in connection with an incident in November 2005.
Details of the alleged assault have not been made public.

Hinshaw said police made three attempts to deliver a subpoena to Anderson before the trial.

DIFFICULT TO LOCATE
They failed to locate him on the first two attempts. On the third attempt, they discovered he was incarcerated and issued a judge's order to have him transported to Edmonton on the day of the trial.

Anderson was serving time in a Lethbridge jail when the order was issued and so it was sent to that facility.
However, Anderson was later transferred to the Calgary jail and the paperwork didn't follow him.

Tom Engel, chairman of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association policing committee, called on Justice Minister Ron Stevens to personally review the file.

"Given that the complainant is a prisoner of the solicitor general, who oversees the police, it is difficult to understand how a judge could reasonably decide that he would be unlikely to attend in future," Engel said.
"It sounds like exactly the type of error by a judge that would be overturned on appeal.
"Here you have a victim who has been deprived of his day in court, so to speak."
Hinshaw said the Crown does not plan to appeal.

University of Alberta criminal law professor Sanjeev Anand said Kirkpatrick likely had a good reason for the decision.

"It is unfortunate when a trial collapses due to an administrative error," Anand said. "But there are a number of potentially valid reasons for the decision."

Anand suggested that Kirkpatrick may have been concerned that Anderson would be released from custody before the next court date and would not appear of his own volition. Anderson is expected to be released from jail in early October, Hinshaw said.

Anand also said the trial judge might have been concerned about ongoing delays.

Police spokesman Jeff Wuite said that with the criminal charges dismissed, a review is underway to determine whether the complaint calls for an internal disciplinary proceeding.

No date for the proceeding has been set.

kkleiss@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2007

(WHAT?!?!?!?! I'm speechless...)

Ottawa KILLS Crackpipe program!

2007-07-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

By DEREK PUDDICOMBE, City Hall Bureau

City council has snuffed out Ottawa’s hotly debated crack pipe program.

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli, who introduced the controversial motion to axe the program, said supplying paraphernalia enabling addicts to smoke up sends a mixed message.

“We are spending tax dollars on apprehending the drug users, then spending more dollars on delivering crack pipes to the users,” Chiarelli said. “It’s one of the most ironic mixed messages a municipal government could send. It’s just stupid. It’s not the way you spend tax dollars.”

He said the program, which began in April 2005 and cost the city $8,000 a year, is not proven to help addicts.

The program was defeated in a 15-7 vote.

Dr. David Salisbury, the city’s medical officer of health, argued that handing out pipes — as part of the city’s integrated drug strategy — might not curb habits, but prevents the spread of HIV.
“It’s preventing communicable disease transmission,” he said. “It is effective and preventing people from getting infected. If we can’t control it it will affect us. The disease is untreatable and is deadly.”

Salisbury expects an increase in the number of HIV and hepatitis C cases. He told council the pipe program prevents up to 12 people a year from contracting HIV, noting it costs $600,000 to treat an infected patient.

Capital Coun. Clive Doucet said the program was financially responsible.
“It sounds like a pretty good deal to me,” said Doucet.

Montreal, Toronto, Guelph, Winnipeg and Vancouver have similar programs.
The city’s community and protective services committee had recommended to council it spend $500,000 to study the effectiveness of the pipe program.

Orleans Coun. Bob Monette said it was about time council dealt with the issue of handing out free crack pipes. He realizes there is a drug problem but would like to see the city spend money on building a treatment centre.

“We need to encourage people on the street to seek treatment,” he said. “The program doesn’t cost a lot, but I’m strictly opposed to the principle. Let’s stop this ridiculousness.”

Coun. Diane Deans said cancelling the program is premature and council should have allowed the study to proceed so council had complete information before it made a decision.

Cancelling the program was an election promise made by Mayor Larry O’Brien.

“Giving out loot bags of crack pipe packages to facilitate the use of a tool that can lead people to this lifestyle is not appropriate,” said O’Brien. “It’s foolishness.”

O’Brien also intends to lobby the province to help fund a 40-bed treatment centre in the city and amend legislation that mandates Ottawa to provide a needle exchange program.
O’Brien wants the program to be voluntary.
( I believe Mr. Chairelli has been quoted as saying that now, with the cancellation of this [$8,000/yr] program, Ottawa will be able to get the necessary services into the city to care for addicts. REALLY MR. CHAIRELLI? For $8000/year you're going to provide the facility, the staff, medication and necessary care required for addicts?! WOW! I'm impressed with your super-human abilities! You're a upper-middle class asshole who has NO IDEA what addiction is like, what it does to you as a person and the risks you're willing to take to feed your addiction! So far, our bullshit mayor has told ALL people of Ottawa to NO LONGER GIVE CHANGE TO THE HOMELESS because in his mind, giving change to the homeless FUELS the crack trade; and now he has removed a proven, harm-reduction/ public health strategy! I guess city council is sending the message that Ottawa is for the RICH ONLY! This is such bullshit... i can't believe that these councilors actually think that they're speaking for the people of Ottawa. They MAY be speaking for the upper class people in Ottawa, but WAKE UP assholes, the MAJORITY of people in OTTAWA are NOT rich, are NOT upper class! I'm so outraged by the bullshit at city hall! IGNORANT ASSHOLES seem to be the only ones who ever get into power!)- W

No end to Jane's Big Bash!

2007-07-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

No End to Jane's Big Bash.
City unsure how to get activist off property.

By DONNA CASEY, SUN MEDIA

Activist Jane Scharf is embarking on the 11th day of her vigil outside City Hall, which is meant to confront Mayor Larry O'Brien over what she has called his "illegal bashing of the poor." (Sean Kilpatrick, Sun Media)

Lounging in a camp chair beneath a leafy elm tree outside City Hall's Elgin St. entrance, Jane Scharf is watching the world go by on a perfect summer afternoon.

She has a hot dog cart carrying her camping gear, a skim of coins in a donation jar and a petition demanding the resignation of Mayor Larry O'Brien for his "illegal bashing of the poor."

A trio of pigeons peck for crumbs on the sidewalk while a radio plays Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

The fun is lost on City Hall security who say the homeless activist is free to hang her protest shingle outside the mayor's office, but needs to start packing up at night.

TICKETED

Since July 1, Scharf has spent 10 days parked outside City Hall, pulling out her sleeping bag to bunk down under the stars -- city officials say she's breaking a bylaw that bans the public from hanging out in parks after 11 p.m.

Bylaw officers have ticketed Scharf three times and now officials are eyeing the next step to get the 54-year-old off city property after hours.

Bob Gauvreau, manager of corporate security for the City of Ottawa, says Scharf -- who was once banned from City Hall property -- has the right to protest, but the city also has the right to enforce its bylaws.

"The landlord and taxpayers have the right to ask her to leave," said Gauvreau.
City staffers don't want Scharf's overnight stays to turn into a replay of the summer of 2003, when dozens of demonstrators set up a tent city outside City Hall for two months.
"I don't want it to become a massive campout," said Gauvreau of Scharf's current solitary sleepover.

Earlier this week, police acted on a complaint by bylaw officers and charged Scharf with trespassing. The ticket was withdrawn based on a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that said police in Toronto overstepped their boundaries by charging protesters at Queen's Park with trespassing.

Insp. Mike Johnson said Ottawa police and city lawyers are looking at the ruling.

Johnson said Scharf's nighttime stays put the protest into a legal "grey area."
"You can have a legitimate complaint, but you need to come during regular business hours. If you are here at 2 a.m. sleeping on the steps, you are putting the city on the spot from a liability perspective and taxpayers don't want that," said Johnson.

Yesterday, Scharf said she'll keep up her overnight slumbers outside the mayor's office "until he resigns."

Scharf laughs when she recounts a near-encounter with O'Brien when the mayor walked outside and ventured close to her protest stand.

Normally able to talk a blue streak, Scharf found herself at a loss for words.
"I yelled out "Hey!" but I was speechless. I didn't know what to say," she chuckled.
(tax payers have the right to ask her to leave, but she isn't causing ANY harm to ANYONE so she is well within her RIGHTS to remain there! Ottawa is BULLSHIT! O'Brien SHOULD resign for any number of reasons... MORE POWER TO HER! FUCK OTTAWA, FUCK O'BRIEN! Keep on keepin' on!)

Toronto Cop is a Drug Smuggler!!

2007-07-08T07:26:00.002-07:00

Toronto officer charged in huge drug-smuggling ring

Natalie Alcoba, CanWest News ServicePublished: Friday, July 06, 2007

TORONTO -- Toronto police have accused one of their own officers of helping an Eastern European organized crime group charged with importing and exporting marijuana and cocaine between Canada and the U.S.

Const. Ioan-Florin Floria, 34, was arrested Thursday during a series of co-ordinated raids in the Toronto area, British Columbia and Michigan that busted a "substantial" smuggling ring and took into custody 24 other people.

Police have seized approximately 500 kilograms of marijuana valued at $3 million, one kilogram of cocaine valued at $30,000, nearly $500,000 Cdn and $41,000 US. Police also seized three handguns and two stolen vehicles.

Staff Insp. Don Campbell said most of the marijuana was shipped from B.C. to Toronto and then smuggled into the U.S. for sale. The profits from that were then used to purchase cocaine, which was imported to Toronto and on to B.C., police allege.

It is alleged that Floria conducted searches of confidential police databases and advised the traffickers on how to avoid police detection.

During the investigation, police claim to have foiled a plan to kidnap a group associate who was being blamed for losing a shipment seized by police.

Campbell said the gang successfully kidnapped two other people in Toronto.

"It was a very brutal kidnapping. We're alleging (Floria) had some knowledge of that after the fact," said Campbell.

Floria is charged with two counts of breach of trust, two counts of obstruct justice, accessory after the fact of kidnapping and launder proceeds of crime.

Toronto police Chief Bill Blair called the officer's charges "worrisome," but said he does not believe the problem is widespread.

"No one is above the law in the organization and if people do engage in inappropriate, criminal or corrupt conduct, they will be held accountable."

Floria was released and has been suspended from his duties with pay.

National Post
nalcoba@nationalpost.com

(Dear Mr. Floria,
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for the role you played in the corruption of the criminal justice system.
On behalf of every person in the community that you swore to 'serve and protect', I say thank you for betraying our trust! In fact, you were probably profiting off of our son's and daughter's misery, I don't doubt that you were the cause of much it... I just want you to know that your actions directly affect any little kid who ever looked up to you and thought "I want to be a Police Officer"... Do you think that little kid still has that dream?!
Congratulations on being a sorry excuse for a humanbeing!
How can you look at yourself in the mirror and not be disgusted...knowing that you have betrayed so many people? I'm sure you have lectured kids about the dangers of drugs; that you have approched a single Mom and told her that she was doing a bad job as a parent (because you bring their kid home for being drunk or something petty like that); and the reality is, YOU ARE DOING A DISSERVICE to our community and you are no longer welcome and you were NEVER needed."- W

"Please Give Me A Federal Pen. Sentence!"

2007-07-08T07:26:00.001-07:00

Robber begs for longer sentence
Judge won't send him to federal pen

Doug Schmidt, Windsor StarPublished: Saturday, July 07, 2007

A convicted robber stunned a Windsor judge Friday when he begged for a harsher penalty than what the prosecution was seeking.

"This sentencing hearing is a little unusual," said Superior Court of Ontario Justice Joseph Quinn.

"I feel the federal system would help me more," said Gregory Wuss, 24. The Windsor man with a criminal record complained that the provincial jail system, where terms of up to two years are served, is "just warehousing ... you sit around in a big huge range with 32 guys."

Wuss wanted a sentence of two years plus a day in order to be housed in a federal penitentiary though assistant Crown attorney Walter Costa urged the judge to impose a sentence of two years less a day.

With Wuss brought before the judge, acting on his own without a lawyer and wanting to plead guilty and be sentenced as quickly as possible, Quinn asked repeatedly whether the accused understood the possible consequences.
"Yeah, I just wanna proceed with it," Wuss said.

In the end, the judge did not grant his unusual request. He pleaded guilty to three counts -- armed robbery, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, and was sentenced to 22 months on the robbery charge and concurrent terms of six and four months for the other charges.
According to the Crown, Wuss was discovered on Sunday stealing beer inside The Beach Sports Bar and Grill at 670 Ouellette Ave.

When a manager responded to a business alarm, he was threatened with a broken beer bottle by a surprised Wuss, who then darted off on foot with a bag of beers.

A police chase ensued and Wuss fought with an arresting officer, eventually being subdued with punches.

While Wuss's bleached hair was styled and in place during his court appearance Friday, he was wearing a sports jersey covered down one side in dried blood.

"I don't remember all that much," Wuss told the judge, adding he required stitches to his face and the back of his head.

He still sports signs of his fight with police.

Wuss agreed with the facts read out but tried to clarify that he actually entered the bar after seeking a washroom and finding the front door open. "So I stole a few beers," he added.
In addition to his prison sentence, Wuss was placed on two years probation, ordered to submit a DNA blood sample and handed a lifetime weapons ban.

The prosecutor scoffed at Wuss's expressed reason for wanting a harsher penalty.

Outside the courtroom, Costa said different rules governing the provincial and federal penal and parole systems meant Wuss could have been back on the street much sooner had he been handed a low federal term.

NO PROBATION PERIOD
Sentences of two years or more also result in no period of probation being imposed.

"Some of these criminals are smarter than lawyers," said Costa.

As for Wuss getting treatment, "they have all sorts of programs in the systems, whether provincial or federal -- it's up to you to take them ... nobody can force you," Costa said.

dschmidt@thestar.canwest.com or 519-255-5586.

( For probably the first time; I don't know what to say or where to start. This is one of the most ridiculous stories that I have heard in a long time! A guy covered in blood because the police knocked him out is asking to go to a federal pen. so that he can be rehabilitated?! I can't help but think that there are some gaps in reporting here, or that Mr. Wuss has ulterior motives for needing/ wanting to be in a federal pen. This story doens't make much sense, but they reported it as if it's perfectly normal and to taken at face value.) -W

More ILLEGAL wiretapping!!

2007-07-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

Judge blisters cops for illegal taping
Wiretaps of lawyer with clients called 'scandalous,' 'incompetent'

IRWIN BLOCK, The GazettePublished: Saturday, July 07

A Quebec Superior Court judge has declared the contents of wiretapped conversations between a Hells Angels lawyer and his clients inadmissible as evidence.

Justice Jean-Guy Boilard said yesterday that surreptitious taping in February 2003 of conversations between lawyer Benoit Cliche and undercover police informant Andre Bernier was "scandalous." Boilard also rejected as evidence the recording of a conversation between Cliche and his client Steven Bertrand in October 2003. Bertrand was charged with trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to murder a high-ranking member of the rival Bandidos biker gang in 2002.

Such discussions are normally considered privileged and confidential.

Partly as a result of the recordings, Cliche was charged with participating in activities of a criminal organization and two counts of obstructing justice.

Cliche, who had represented several Hells Angles in court, was arrested in November 2003 during a police sweep dubbed Operation Hurricane.

Boilard stressed that a Quebec government directive May 24, 2001, insisted on direct approval of Quebec's attorney-general before lawyer-client confidentiality can be set aside. This approval was never sought or obtained, Boilard said.

The tactics used by crown lawyers and police in search of "big game" leave "an evil-smelling odour," and point to "incompetence, nonchalance,'' the judge said.

"The world sloppiness better describes what I feel, and, to my great regret, a scandalous absence of frankness among police and lawyers," Boilard concluded.

Cliche will be tried before a jury starting Oct. 15.

iblock@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007

CRIME PAY$ OFF IN CANADA?!?! (my response to ignorance)

2007-07-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

Crime pays off in Canada

By MICHELE MANDEL
Sun, July 1, 2007
Toronto Sun

Maybe this holiday weekend you're putting in another shift to help pay for your child's college tuition.

Maybe you are that student, worried about how you're going to put the cash together for school and your first apartment.

Or maybe you're a victim of crime, and you can't afford the counselling you so desperately need.
Too bad you're not a teen killer, because then you'd be showered -- thanks to the Canadian government -- with more than $100,000 a year.

It's called the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision program or IRCS and for 24 of this country's worst youth offenders, the little-known federal justice program is akin to hitting the jackpot.

In return for accepting treatment for their mental issues, serious violent offenders can escape adult prison and do easy time instead in a youth facility, like Ontario's Sprucedale, while taxpayers spend $100,375 per inmate for academic courses, counselling, "life skills" and reintegration.

The theory is that these heavily damaged "kids" need intensive help if they are ever to find their way back into society.

What kind of help, you may ask?

Well, there was the $700 piece of wood we purchased for a killer who brutally beat and sexually assaulted 15-year-old Elisha Mercer under the Lorne Bridge in Brantford in 2001. According to a Sprucedale insider, the young murderer was given the lumber to fashion his very own homemade guitar.

"It makes us all want to vomit," says the employee, who doesn't want to be named. "The victims should be getting this money, not them."

When told by the Sun, Elisha's mom was outraged to learn what constitutes therapy for the killer of her only child. "It's ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," Wilma Martin says. "These have been very hard years. My husband and I split up because of what happened, he took off and I was left to pay the mortgage and the bills. I came close to losing my home.

"I could have used $100,000."

Instead, Ottawa last year earmarked $3.4 million for the country's worst of the worst young murderers and rapists with psychological disorders.

In 2004, one of the first accepted into the new program was the 18-year-old Hamilton youth who had killed Jonathan Romero the year before. Romero, 18, had gone to Lime Ridge Mall to buy a Christmas present for his mom. Standing on the sidelines when his friend got involved in a fight, Romero was sucker punched by the youth and after falling to the ground, was savagely punched four more times in the head and neck. He died hours later in hospital.

A judge turned down the Crown's request for a 61/2- year adult sentence for manslaughter and instead agreed to just 30 months in custody at Sprucedale. The young offender was deemed eligible for IRCS because -- wait for it -- he was diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and mood disorder.

If only every kid with ADD could get free one-on-one counselling and government-sponsored perks.

The Hamilton youth was assigned a "life coach" and various IRCS counselling programs. He was released four weeks ago to a six-month reintegration period, but according to the Sprucedale worker, none of the expensive rehabilitation seemed to have any impact at all. "He felt no remorse whatsoever for his crime and anyone who worked with him over the last three years will tell you the same thing," he says. "He was a poster child for everything that was wrong with the system.

'Danger to society'

"Do I think he still poses a danger to society? You bet I do. At that summer camp, he didn't learn a thing."

The youth, stung by a previous article slamming easy time at Sprucedale, insists he's a changed man in a letter published in the Sun. "Every achievement that I completed here is to the memory of that boy."

According to his former worker, the letter is just another demonstration of how he's learned to talk the talk as well as how to use the IRCS program to his advantage.

Now 20, the Hamilton killer was boasting to everyone that the federal government will now be paying for his college tuition, laptop computer and his living expenses. On his $16,000 IRCS wish list, he also requested a plasma screen TV and new designer clothing. The insider says he doesn't know if those goodies were granted as well.

"All of this stuff ," says the angry youth worker, "an average family can't afford and these kids are getting it for murdering other kids? It's unbelievable. The public needs to know."

Oh Canada, why are we such gullible souls?

• You can call Michele Mandel at (416) 947-2231 or e-mail at michele.mandel@tor.sunpub.com• Have a letter for the editor? E-mail it to torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca

[ I'm not sure what I find more disgusting: society's ability to write people off or the EITHER OR attitude of this columnist. It almost seems as though she is lashing out at the youth and at Canadians in general... why is the anger and outrage NOT directed at the politicians who make the decisions??

I wonder what Ms. Mandel would have us do with children and youth who commit extremely twisted violent crimes? There is a definite difference between these youth and youth who are engaging in property crimes. The very description of the crimes they have been found guilty of suggests that there is a psychiatric problem and traditional jail MAY in fact, worsen it. This means that upon legal release from a JAIL/ PRISON setting, they will be releasing the same individual with the same (or even more likely) exacerbated psychiatric issues back into society. The youth is likely to then re-offend with a crime of the same nature.

Now, suppose we were not happy with the system that creates repeat offenders... suppose traditional incarceration was failing to rehabilitate people (it is failing by the way... research recidivism rates in young offenders for proof), don't we as a society have the right and responsibility to make sure that these youth receive the help they need in order to reintegrate into society and not cause any more harm? I think the answer to this is YES! and as a result a new program was created to address the changing needs of the changing offenders... Milieu Therapy has in fact, been proven to be highly effective.

The general consensus among Canadians is that the victims of crime should receive proper after care at the expense of society because they were victimized, without provocation. If the victims are NOT receiving proper care... shouldn't we be kicking and screaming and shouldn't we be prepared to torch parliament and riot in the streets?! When crimes are committed... serious crimes like the ones Ms. Mandel outlined, BOTH THE VICTIM AND THE AGGRESSOR REQUIRE psychiatric treatment. To ONLY provide the attacker with treatment is unfair and unjust to the victim... to only provide treatment to the victim and not the attacker, we are setting more people up to be attacked and thus become victims. Care, compensation, compassion, protection and understanding are the BASIC core fundamentals of proper care for those who have been victimized...If we, as a society, are not meeting the basics, then pressure MUST be exerted and the government MUST respond. The "either/ or" attitude will not solve this... The victims MUST be cared for and the offenders MUST be properly rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

Ms. Mandel has found a formidably disgruntled worker at this youth facility. If what 'they' say is true then perhaps there is some excessive spending going on here... but the concept of trying a new way to rehabilitate youth is, in general, a good one. Perhaps the facility is not paying the staff enough to work with such offenders...or perhaps they are being compensated quite well which means that people who don't care or have no real understanding of these youth are in the positions of youth workers strictly for the pay cheque and the prestige of getting in on a project at the ground level... Money and prestige motivate.

You know, on most occasions, people who actually WORK WITH this segment of the population are far better judges of what is required to rehabilitate them, than are newspaper columnists, accountants or some bullshit, disgruntled worker. In fact, people who work with youth from their heart, who make an attempt to understand and who have the theoretical knowledge base combined with experience and feedback from the youth, are far better at deciding what they need to successfully rehabilitate offenders.

How successful has traditional imprisonment been? Just do the research on recidivism rates in Canada... ]

Time to name names!

2007-07-01T05:24:00.001-07:00

My frustration level is building when it comes to dealing with corrupt cops and an equally corrupt criminal justice system which seems to be put in place to punish only those who do not wear the blue uniform.

We are all equal in the eyes of the law, which means that all people who break the law should be dealt with in the same way (unless there is a mental deficiency... of course)

I'm calling on all of you to start leaving comments on posts, to start telling me YOUR stories so that I can publish them on here... Time to not only focus on the headlines, but I'd like to focus more on the UNPUBLICIZED acts of corruption.

Here's the deal... this is the info. I need from you when you submit a story to me:
Date of occurence:
City and area of occurence:
name or badge # of the officer:
Description of incident (please be sure to include all details... what you did, how you spoke to the officer and all other interractions):
Any other relevant info:

THANKS and I can't wait to hear your stories!!!!

Shoot at the cops, plea to posession with intent to traffic... get house arrest?!

2007-07-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

Winnipegger accused of shooting police officers released on bail
Updated at 2:27 PM
By Mike McIntyre

A Winnipeg man accused of shooting and wounding two Winnipeg police officers was released on bail this afternoon in a shocking decision that outraged a sea of police officers in court.

Daniell Anderson, 21, will be allowed to return to the same Jubilee home that was the scene of the violent attack last December.

Queen's Bench Justice Karen Simonsen said Anderson's continued detention in jail "is not necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice."

About a dozen officers who filled the small courtroom clearly disagreed. One of them was Const. Jeremy Cull, who got a bullet in his leg during the shoot-out.

Cull stormed out of court while his fiancé began crying and shaking. Other officers joined him, including one who muttered "there's your (expletive) justice system for you" as he left.

Another officer, dressed in plainclothes, also made a comment towards the judge included the words "should have just killed him then." It wasn't clear from witnesses in the courtroom exactly what preceded the comment.

Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft quickly apologized to Simonsen and then met privately with all the police officers outside court.

A court-ordered ban prevents specific details of the evidence called during Anderson's hearing from being published.

Anderson will be under a 24-hour curfew with exceptions to attend church, medical emergencies and four hours per week of "personal time".

His family must also post a $50,000 surety that would be voided should he be caught breaching his bail.

Anderson must also consent to unannounced, warrantless searches of his home by police to ensure no drugs or weapons are inside, said Simonsen.

Anderson tried for bail earlier this year but was denied by a provincial court judge. Accused persons are allowed to seek bail reviews in the higher court, which Anderson did earlier this week.

He cited a change of circumstances which includes the fact he recently pleaded guilty to the drug charge that led authorities to his Jubilee Avenue home in the first place.

Anderson was sentenced last month to five months time in custody, which was given double-time credit of 10 months. In exchange for his guilty plea to a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking, the Crown dropped related drug charges against Anderson's parents and girlfriend.

Anderson was arrested last December after constables Curtis Penner and Donald Murray were seriously wounded by a series of shotgun blasts that came from behind a bathroom door during a raid involving 12 members of the street crime unit.

Penner and Murray remain off-duty and are continuing to recover from their injuries at home. A third officer, Cull, was also hit in the leg after Murray fired three shots back at Anderson, with one of the bullets ricocheting back. Cull has since returned to work.

Anderson was also shot in his arm and hand, losing three fingers.

Anderson's family has claimed he believed the officers were violent home invaders and retreated to the bathroom to defend himself. Police have said they properly identified themselves as police officers during the entire event.

www.mikeoncrime.com
(So it appears that this is going to be a game of cops vs. civilians. I'm NOT defending this accused, all I'm saying is that it has come down to the technicallity of whether or not the police properly identified themselves! When I read the first paragraph of this story, I already KNEW how the accused was released on bail. I knew that he would have plead to something and that his whole defense is: They were home invaders and I felt threatened. Now, if the cops are saying "there's your fuckin' justice system for you" don't you think that there MIGHT be something wrong here? I mean, if it's this easy for a man who attempted to kill police to get out on 'house arrest' then I can see why pedophiles and murders and rapists are on the street! The Crown was so anxious to get a charge laid, that he used the accused's girlfriend and family against him as leverage... I suppose shooting at cops wasn't enough... OR, maybe they didn't properly ID themselves and that's why the Crown offered a plea?!)

Canadian anti-narcotics official found guilty in Dubai court

2007-06-23T04:21:00.002-07:00

Canadian anti-narcotics official found guilty in Dubai court

Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007

UNITED NATIONS — A Dubai court found Canadian anti-narcotics official Bert Tatham guilty today on drug possession charges, sentencing him to four years in prison in the Arab emirate.

Barring any successful appeal, the Vancouver resident’s main hope for early release is to be included in one of Dubai’s periodic amnesties for selected offenders.

From their Collingwood, Ontario, home, Tatham’s parents, Louise and Charlie, vowed to seek stepped up help from the Canadian government to achieve at least that.

From Victoria, B.C., Tatham’s bride-to-be, Sara Gilmer, said she hoped for his fastest possible return. "It's what I feared. I'm so disappointed," she said.

Dubai authorities arrested Tatham April 23 as he entered the emirate after completing the first leg of his return trip to Canada from Afghanistan, where he had worked the previous 12 months helping farmers find alternatives to poppy cultivation.

He admitted he knew he was carrying dried poppy flowers — which he planned to use as props during lectures — but Dubai customs authorities also said they found him in possession of 0.6 grams of hashish.

The court’s three-judge panel delivered their verdict after his defence lawyers argued at trial last week the peculiarities in his work in Afghanistan — where he had been involved in handling large amounts of hashish — explained how some could have ended up in his clothes.

“We’re hopeful of a good judgment after we explained everything about the nature of his job,” Sharif Emara, legal advisor to Tatham’s lawyer, Saeed Al-Ghailani, said just ahead of the verdict.

Louise, 60 said Monday “all this trouble” could have been avoided if only her son had listened to her and abandoned his plan to spend a day and a half in Dubai, a common transport hub for travellers between south Asia and points west, to shop and sight-see.

“I’d told him to come straight back and to pass through Dubai, not stop off there,” the mother-of-three said.

“But he wanted to buy a gold watch … and see the changes in the city.”

Tatham, 35, had planned to arrive April 25 at Vancouver, where Gilmer, 28, was to meet him.
The couple met almost two years ago through a mutual friend, and plan to marry.

“Everyone in my life really loves Bert,” Gilmer said, adding she had prepared herself for the possibility he might not be freed today.
"I'm just trying to remain positive without getting my hopes up too much," she explained early Monday. "There have been so many disappointments already with this. We all just want him home the fastest possible."

Amnesties are presented as humanitarian acts in the name of Dubai’s ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Maktoum.

The most recent was at the end of May for 352 offenders of “different nationalities and serving terms for various crimes and misdemeanours.”

Emara speculated a new amnesty could coincide with the month-long Islamic observance of Ramadan, which this year begins September 12.

But insiders say political lobbying is sometimes required to get on the list.

© CanWest News Service 2007

Crown Ordered to pay $27K to nine arrested in drug bust!!

2007-06-23T04:21:00.001-07:00

Crown ordered to pay $27K to nine arrested in drug bust

Shannon Kari, National Post
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007

TORONTO -- An Ontario Superior Court judge rebuked the Crown for failing to hold timely bail hearings for several people arrested earlier this month in a Toronto police street gang operation dubbed Project Kryptic.

"What has occurred to date in this case is improper and unacceptable," said Justice Ian Nordheimer.

The judge ordered the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney-General to pay a total of $27,000 in legal costs to nine men who filed a legal motion arguing that the more than a week they have spent in jail without a bail hearing is unconstitutional. (finally, a judge who will uphold the constitution)

Some of the nine men are facing relatively minor charges, while others are accused of serious drugs, weapons and criminal organization offences.

Nearly 100 people were arrested and taken into custody on June 13 after a series of raids by Toronto police targeting the Driftwood Crips street gang in the Jane and Finch area of the city.

The Criminal Code requires a bail hearing to take place within three days of someone being taken into custody, unless a defendant waives that right.

The Crown was not ready to proceed with bail hearings for any of the people in custody in Project Kryptic until five days after the raids.

Some of the defendants facing more minor charges were released earlier this week with the consent of the Crown.

But the Crown indicated initially that because of a lack of court resources, bail hearings for some of the Project Kryptic defendants may not take place until mid-July.

Judge Nordheimer noted the significant police and Crown resources involved in the 11-month-long investigation and stressed that "this must equally be applied to the back end of the process," after someone is taken into custody.

"There is no excuse for the court system not to be ready to process these people and to ensure their rights are respected," he said in a ruling issued Thursday.

Judge Nordheimer has a reputation as someone who expects the Crown and police to comply with the Charter, yet he is not known for lenient sentences and in 2005 handed down one of the longest-ever prison terms against a gang member convicted of illegal possession of a firearm.

The judge denied a defence request for the nine men to be released immediately without a bail hearing because of the violation of their Charter rights. "That would not be responsible or reasonable," said Judge Nordheimer.

It is extremely rare for the Crown to be ordered to pay costs in a criminal proceeding in Canada.

The ruling was described as "a victory for the rule of law," by defence lawyer Ted Royle.

The nine men are scheduled to have bail hearings next week. Judge Nordheimer ordered that these proceedings to take precedence over other matters in provincial court in Toronto.

Gatineau COP caught with 2 KILOS of COCAINE!!

2007-06-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Gatineau Cop Charged in Drug Bust
Josh Pringle
Friday, June 22, 2007

Gatineau Police arrested two men, including a 20-year veteran of the force, in a cocaine bust Wednesday night.

Police say officers discovered two kilograms of cocaine and a large sum of cash during a traffic stop.

The drugs had an estimated street value of 240-thousand dollars.

Quebec Provincial Police is now handling the investigation.

Constable Peter Vranas has been charged with drug trafficking, possession for the purpose of trafficking and marijuana production.

(For those people who are still skeptical about the wrong doings of police officers, I'll continue to post proof! Do you think that Constable Vranas could afford 2 KILOS of COCAINE on a police officer salary?! Probably not... how did he get the cocaine and drugs then? Maybe it's from robbing other dealers INSTEAD of charging them... MAYBE it's from extortion... Hmmm... or a combination of those?!??!?! I wonder if he'll go to JAIL?! I guess we'll never know because the media doesn't really do the follow up on stories like this one... We'll see! Also, if Constable Vranas is engaging in these types of activities in his 'spare time' please rest assured that he was more than likely engaging in them while he was on the clock. Can you imagine having a police car to sell drugs from? Nobody would ever suspect a thing! And I'm sure he never used unnecessary force when robbing a suspect or 'arresting them'?!?!?!?!?)

MORE INFO. FOUND!! Please READ BELOW!

Cop charged in massive $2M cocaine bust
Firearms probe leads to stunning drugs seizures

By KENNETH JACKSON AND LOUIS-DENIS EBACHER, SUN MEDIA

Two kilograms of cocaine, a backyard marijuana grow op, pills and dirty cash make a pretty good criminal rhapsody -- but a cop's?

Gatineau police allege it to be true.

One of their own is accused of possessing 2 kg of cocaine after a traffic stop late Wednesday. Further investigation uncovered a grow operation, pharmaceutical drugs and more than $5,000 at his Gatineau home.

Gatineau police say they're baffled, but they aren't saying why Const. Peter Vranas is accused of living a secret life of crime.

"It's not something we understand. This is a big bust in Gatineau," said acting Chief Mario Harel.
Police said the incident started over a firearms investigation that ended hours later when an officer stopped a vehicle on Cite-des-Jeunes Blvd. around 11:30 p.m.

When the officer looked inside the vehicle, he saw a woman and two men -- one who looked all too familiar.

The officer then found 2 kg of uncut cocaine worth more than $2 million on the street. If used for crack cocaine, the value nearly doubles.

"On board, there were 2 kg of what appears to be cocaine. No firearms were located in the vehicle," said Harel.

Police seized the drugs, money and the vehicle.

At a press conference at Gatineau police headquarters yesterday, Harel confirmed Vranas, 41, is a veteran police officer of more than 20 years.

But Harel wouldn't confirm how the accused men knew each other.

"It's too early. We'll see what we can do with the investigation. We are expecting to lay more charges in this matter."

Police said they began investigating after receiving tips about someone in possession of firearms.
Around 4 p.m. Wednesday, police searched 80 Cognac St., the home of Claude Dorion, who police said was the other man in the vehicle.

POT PLANTS IN YARD

Police didn't uncover any firearms at Dorion's home and continued the investigation until the vehicle was stopped.

Quebec provincial police will handle Vranas' investigation to ensure transparency.

A search of Vranas' home yesterday afternoon uncovered 15 "mature" pot plants in his backyard and eight pills believed to be ecstasy.

Both Vranas and Dorion appeared in court yesterday on charges of trafficking and possession. They are being held until Tuesday, when a complete list of charges will be made known.

Vranas didn't say anything in court.

It's not the first time Vranas has been in trouble with his employer. (THE POLICE)

In 2003, he was suspended when he was charged with breach of trust and attempting to obstruct justice. He was acquitted of all charges in May 2005. (that sounds about right... police are USUALLY acquitted of all charges because evidence goes missing, they treat the complainants like shit, they hold up the process and/or get off on an technicality)

Vranas then sued the City of Gatineau and its police force for $250,000. It's unknown what's happened to the suit.

Police said Vranas had been on leave for the last year.

(I'd be on leave too if I was selling cocaine or crack for that matter. He was making much more money selling and running than he would have been actually working for the police. This is such bullshit! I can't even begin to tell you how much this pisses me off. He was an officer of the law... someone that society puts their trust in to keep them safe! I find it insulting that the police departments across the country don't take these types of allegations made by the public seriously. Look at Ottawa... THERE ARE NUMEROUS cops (who CAN be named) who have engaged in illegal drug use and/or who have confiscated drugs from youth WITHOUT charges or an arrest! BUT the Ottawa Police Department are too fuckin' stubborn and too proud to look into ANY of the allegations because it would tarnish their image. But you know what tarnishes their image even more? WHEN THE COPS actually are permitted to continue to do this kind of corrupt bullshit! That is what gives the cops an even worse reputation. ADMIT that there is corruption and take STEPS toward cleaning up the police force! Don't ignore it and let it continue!!)

"We don't do racial profiling"?!?! YES THEY DO!

2007-05-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Toronto woman victim of racial profiling, says Ont. Human Rights Tribunal
Natalie Alcoba, CanWest News Service

TORONTO - The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled Thursday a woman from Mississauga, Ont., who was wrongly accused of shoplifting, was a victim of racial profiling by police.
Jacqueline Nassiah, who is black, was awarded $20,000 in damages, and the tribunal's decision requires Peel Regional Police to develop policies prohibiting racial profiling.

In February 2003, Peel police were contacted to investigate a possible shoplifting incident at a Sears department store. The tribunal found Nassiah was wrongly apprehended by store security on suspicion of stealing a bra - worth less than $10 - despite her denials.

The tribunal found that a Peel Regional Police officer investigating the alleged theft discriminated against Nassiah.

He called her a "f---ing foreigner" and threatened to take her to jail if she did not hand over the item that was apparently stolen, the tribunal found. Nothing was stolen.

The decision suggests there is mounting proof racial profiling is a "systemic" practice in police forces, a contention rejected by senior police officers.

"There is nothing novel in finding that racial profiling is contrary to the Human Rights Code," wrote Kaye Joachim, a tribunal member, in her judgment. "What is new (in the last two decades) is the mounting evidence that this form of racial discrimination is not the result of isolated acts of individual "bad apples" but part of a systemic bias in many police forces." She later noted that she did not pass judgment about whether racially biased police investigations generally occur in Peel Region.

Dave Wilson, president of the Toronto Police Association, called the sweeping statement about racial profiling "disturbing."

"I'm not denying that it hasn't existed," he said Thursday. "I think that racial profiling, somewhere out there, probably has occurred but it is absolutely not systemic and it is absolutely unacceptable that people would view this as a given within the policing community."

While the Association of Ontario Chiefs of Police acknowledges profiling exists, Chief Terry McLaren, its president, bristled at suggestions it is "systemic" because it implies he promotes the behaviour. "I have a hard time accepting that," said Chief McLaren, the head of Peterborough-Lakefield Community Police.

Police services across the province are making a concerted effort to make sure forces "do not in any way shape or form engage in profiling activities of the public or of their own staff members," said York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge. "We have changed processes and procedures to ensure officers understand where the community is coming from."

Nassiah, a 40-year-old Trinidad native who has lived in Mississauga for more than 20 years, said the encounter with changed her life.

"I'm in fear of the cops because of what happened," Nassiah said Thursday. "There's a fear of going shopping with my little son, of going out. It's not the same."

Nassiah has not received an apology from Peel Regional Police or the officer involved, who now works for the Sudbury police department. Peel police Thursday declined to comment until it had reviewed the ruling.

Her lawyer, Davies Bagambiire, stressed his client was "was not in this for money (but) to make sure this does not happen to anybody else, certainly not to her children."

He said the tribunal's decision advances the principle that "no one should be presumed to be guilty or to have engaged in any conduct or behaviour contrary to law on the simple basis of the colour of their skin."

nalcoba@nationalpost.com
National Post

(But the police EVERYWHERE have always maintained that they do not practice racial profiling?! Hmm... crazy! It appears SOMEONE was lying before!)

The RCMP are BEYOND CORRUPT

2007-05-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

New scandals face RCMP
Chris Wattie/Reuters

Inquiries into RCMP activities (Compiled by Star Library)

2007 — Justice John Major looks into RCMP actions prior to the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people.

2004 — Justice Dennis O'Connor concludes the RCMP passed erroneous information to the U.S., labelling Maher Arar an Islamic extremist.

2004 — Justice Richard Miller investigates complaints about RCMP investigations of alleged sexual abuse at a New Brunswick youth training centre.

1998 — Retired judge Ted Hughes delves into more than 50 complaints about the handling of protests at the 1997 APEC conference in Vancouver.

1981 — McDonald Commission on RCMP wrongdoing reveals the RCMP had broken laws for two decades.

1977 — The Keable inquiry revisits police activities in Quebec following the 1970 October Crisis; 17 Mounties are charged with 44 offences.
************************************************************************************

It is a sad state of affairs when members and former members of our national police force must fear retribution for stepping forward Lawyer William Gilmour Crimes, coverup of government corruption among allegations to be detailed by lawyer for Mounties

May 29, 2007 08:07 AM
Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–The RCMP is about to be struck with a new wave of allegations of wrongdoing, including a cover-up of government corruption and criminal acts by senior members of the national police force.

The Star has learned that at least six, and as many as 12 current and former Mounties, are anxious to come forward with allegations against the force never before made public.
They want to be subpoenaed by a House of Commons committee to give them some legal and job protection and if called will testify about:

"Subversion of an investigation into corruption and nepotism" in purchasing and contracting practices, and "the falsification of signatures to pay out money, on the part of government officials" in the New Brunswick government.

Allegations that superior officers committed criminal acts against other RCMP members, including electronic surveillance and alteration of documents "to achieve improper goals"
Misuse and misdirection of public policing funds to finance the vendettas of managers against targeted members.

The deliberate cover-up of evidence against former RCMP officer Staff Sgt. Clifford McCann and others implicated in the abuse of young boys at the now-defunct Kingsclear Youth Training Centre in New Brunswick. This is also the subject of an investigation by the RCMP's civilian complaints body that has been dragging on for nearly two years.

Interference by superior officers in the political campaigns of RCMP members who sought election to government, including "spying on constituency meetings."

Harassment of RCMP members based on their sexual orientation.

Regular use of punitive transfers by RCMP management.

Psychological "warfare" by certain superior officers against lower ranking members.

The allegations are contained in a letter from Toronto lawyer William Gilmour, himself a former Mountie, to an unnamed Conservative MP. The Star obtained a copy of the letter.

It comes at a time when the RCMP is already in turmoil. It has been without a permanent commissioner since Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned last December after he gave conflicting testimony to a Commons committee over the story of Maher Arar, who was deported to Syria and tortured there.

And the Commons public accounts committee has been holding hearings since Feb. 21 into allegations that money in the RCMP pension fund was misused. Stockwell Day, minister in charge of the RCMP, last month named lawyer David Browne to investigate the pension abuses.

The force is also under scrutiny in two other judge-led inquiries: the Air India probe by John Major, and Frank Iacobucci's review of the cases of three Muslim Canadians who ended up tortured in Syrian or Egyptian jails.

The new round of would-be whistle-blowers includes Mounties whose concerns have never been made public before. All are or were regular uniformed members, including two commissioned officers (of inspector rank or higher).

"My clients are of the view that a public inquiry is required to delve into all of the things that presently plague the morale of the men and women serving our national police service," wrote Gilmour, who described the force's internal complaints system in an interview as "broken. It doesn't work."

While most of them do not yet want to be identified, the Star has learned that one of them seeking to bring forward new evidence is Const. Peter Merrifield of the RCMP's Toronto North detachment.

Merrifield's predicament drew brief public attention after his unsuccessful bid to run for the federal Conservative nomination in Barrie in 2004 cost him a plum counter-terrorism job as part of the elite threat-assessment unit.

He now works in the force's customs unit. He is a supporter of a move within the RCMP to unionize rank-and-file members.

He was unwilling to speak to a reporter about the problems he's witnessed, citing the RCMP Act and the force's ability to press internal Code of Conduct charges against members who speak out. But he is willing to volunteer testimony if summoned.

So far Day has resisted calls to broaden the inquiry, saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper intends to name a new RCMP commissioner in June, and the government awaits recommendations on RCMP pension abuses on June 15.

(If this is how they treat eachother, how can we honestly think that they will treat members of the general public any different? If you were one of the people sending me e-mail about my 'skewed' or 'blind' perception of the police, please save your e-mails and make sure you read the articles I have posted. I don't make them up!)

Tony Blair a.k.a. BIG BROTHER!

2007-05-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Blair wants to give UK police more anti-terror muscle
POSTED: 12:42 a.m. EDT, May 28, 2007

Story Highlights
• In article, Blair said government will publish new proposals in "next few weeks"
• Spokeswoman says new legislation may include "stop and question" power
• If suspects didn't stop or didn't answer questions, they could be charged, fined
• Some see plan as attack on civil liberties

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair plans to push through a new anti-terrorism law before he steps down next month giving "wartime" powers to police to stop and question people, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Blair, who is due to resign June 27 after a decade in office, wrote in an article in The Sunday Times that his government planned to publish new anti-terrorism proposals "within the next few weeks".

An interior ministry spokeswoman confirmed the government was looking at including a "stop and question" power in the new legislation. "We are considering a range of powers for the bill and 'stop and question' is one of them," she said.

The "stop and question" power would enable police to interrogate people about who they are, where they have been and where they were going, The Sunday Times said. Police would not need to suspect a crime had taken place.

If suspects failed to stop or refused to answer questions, they could be charged with a crime and fined, The Sunday Times said. Police already have the power to stop and search people but have no right to ask them their identity and movements.

The Sunday Times said the powers already existed in Northern Ireland. Civil rights groups viewed the plan to extend them to the rest of Britain as an attack on civil liberties, it said.

Such powers had existed before in other parts of Britain only in wartime, it said.

Interior Minister John Reid is proposing other measures to combat Islamist militants, the report said. These would give police the power to take documents away for examination, even if their value as evidence was not immediately obvious, and the power to remove vehicles to examine them.

Blair's government passed tough anti-terrorism measures after the September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities and again after four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport network in July 2005.

However, some of Blair's proposed measures -- such as a plan to hold terrorism suspects for up to 90 days without charge -- have been blocked by Parliament or the courts.

Britain's anti-terrorism strategy has faced criticism in the last few days after the disclosure that three men suspected of planning attacks on British or U.S. troops abroad had absconded.

Authorities had attempted to keep tabs on the three men through "control orders".

In his article, Blair said it was not the government's fault the three had absconded. Instead, he blamed Parliament and the courts for quashing the tougher measures he had wanted.
"We have chosen as a society to put the civil liberties of the suspect, even if a foreign national, first. I happen to believe this is misguided and wrong," he wrote.

Britons had decided that, except in very limited ways, the threat to public safety from extremism did not justify radical changes to the law, he said. "Their right to traditional civil liberties comes first. I believe this is a dangerous misjudgment," he added.

Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
(Privacy? Human Rights? Apparently, Blair doesn't care! In fact, perhaps Tony should re-think this whole thing... or atleast think about approaching the ALREADY corrupt cops for a cut of their daily, weekly or monthly OFF THE BOOKS cut of society's money; because with power like this who needs STREET CRIMINALS?!)

Big Brother Attacks Britain!

2007-05-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Civil rights fears over DNA file for everyone
Campaigners say Whitehall wants even litter-droppers on crime database

Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
Sunday May 27, 2007The Observer

Civil liberties groups are warning that the details of every Briton could soon be on the national DNA database, raising fresh concerns of a 'surveillance society'.

Controversial plans being studied by the government would see the DNA of people convicted of even the most minor, non-imprisonable offences, such as dropping litter, entered on the national database.

The proposals are part of a wide-ranging government review of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace), which campaign groups warn may have profound ramifications for society. 'The danger is that if we start adding the details of people convicted of these sort of minor offences to the database we'll come to a tipping point,' said Gareth Crossman, director of Liberty. 'The government will say: "Actually it's a bit unfair some people aren't on the database; maybe everyone should be on it."'

The DNA database is already proving controversial with some politicians and police officers raising concerns about its use. Liberty claims that, per head of population, the UK has five times as many people on the DNA database as any other country. The government estimates that even if the database is not expanded to include the details of minor offenders, some 4.5 million people will still be on it by 2010.

The expansion of the database is prompting fears that people from ethnic minorities are being stigmatised. According to research by the Liberal Democrats, under the existing system within three years the details of more than half of all black men will be on the DNA database. 'The arbitrary method of collecting DNA will alienate minority groups who already feel unjustly targeted,' said Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats' leader.

A three-month public consultation exercise on the government's plans to overhaul Pace concludes this month. The government intends to publish responses to the exercise in July and proposals will be put to ministers in January.

Currently, the police do not have the power to place details such as DNA and fingerprints of anyone who has committed a minor, or 'non-recordable', offence such as dropping litter or speeding on to the relevant database.

However, the government believes there may be a case for recording the details of people who have committed minor crimes. In a briefing document promoting the consultation exercise, the Home Office claims its inability to take personal details such as fingerprints or DNA from all offenders 'may be considered to undermine the value and purpose' of having a searchable database.

A Home Office spokesman said all options were being considered. 'The Pace consultation is about maximising police efficiency and ensuring that appropriate and effective safeguards are in place,' he said. 'We have made no decisions but we must consider anything which might free up police time or improve the efficiency and effectiveness of police investigations.'

Arguments that the DNA database should be expanded are growing. Writing in the latest edition of the House magazine, Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a former president of the Police Superintendents' Association, said the case for including more people on the database was overwhelming. 'If I had my way, the DNA we now take from newborn babies to check for genetic disorders would be added to the national database in the national interest,' Mackenzie writes.

The DNA database has led to the successful prosecutions of rapists and murderers in recent years, sometimes decades after the crimes were committed. However, Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, which campaigns against state surveillance, said such examples were a red herring. 'The problem is for every such instance if you expand the DNA database there are going to be multiple miscarriages of justice. This is the last domain. There's nothing left after this,' he claimed.

Privately, the Home Office anticipates a public backlash against the proposals. 'This is a completely open exercise,' one Home Office source said. 'If there is overwhelming opposition against this we will not go there.'

(Orwell was right! What more can I say?)

Worldwide corruption in legal system!

2007-05-26T06:46:00.001-07:00

Legal systems corrupt worldwide, report says
May 25, 2007
Associated Press

LONDON — Widespread bribery of judges around the world and inappropriate political interference in legal systems are denying millions their right to a fair and impartial trial, a leading global anti-corruption group said Thursday.

Transparency International asked nearly 60,000 people in 62 countries last summer what they thought about their country's judicial systems.In more than 25 countries, at least one in 10 households reported paying a bribe to get access to the court system.

Of the roughly 8,300 people who said they were recently in personal contact with their judicial systems, more than one in 10 had paid a bribe.

At the top of the list, more than 80 percent of those contacted in Paraguay, Peru, Cameroon, Macedonia and Bolivia perceived their legal systems to be corrupt.

At the other end, residents of Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Finland and Norway least often reported their judicial systems as corrupt.Most judicial corruption comes in the form of judges who are bribed to settle a case out of court or to rule in favor of a particular party.

Court clerks also are bribed to direct cases to favorable judges.In other instances, such as in Peru under former President Alberto Fujimori, leaders have forced out judges and replaced them with cronies."They used the judiciary to pursue their opponents," said Jose Ugaz, a Peruvian lawyer and former prosecutor in the Fujimori case. "They used the judiciary for extortion."

Fujimori fled Peru in 2000 after his 10-year rule crumbled amid corruption scandals. He now is in Chile, fighting extradition to his homeland on corruption and human rights charges.

The report singled out as especially corrupt judicial systems in Africa and Latin America, where one in five residents contacted in the study reported they had paid a bribe to the court system.

In Algeria, judges considered too independent are transferred to remote jurisdictions, the report said. In Kenya, as part of an anti-corruption campaign many perceived as political, judges were pressured to resign without being accused of anything.

The report recommends strengthening judicial independence by making the process of judicial appointments merit-based and open to the public for scrutiny.

It also calls for better training and salaries for judges to reduce their susceptibility to accepting bribes."Change is possible," said Hugette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International.

"What you need is pressure by the people to clean up corruption when it exists. You need to press for systems to appoint judges that will be transparent that will allow for the best people to be appointed."

Tax-free Legal Crusade Ends

2007-05-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

Tax-free legal crusade ends
By JIM BROWN

OTTAWA (CP) - The country's top court has quashed a crusade by Vancouver lawyer Dugald Christie to make legal services tax-free - and in the process decreed that Canadians have no constitutional right to be represented by a lawyer in all the legal proceedings they undertake.

In a 9-0 judgment Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an effort by Christie to overturn a seven per cent tax on legal services imposed by the British Columbia government.

The practical effect is that the tax stands, as do similar levies in some other provinces and federal GST payments on lawyers' services. But the revenue issue was a vehicle for more sweeping constitutional questions that were put to the high court.

Christie, now deceased, initially mounted his challenge to the B.C. tax by arguing that it was a hindrance to poor people seeking access to the justice system.

The case was carried on by friends and associates after he died last July - in a traffic accident on the Trans-Canada Highway while cycling cross-country to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper publicizing his cause.

It was the third such cycling tour by the 65-year-old Christie, a legendary figure in West Coast legal circles who founded a chain of legal clinics to provide services to the poor.

"It's very disappointing, having taken the case this far," said Darrell Roberts, one of the lawyers who carried the fight to the Supreme Court.

"The foundation of the rule of law is access to justice, and that means more than just the physical plant, it means that effective access is through legal counsel."

By the time the case got to the Supreme Court the original tax issue had broadened into a claim that the Constitution includes an implicit guarantee of the right to a lawyer in virtually all legal circumstances.

The nine judges - in a decision issued in the collective name of the court rather than under the signature of any one jurist - expressed moral support but found there was no legal foundation for the assertion.

"Notwithstanding our sympathy for Mr. Christie's cause, we are compelled to conclude that the material presented does not establish the major premise on which the case depends - proof of a constitutional entitlement to legal services in relation to proceedings before courts and tribunals."

The court also noted that, if Christie's contentions were upheld, the logical result would be creation of a constitutionally mandated legal aid system for everybody in the country, at potentially heavy cost to the public purse.

"What is being sought is not a small, incremental change in the delivery of legal services. It is a huge change that would alter the legal landscape and impose a not inconsiderable burden on taxpayers."

The Charter of Rights specifically guarantees the right to be represented by a lawyer upon arrest by police on criminal charges, but not in other legal situations.

The Charter also contains a more general guarantee of fundamental justice, a concept often used to challenge government laws and policies. But that section applies only in cases where "life, liberty and security of the person" are at stake.

There is also a Charter right to equality before the law and protection against discriminatory treatment, but that section was not invoked in the B.C. tax challenge.

Christie and his associates relied on the more nebulous principle of the "rule of law" enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution. The Supreme Court has thus far interpreted that concept narrowly and has been reluctant to use it to overturn government actions.

"A review of the constitutional text, the jurisprudence and the history of the concept does not support (Christie's) contention that there is a broad general right to legal counsel," the court concluded Friday.

The judges offered no detailed analysis of the impact of the B.C. tax on the provision of legal services in the province, since the case wasn't argued on those narrow and specific grounds. Nor did they speculate on what the outcome may have been had the challengers adopted a different legal strategy.

Cop Msquerades as Reporter to Arrest Anti- Poverty Activist

2007-05-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Officer poses as 24 Hours reporter
Critics say move damaged media credibility

Doug Ward, with files from Catherine Rolfsen
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

VANCOUVER - Police undermined the credibility of the news media when an officer posed as a newspaper reporter to arrest anti-Olympics activist David Cunningham, say journalists and a civil liberties advocate.

Stephen Ward, chair of the ethics committee of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said Monday the tactic of a policeman impersonating a reporter damages the credibility of the media and "is a practice that should be avoided at all costs."

Police arrested Cunningham, an organizer with the far-left Anti-Poverty Committee, after an officer lured him to a Chinatown shopping mall Saturday by posing as a reporter for the 24 Hours newspaper.

Cunningham is charged with uttering a threat against Vanoc chair Jack Poole.

The threat was allegedly made last week after Vanoc decided to continue its policy of refusing to allow the public to attend board meetings.

During a protest in front of the east Vancouver Vanoc offices Wednesday, Cunningham said the APC has "found out where their [board members'] homes are" and "when [they] feel safe in their offices, that's when [the APC] will evict them."

Cunningham said the police are charging him with threatening Poole because the Vanoc chair has filed an affidavit alleging that he has been threatened.

The Sun was unable to confirm that with police on Monday.

Cunningham's first appearance in court is set for Thursday.

Ward, who is also director of the University of B.C. School of Journalism, said the police tactic blurs the line between police and the media, making it "dangerous for journalists who are doing their job at protests and may be accused of being policemen."

VPD Const. Tim Fanning said he couldn't recall any previous examples of police posing as journalists and "if I have it my way, they'll never do it again."

Asked whether the incident hasn't corroded the public's trust in the media and the police, Fanning said, "we could have a long debate."

Fanning said the officers believed that having an officer pretend to be a reporter was the best way to arrest Cunningham without a physical altercation.

24 Hours editor-in-chief Dean Broughton said his newspaper is considering filing a complaint against the VPD with the B.C. Police Complaints Commission.

"We think it is unacceptable for 24 Hours, as well as for all media, to be used this way by the police," said Broughton.

He said the VPD action "makes it awkward for us to do our job. The police had other options and we think this was inappropriate."

Jason Gratl, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said, "the police could have served Mr. Cunningham with a summons.

"Posing as a reporter was unnecessary and may have a chilling effect for media contacts with political dissenters."

Gratl said that while police frequently adopt phoney identities during undercover investigations, "those operations usually involve offences that are more serious than the one Mr. Cunningham has been charged with."

Meanwhile, Cunningham said his arrest won't stop him from helping organize protests at the offices of Vanoc board members.

"I'm just one person among hundreds of people in the APC and so singling me out hasn't neutralized us at all, but has rather strengthened our collective will," he said Monday.
The APC plans to disrupt business operations where various Vanoc board members work to "bring the reality of the class war into their offices."

Cunningham said he will help organize these APC actions but won't be joining them in any "head-first" fashion.

He said his group's strategy is to stage disruptive "symbolic evictions" at business offices which "won't involve evicting people but their belongings and being very loud and clear about who is responsible for Olympics displacement."

The APC argues the 2010 Games has accelerated gentrification in the Downtown Eastside, leading to the eviction of low-income people from residential hotels.

Cunningham said many Vanoc board members are "multimillionaires and CEOs" but he couldn't name any of these members other than Poole. He said the APC has no plans to stage protests at their homes.

(I wonder what would have been done if a reporter impersonated a police officer... hmmm... Nevermind?!?!)

Edmonton Cops Ignored Charter Rights- Suspect set free!

2007-05-21T05:09:00.001-07:00

Judge raps cops over drug suspect's arrest
By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU
The Edmonton Sun. May 17, 2007

An alleged drug dealer busted with cocaine and a fully loaded handgun had his charges tossed yesterday thanks to an illegal search and seizure by city police.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Mary Moreau dismissed 13 charges against Mouner Arabi after a prosecutor invited an acquittal based on the judge excluding the evidence due to officers violating Arabi's Charter rights.

The judge noted the charges were "serious" and said having a loaded gun in a vehicle is a "dangerous situation," but ruled the integrity of the justice system would be harmed if unlawfully seized evidence was allowed.

"Police are not entitled to invade the privacy of individuals operating motor vehicles in the manner and to the extent that occurred in the present case on mere hunches that criminal activity has taken place," said Moreau.

Arabi, 32, was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and several weapons offences after being pulled over in north Edmonton on July 20, 2005.

Court heard Const. David Chow and Const. Rod Wadden pulled over the rental convertible after suspecting they had just witnessed a drug transaction when they saw a pedestrian walk away from the car and swallow something.

Under cross-examination, both cops testified they never actually saw what the pedestrian swallowed.

They said they pulled the car over on a hunch that drugs were being sold.

They officers also said no traffic laws were broken.

The judge also criticized Chow for questioning Arabi right after he had asked to speak to a lawyer.

Moreau called that a "complete disregard" for Arabi's constitutional rights.

(I guess Police Schools should spend a little more time studying the Charter of Rights and Freedoms... I'm neither a police officer nor an expert, but I know when rights are being violated... most of the time. I'm aware that there are GREY areas but COME ON!!!!)

Police Chief Disregarded Charter- Official Ruling!

2007-05-21T05:09:00.000-07:00

Court rules against police chief on hearing closure
Last Updated: Friday, May 18, 2007 2:12 PM MT
CBC News

A Calgary judge has ruled that police Chief Jack Beaton did not adhere to the principles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when he chose to close a disciplinary hearing to the public.

Court of Queen's Bench judge Sheila Martin made the ruling in favour of CBC News and the Calgary Herald on Friday.

Matt Woodley, the lawyer representing CBC, said the court ruling is the first step in reopening the hearing to the public.

"The judge made it very clear that the public interest includes principles of openness and that the public ought to be allowed to see these kinds of disciplinary hearings happen, especially when it deals with the situation where the service itself is being criticized."
In 2005, Const. Taufiq Shah publicly criticized the chief on an internet website. Beaton called a disciplinary hearing into Shah's alleged misconduct.

CBC News filed an application to have a camera at the hearing, but soon after that application was made, Beaton ordered the hearing be held in private.

A neutral third party will now determine whether the disciplinary hearing will be reopened to the public.

Woodley said CBC News will continue to argue that radio and television reporters should be allowed to cover the hearing.

(I wonder if the courts think that this is an isolated incident?!)