The above title, taken from both The Bible and the title of a Morley Callaghan novel, suggests the possibility of redemption. There was a report in yesterday's Star amply demonstrating that potential.
When 37-year-old Maxwell Beech was facing sentencing for gun and drug-related charges seven years ago, he expected the worst. The veteran of youth court offences was assuming he would be receiving a sentence of at least four years when the Judge, Hugh Atwood, did something he hadn't anticipated.
“I could see you're a changed man,” Beech remembers the judge told him. He repeats this phrase like a badge of honour.
Atwood sentenced Beech to serve just 90 days on weekends, reporting to Metro West detention centre on Fridays and released Monday mornings, to go home, and raise his son.
“This man gave me another shot. Another opportunity at life,” Beech said.
On Tuesday, Beech returned to Judge Atwood's court to thank him for his mercy, something that set him on a corrective life course, resulting in his now running his own business installing blinds and home security systems.
I mention this not because I do not believe in harsh sentencing for serious and violent offenses (I do), but because a followup story in today's Star discusses how the discretion used by Judge Atwood in Beech's case will no longer be an option because Bill C10, expected to pass into law in Canada by the end of March, will make second chances a thing of the past. Instead, the bill’s mandatory minimum sentences will make sure that people like Maxwell Beech go to jail.
Bill C10, one may recall, is being enacted at a time of sharply declining rates of crime, something the ideologically-drive Harper government seems to think is irrelevant.
The article serves to remind us that to acknowledge the humanity in others, as did Judge Atwell, is also to experience it within ourselves.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Another Politician's Attempt To Suppress Democratic Participation
My previous blog entry dealt with attempts by Giorgio Mammoliti to discourage people from partaking in the democratic process in Toronto. Essentially concurrent with that outrageous behaviour is something equally untenable taking place in Mississauga; this time the villain of the piece is none other than the indefatigable icon of the pro-development set, Mayor Hazel McCallion.
Hurricane Hazel, a sobriquet she perhaps earned for her at-times tempestuous behaviour, has issued a directive forbidding a former resident’s association president from contacting anyone at City Hall but the mayor with her concerns, which range from bylaw violations to the city’s 311 service.
According to McCallion, Jean Overell, the target of this fatwa, has been disrespectful to city staff while filing her numerous complaints. The mayor had said earlier that Overell’s calls to city staff and her ward councillor, Pat Mullin, were “far too numerous,” kept them from dealing with other work, and that Overell’s behaviour violated the city’s Respectful Workplace policy.
Interestingly enough, when Overell made a call to McCallion in December to air a complaint, she said, McCallion “bullied and intimidated” her for calling.
Hazel, now in her 34th year as Mississauga's mayor, has said that this is her last term in office. One wonders if, with her anti-democratic fiat against a citizen of her fair city, she has perhaps already overstayed her welcome?
Hurricane Hazel, a sobriquet she perhaps earned for her at-times tempestuous behaviour, has issued a directive forbidding a former resident’s association president from contacting anyone at City Hall but the mayor with her concerns, which range from bylaw violations to the city’s 311 service.
According to McCallion, Jean Overell, the target of this fatwa, has been disrespectful to city staff while filing her numerous complaints. The mayor had said earlier that Overell’s calls to city staff and her ward councillor, Pat Mullin, were “far too numerous,” kept them from dealing with other work, and that Overell’s behaviour violated the city’s Respectful Workplace policy.
Interestingly enough, when Overell made a call to McCallion in December to air a complaint, she said, McCallion “bullied and intimidated” her for calling.
Hazel, now in her 34th year as Mississauga's mayor, has said that this is her last term in office. One wonders if, with her anti-democratic fiat against a citizen of her fair city, she has perhaps already overstayed her welcome?
Why Don't Politicians Like Democratic Participation?
Yesterday I opined on why democratic participation in our country is so muted, and offered two examples of what can be accomplished when people are willing to get involved.
One of the obstacles to greater participation is surely the belief that we have little chance of making an impact because our elected representatives do not listen to us, indeed, seem to actively discourage us from becoming involved.
I definitely got them impression while following the budget debate in Toronto, which saw a record number of citizens making deputations on the cuts that were being proposed. One of the city's most obnoxious councillors, Giorgio Mammoliti, a man quite happy to belittle anyone who questions him, a man who seems to have changed political stripes for the allure of power offered by conversion to the Ford agenda, is now getting his shorts in a twist over ' repeat deputers,' those citizens who have the temerity to make more than one deputation to City Council.
In a story appearing in today's Star, Catherine Porter reports how Mammoliti takes grave exception to people like Mary T. Hynes, a retired teacher whom he lumps into a group he has decided are exercising their democratic duties far too much.
Perhaps the best answer to Mammoliti's carping criticisms comes from Ms Hynes herself:
“I learned that people can make a difference, if they struggle long and hard and respectfully,” she says. “If people hadn’t come down to city hall, what would have happened?”
I suspect there is a lesson for all of us in her words.
One of the obstacles to greater participation is surely the belief that we have little chance of making an impact because our elected representatives do not listen to us, indeed, seem to actively discourage us from becoming involved.
I definitely got them impression while following the budget debate in Toronto, which saw a record number of citizens making deputations on the cuts that were being proposed. One of the city's most obnoxious councillors, Giorgio Mammoliti, a man quite happy to belittle anyone who questions him, a man who seems to have changed political stripes for the allure of power offered by conversion to the Ford agenda, is now getting his shorts in a twist over ' repeat deputers,' those citizens who have the temerity to make more than one deputation to City Council.
In a story appearing in today's Star, Catherine Porter reports how Mammoliti takes grave exception to people like Mary T. Hynes, a retired teacher whom he lumps into a group he has decided are exercising their democratic duties far too much.
Perhaps the best answer to Mammoliti's carping criticisms comes from Ms Hynes herself:
“I learned that people can make a difference, if they struggle long and hard and respectfully,” she says. “If people hadn’t come down to city hall, what would have happened?”
I suspect there is a lesson for all of us in her words.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
If This Is The Best They've Got...
Two Bright Spots For Democracy
I have to admit that on most days, I am darkly pessimistic about the efficacy of democracy. With a federal government whose members are but drones of a martinet Prime Minister, and a domestic populace that seems to be asleep, indifferent, easily manipulated, divided or defeatist the majority of time, I see little basis for optimism. Two events in the news today, however, help to counter that gloomy assessment, just a little.
The first comes from Toronto. Although I do not live there, the size of its municipal government makes it of special interest, especially given that until yesterday right-wing forces, led by Mayor Rob Ford, seemed to control the agenda.
Politics has been defined as the art of the possible. In other words, dictates seldom work as effectively as compromise and consensus. Neither concept held any meaning for Ford who, like the bulldozer he resembles, maintained an attitude that it was "my way or the highway" as he insisted upon deep cuts to programs and services in the 2012 budget. That is, until constituents, roused from their torpor, engaged in what should be a model of participatory democracy. They lobbied their council representatives en masse and filled City Hall with their deputations against the severe cuts championed by the right, thereby prompting left-leaning, centrist, and even a few right-wingers to form a coalition that eliminated the worst of the cuts through an omnibus bill presented by Josh Colle. The final vote: 23-21 in support of the bill.
The second example of democracy's potential power comes from Wisconsin, the home of Governor Scott Walker, the tool of the Koch brothers who did so much damage last year after passing legislation that stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
CNN reports the following:
More than a million people have signed a petition to recall Wisconsin's governor, the state's Democratic Party said Tuesday.
That's nearly twice the 540,208 signatures required to seek a recall of first-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who drew the ire of labor unions and public school teachers after he stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
All of us need to take heart from these two examples of what can happen when people mobilize to overcome the forces arrayed against their interests.
Such actions are both our right and our responsibility.
The first comes from Toronto. Although I do not live there, the size of its municipal government makes it of special interest, especially given that until yesterday right-wing forces, led by Mayor Rob Ford, seemed to control the agenda.
Politics has been defined as the art of the possible. In other words, dictates seldom work as effectively as compromise and consensus. Neither concept held any meaning for Ford who, like the bulldozer he resembles, maintained an attitude that it was "my way or the highway" as he insisted upon deep cuts to programs and services in the 2012 budget. That is, until constituents, roused from their torpor, engaged in what should be a model of participatory democracy. They lobbied their council representatives en masse and filled City Hall with their deputations against the severe cuts championed by the right, thereby prompting left-leaning, centrist, and even a few right-wingers to form a coalition that eliminated the worst of the cuts through an omnibus bill presented by Josh Colle. The final vote: 23-21 in support of the bill.
The second example of democracy's potential power comes from Wisconsin, the home of Governor Scott Walker, the tool of the Koch brothers who did so much damage last year after passing legislation that stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
CNN reports the following:
More than a million people have signed a petition to recall Wisconsin's governor, the state's Democratic Party said Tuesday.
That's nearly twice the 540,208 signatures required to seek a recall of first-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who drew the ire of labor unions and public school teachers after he stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
All of us need to take heart from these two examples of what can happen when people mobilize to overcome the forces arrayed against their interests.
Such actions are both our right and our responsibility.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Linda McQuaig on Harper's Anti-Labour Policies
Drawing comparisons between Republican animus toward labour and Harper government policies that permit the kind of outrageous corporate behaviour unfolding at Electro-Motive Canada, Linda McQuaig's column in today's Star warns us of what is ahead for workers in Canada.
Two key excerpts provide the tone of her piece:
Harper played a key role in bringing about this disaster for the London workers by approving the sale of the company, Electro-Motive Diesel, to foreign-owned Caterpillar in 2010, after supposedly investigating whether the deal was in Canada’s interests.
Harper is of course staunchly pro-capitalist, and has aggressively lowered corporate tax rates, while refusing to link lower taxes to investment or job creation.
But his anti-union stance, evident in disputes at Air Canada and the post office last summer, has been particularly provocative. He seems determined to turn Canada into an anti-union paradise.
As usual, McQuaig's analysis is well-worth perusing in full.
Two key excerpts provide the tone of her piece:
Harper played a key role in bringing about this disaster for the London workers by approving the sale of the company, Electro-Motive Diesel, to foreign-owned Caterpillar in 2010, after supposedly investigating whether the deal was in Canada’s interests.
Harper is of course staunchly pro-capitalist, and has aggressively lowered corporate tax rates, while refusing to link lower taxes to investment or job creation.
But his anti-union stance, evident in disputes at Air Canada and the post office last summer, has been particularly provocative. He seems determined to turn Canada into an anti-union paradise.
As usual, McQuaig's analysis is well-worth perusing in full.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Self-Serving Rhetoric From The Toronto Police
As one who strives to be a critical thinker, I am loathe to make absolutist or ill-informed statements and assertions, even as I admit to frequently falling short of the mark. Nonetheless, after the debacle of the G20 Summit of June 2010 held in Toronto, I find myself frequently dubious of statements from the police that may serve to conceal or excuse instances of brutality and blatant violation of our Charter Rights.
It is for this reason that I am very skeptical of assertions by the Toronto Police, as reported in today's Star about Sean Salvati.
Readers may recall that Salvati, a paralegal, was arrested, stripped naked, paraded in front of a female officer and left without his clothing in a jail cell in June of 2010, allegedly for public intoxication, a claim he vigorously denies. According to him, his humiliating treatment was prompted by an innocuous remark to a couple of RCMP officers about the task that lay ahead of them the next day, the Saturday of the G20 Summit.
Even if one chooses to disbelieve Salvati's claim, his lawyer's protracted and frequently frustrated efforts to obtain some basic documentation and the video of his client's ordeal is a testament to police obstructionism.
I hope you can spare a few moments to read the entire article.
It is for this reason that I am very skeptical of assertions by the Toronto Police, as reported in today's Star about Sean Salvati.
Readers may recall that Salvati, a paralegal, was arrested, stripped naked, paraded in front of a female officer and left without his clothing in a jail cell in June of 2010, allegedly for public intoxication, a claim he vigorously denies. According to him, his humiliating treatment was prompted by an innocuous remark to a couple of RCMP officers about the task that lay ahead of them the next day, the Saturday of the G20 Summit.
Even if one chooses to disbelieve Salvati's claim, his lawyer's protracted and frequently frustrated efforts to obtain some basic documentation and the video of his client's ordeal is a testament to police obstructionism.
I hope you can spare a few moments to read the entire article.
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