Witnesses who lie to parliamentary committees face a minimum six months’ jail and threat of a $50,000 fine under a private bill introduced Friday. “It is a mechanism to restore Canadians’ confidence in our democratic institutions,” said Conservative MP Michael Barrett (Leeds-Grenville, Ont.), the sponsor.
Drug-impaired driving is now commonplace since Parliament legalized marijuana six years ago, says in-house Department of Health research. Findings were drawn from questionnaires with daily cannabis users: “Legalization increased social acceptance.”
Arctic Canada now has a total 34 public charging stations for seven electric vehicles, says the Department of Natural Resources. Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut combined are the first region to achieve 100 percent charging capacity: ‘This represents a ratio of less than one electric vehicle to charger.’
Canada’s cattle industry
receives federal support.
Investments
in forage improvement,
breeding programs,
insurance coverage.
Helping farmers stay innovative,
expand market opportunities,
manage business risks.
Meanwhile,
Canada’s new food guide
warns of items
that undermine healthy eating.
Like,
sugary drinks,
margarine,
red meat.
By Shai Ben-Shalom
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have criminal records, typically for drug and property crimes. Many become model citizens. A few even wind up in Parliament. Retired two-term Liberal MP Ivan Grose (Oshawa, Ont.) was a convicted bank robber. The late New Democrat MP Frank Howard (Skeena, B.C.) was jailed for armed robbery as a youth. Ex-Conservative MP Guy Lauzon (Stormont-Dundas, Ont.), a recovered alcoholic, had two convictions for drunk driving.
Yet exceptions don’t make the rule, note authors of After Prison: Navigating Employment And Reintegration. Many parolees are shunned in the workplace long after their debt to society is paid. Authors cite one employers’ survey that found most considered parolees to be weak, lazy or dishonest.
“Gainful employment, in essence, provides the foundational ‘building block’ that former prisoners require to transition successfully into society post-release,” authors write. “Employment, beyond a means to sustain a lifestyle in a free society, is a central source of identity.”
Most employers in Canada are small businesses. They have neither the interest nor capacity to be agents of social change. Very few parolees are hired by the Correctional Service of Canada, just as very few medically-released veterans are hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The irony is noted.
After Prison is a frank assessment of hard realities. Editors Rose Ricciardelli and Adrienne Peters of Memorial University acknowledge many parolees are not ideal job applicants. Most at sentencing are high school dropouts with addictions. A survey of parolees in Ontario found many who had never used the internet.
“Industries that were the least likely to hire former prisoners were in the areas of finance and insurance, scientific and technical services, public administration and health care,” write authors, citing a tracking survey of parolees in Virginia from 1999 to 2003.
All prejudices aside, authors argue persuasively that stigmatizing parolees is so plainly counterintuitive it is not obvious why large employers don’t try harder. “Incarceration often excludes former prisoners from the mainstream economy, which forces them to turn to secondary markets and informal economies where they are more vulnerable to reoffending,” explains After Prison.
Even wrongful conviction is stigmatized. Authors recount a study in which 1,000 emails by a fictional applicant were sent to employers with Job Bank postings. Applications that cited a wrongful conviction drew a 28 percent response. Applications that mentioned no contact with the judicial system whatsoever attracted a 39 percent response.
“Employment provides releasees with heightened self-esteem, feelings of independence, financial stability and pro-social responsibility,” write authors. “However, employment is hard to come by for former prisoners.”
After Prison is a scholarly appeal to a society that still believes in second chances.
By Holly Doan
After Prison: Navigating Employment and Reintegration; edited by Rose Ricciardelli and Adrienne M.F. Peters; Wilfrid Laurier University Press; 320 pages; ISBN 9781-77112-3167; $39.99
Taxpayers out millions’ worth of sweetheart corporate subsidies have a right to expect their money back, Deputy Industry Minister Simon Kennedy said yesterday. Kennedy’s testimony followed an investigation that counted 186 conflicts at the board of Sustainable Development Technology Canada: “Funding was provided and it needs to be recovered.”
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault yesterday released data confirming the carbon tax is a net cost for the economy. The figures contradicted repeated claims by cabinet that its tax was revenue neutral and created jobs: “Why did you wait until today to release it?”
MPs yesterday agreed to spend months reviewing Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s proposal to raise capital gains tax revenues by $18 billion. New data show tax filers who report gains from the sale of farms, commercial buildings, vacation homes and other equity typically show profits under $50,000: “The government in an effort to start a class war has made a mistake.”
Liberal appointee Senator Donna Dasko (Ont.) yesterday questioned whether foreign agents did any harm in the last two general elections. A judicial inquiry ruled May 3 “it is possible” the outcome in a handful of ridings was influenced by the Chinese Communist Party: “Do you think that happened?”
Anti-trust lawyers seek a Federal Court order for confidential market research by Rogers Communications Inc. The Competition Bureau has targeted Rogers’ claims to sell “infinite” data plans: ‘We have reason to believe these representations convey a false or misleading impression.’
Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s “affordability” target is short hundreds of thousands of new homes according to figures released yesterday by cabinet’s own Housing Advocate. Builders have warned even the lower target is farfetched: “We need measurable results.”
Liberals seeking a fourth term face tight contests nationwide “including in my riding,” Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said yesterday. Duclos made his remarks while speaking to reporters about a June 24 byelection in one of the safest Liberal seats in the country: “If it is close, what does it say?”
Liberal appointee Senator Yuen Pau Woo (B.C.) yesterday said he feared Canadians in “regular contact with a foreign state agent” will be targeted under a new security bill. Woo earlier reacted angrily when asked by reporters if he was a Chinese Communist Party agent: “It is deeply insulting.”
The cost of living has overtaken years of progress in lowering poverty rates, says a federal report. The Department of Social Development counted almost a half million Canadians who fell into poverty due to inflation: “Inflation coupled with lagging household incomes has led to affordability pressures.”
Employers’ groups yesterday said a federal ban on use of replacement workers may lead to more strikes and lockouts in rail, marine shipping and other sectors. Parliament is preparing to pass a replacement worker ban under Bill C-58 An Act To Amend The Canada Labour Code: “Would this bill not bring equilibrium to labour relations?”
