Category Archives: Media

Federal, Media, Municipal

Fairness

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I was driving by Tim Felger’s store and looking at the window damage as the radio DJ was speaking of Marc Emery spending 6 – 8 years in an American jail (or serving his sentence in Canada). Arriving home the second item on the 11PM news was about granting an exception to Canadian law for the ex-KGB agent currently taking sanctuary in a church to avoid arrest and deportation.

All of which left me pondering the state of fairness in the Canadian justice system.

It has been a sad fact of life that those with money can, through their ability to hire high priced legal talent, realistically afford a different brand of justice than the average citizen. By the same token the average citizen can afford a different brand of justice than the poor, the homeless, the addicted or the mentally ill who have no money and are far too often entirely at the mercy of chance as to how they fare within the legal system.

Not a perfectly fair reality, but a reality nonetheless and an issue that, while difficult to remedy, has at least the fairness of being in the public awareness.

I am far more concerned with popularity of the party involved becoming the deciding factor as to how the law is or is not applied. Politics is a popularity contest and one only has to take a honest, objective look at our cities, provinces and country to see how badly popularity can be as a basis to make policy or apply policy on.

Worse, it seems to being played out in the media. Contrast the tone of the current reporting on the ex-KGB officer who has taken refuge within a Vancouver church with the reporting that was done when an illegal immigrant from India took shelter in a Sikh temple. While the circumstances are not exactly the same, the principle is.

Marc Emery is not a friend of Stephen Harper or his Conservative party and is not the type of person or character that any of the opposition parties will stand up on a matter of principle over.

Personally I would gladly kick Mr. Emery’s ass over many of his actions and behaviours. But … as a matter of principle he should not have had to cut a deal and serve prison time because the Canadian government (and most Canadians) don’t like him or what he stands for.

Remember what Mr. Emery was doing in Canada was legal for him to be doing in Canada. The failure of the government from the start to say no, under these circumstances we will not extradite him, has far reaching consequences (just ask other Canadians abandoned in foreign jails to foreign legal systems) as well as fairness issues.

I caught an interview with Salman Rushdie on CBC’s The Hour. What would have happened if Iran (or another Islamic country) had asked for his extradition to face charges for writing the Satanic Verses? What do you think the public’s reaction would be and in light of public and world reaction, what would the Canadian government have done? Refused the extradition request.

Fairness?

I have seen no editorial outrage or public outcry at the damage done to Tim Felger’s front store windows or the shooting out of the truck’s and rear store windows. Considering the extremely close watch the police, the city and outraged citizens keep on Mr. Felger and his establishment and the extent of the damage done and the time it would take, it is troubling that someone had that time and that no suspects have been found.

Over the years Mr. Felger has made himself very unpopular in Abbotsford particularly with city council and the police, but in fairness that should not affect the handling of the criminal damage done to his store.

Fairness requires that whether we like or dislike the people, like or dislike the situation, that like or dislike does not affect the outcome.

In suggesting that the law treat the ex-KGB agent differently ‘because he deserves it’; in tolerating the government not refusing to extradite Mr. Emery ‘because he deserves it’; in tolerating the damage done to Mr. Felger’s store and way he is treated ‘because he deserves it’; we increase the unfairness of the system and decrease our own rights and protections.

Fairness does not just protect the Felger’s of the world. Fairness protects us all and we abandon Fairness ‘because he (they) do not deserve it’ at our own peril.

Federal, Media

PBS Model – not more Corporate Welfare

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Should the media conglomerates Machiavellian “save local television” campaign manage to con Canadians into demanding their MP’s impose a new tax on Canadians and use the revenue to bailout/save the media conglomerates from the consequences of their own bad decisions and management the federal government should say NO loudly.

Rather than rewarding the duplicitous nature of this campaign by using a new tax on Canadians to provide ongoing corporate welfare for the Canadian media conglomerates, the federal government should tell the media conglomerates to take a lesson from PBS and its pledge drives.

Local PBS stations depend upon donations from local viewers, running pledge drives throughout the year to raise the funds they need to continue broadcasting. Vancouver’s “local” Seattle PBS station receives a significant proportion of its donations from the lower mainland. Proof residents of the lower mainland are willing to support financially television they judge worthy of support.

Citizens should be permitted to clearly indicate whether they support the giant media conglomerates that control Canadian media or whether they would prefer the return of local media to local ownership,

Indeed, given the ethically questionable nature of the “save local television”, and that the media has chosen to beguile local charities into endorsing this disguised political campaign, the CRTC needs to impose sanctions on those who formulated and implemented this hustle.

Addiction, Issues, Media, Provincial

Help Wanted.

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What do you call the recent arrest of 8 senior members of the UN gang?

An employment opportunity.

Not a pretty reality, but reality nonetheless. A reality highlighted by police statements that the public should not expect these arrests to effect drug supplies, gang activity or gang violence.

That the arrests represent an employment opportunity should come as no surprise in light of what Abbotsford’s Chief Constable had to say about the lure of the lucrative gangsta lifestyle. Given our societies distorted emphasis on money and the things it can buy as measurements of success and a key to happiness no one should be flabbergasted by the scramble for the $$$ to be found in the drug business.

Indeed, given the reality challenged social and economic policies of both the federal and provincial government and our current economic recession, more and more heretofore honest citizens will find themselves faced with a choice between poverty and homelessness OR involvement in drugs …. Tough choice to find one’s self faced with.

Of course if the federal Conservatives or the provincial Liberals were in touch with reality Canadians would not be subjected to the Conservatives enthusiastically patting themselves on the back for progress made toward enacting legislation to jail large numbers of addicts, while at the same time substantially increasing time spent in jail.

Removing their ideological blinders and ceasing their naval gazing would perhaps allow the federal Conservatives and/or provincial Liberals to learn from the experience of states in the United States were they have been pursuing this lock ‘em up policy for a period of time.

The State of New York (and increasing numbers of other states) have abandoned this policy.

Why? It was gutting state programs across the board and literally bankrupting the state(s) to pay the skyrocketing costs incurred in incarcerating an every increasing number of people.

Faced with either significant tax increases or spending the budget, for the most part, solely to lock people up rather than on roads, social programs etc New York did what anyone with common sense would do upon finding themselves in a hole – stop digging.

Thus it is that after more than a decade of “locking them up for long sentences” New York and other states have stopped this insanity.
A wise decision in light of the studies evaluating this policy that found the only things the policy accomplished was to make incarceration a lucrative business, to drive states to the brink of bankruptcy and to criminalize addiction (which is a physical and mental health issue).

This is the current situation California finds itself in, hovering on the edge of bankruptcy and facing the need to reduce the prison population by 70,000 over the next 18 months.

The costs of building and funding prison spaces for 70,000 prisoners were so prohibitive California was not able to increase prison cells. Faced with a deluge of new prisoners California packed its existing prisons to the rafters. Conditions became so inhuman even the Bush appointed conservative US courts ordered the release of 70,000 prisoners to reduce overcrowding.

Like a true capitalist (as opposed to a Harper Conservative pseudo capitalist) the governor of California wants to repair California’s finances by recovering at least a portion of the funds squandered on a policy (lock ‘em up for years) that proved ineffective and contributed substantially to California tottering on the edge of bankruptcy.

To save the state from bankruptcy California’s governor has called for the legalization of marijuana. Between the taxes raised and the funds saved, California would have the funds to focus on the truly important issues facing the state such as ensuring a supply of potable water.

Given the results and experiences of US states following a policy of locking up increasing numbers of people for increasing lengths of times it is nonsensical, bordering on out-and-out stupid, for Canada to pursue a policy that has proven to be pointless and costly to the point of beggaring anyone short-sighted enough to pursue this policy.

Given Mr. Harper’s behaviour to date the probability of common sense and experience winning out on this matter over Mr. Harper’s ideology approaches zero.

So it was that the media circus staged by the Abbotsford Police Department in arresting Tim Felger seemed to provide an appropriate exclamation point to emphasize the futility of current policies vis-à-vis the drugs society chooses to label “illegal”.

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” Margaret J. Wheatley