Morton's Musings

Ottawa mayor won't take stand in influence peddling trial

2009-07-06T12:37:00.001-04:00

Usually I avoid having my client take the stand when there is something really bad she/he is likely to say. Perhaps here they just see no upside to the testimony?

Ottawa mayor won't take stand in influence peddling trial
Source: The Canadian Press
Jul 6, 2009 11:46

OTTAWA_ The capital's mayor will not take the stand to defend himself against influence-peddling charges levelled by a former political rival.

Larry O'Brien's lawyer has told Ontario Superior Court that he will present no further evidence in the case, opening the door for final statements.

Prosecutor Scott Hutchison told Judge Douglas Cunningham the case revolves around corroborative evidence that goes beyond the accusations by former mayoralty candidate Terry Kilrea.

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Important Decision on Cross Appeals

2009-07-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

The important decision of the Court of Appeal in Ontario Realty Corporation v. P. Gabriele & Sons Limited, 2009 ONCA 531 makes clear that a cross appeal may be made against a party that neither appealed nor was brought into an appeal. It is sufficient that an appeal exists for a cross appeal to be brought. The result would seem counterintuitive but the decision is carefully set forth and clear (and for full disclosure I lost the hearing!)

[9] In my view a plain reading of the rule suggests that the respondents are within their right and entitled to deliver a notice of cross-appeal. There is nothing in the rule that requires that the subject of the cross-appeal must relate to the appeal. Nor is there any requirement that the only responding parties to the cross-appeal must be the appellants.

Timing of 11(b) motion

2009-07-06T06:05:00.000-04:00

The OCA in Pioneer Construction Inc., [2006] O.J. No. 1874 made the timing of a stay for delay motion clear:‪

27 Finally, we disagree with the view of the appeal judge that the s. 11(b) motion should have been argued at the end of the trial. A motion to stay proceedings for a s. 11(b) breach is ordinarily argued before trial absent unusual circumstances, which did not exist here.‬

Further assistance comes from the Manitoba CA in Byron, [2001] M.J. No. 245:‪

11 While the appeals are dismissed, we feel it would be appropriate to take the opportunity to make some comment on the rather unusual procedure followed by the trial judge in this matter.

12 The trial judge heard the motions for delay, and then reserved his decision on the matter until the conclusion of the four-week trial. He did not reserve to allow time to reflect on his decision which would have been perfectly understandable. Rather, he reserved deliberately so as to be able to make an alternative decision on the substance of the charges themselves....

16 There are many situations involving the Charter where it is totally appropriate for a decision to be made only after the hearing of all the evidence. In fact, when an accused is challenging the constitutionality of a new piece of legislation, if the accused is acquitted, the trial judge need not decide the constitutional issue at all. The courts should not decide an issue on a Charter violation unless it cannot be decided on another basis: R. v. Westendorp, [1983] 1 S.C.R. 43 at 46.

17 Generally, however, preliminary motions should be heard and disposed of before or at the commencement of the trial, including motions for unreasonable delay....

22 It is not in the best interests of an accused, nor the state's, to go through unnecessary trials. From the point of view of an accused, they must incur the legal expenses of the trial as well as other expenses related to travel and loss of wages. They also have the stigma of the findings of guilt. Both could have been avoided had a decision been made at the close of argument. From the point of view of the state, there is a public policy advantage in avoiding unnecessary trials. With a timely ruling on the motion, victims and witnesses could have avoided involvement in the process and costs would undoubtedly have been saved throughout....

27 However, where the motion is heard and the trial judge is capable and prepared to rule on the delay motion, that decision should not be deferred until the end of the trial simply in anticipation of being overturned on appeal.‬

This policy consideration had already been stated earlier by Sopinka in DeSousa, [1992] S.C.J. No. 77 at para 17:‪

Moreover, in some cases it will save time to decide constitutional questions before proceeding to trial on the evidence. An apparently meritorious Charter challenge of the law under which the accused is charged which is not dependent on facts to be elicited during the trial may come within this exception to the general rule.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Yet each man kills the thing he loves

2009-07-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

Re reading the Ballard of Reading Gaol I was surprised to see these lines, which I had forgotten (more fool I!) were there:

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

The Ballad of Reading Gaol was written by Oscar Wilde after his release from Reading prison on 19 May 1897. During his imprisonment a hanging took place.

Joe Biden says 'go ahead, start WWIII'

2009-07-05T20:06:00.001-04:00

Vice President Biden does seem to have a way with words.

Perhaps he has forgotten that in invasion of Kuwait occurred, in part, because Iraq thought America was ok with the attack as a result of ill chosen language of an Ambassador?

Regardless, I always think if something can be explained as stupidity or conspiracy, stupidity is more likely. And here I suspect Biden was just babbling rather that sending a message.

(By the way, seeing Biden's actions makes me appreciate the bland meaningless verbiage we usually hear -- it's meaningless for a reason -- to avoid accidentally making new public policy)

Biden Suggests U.S. Not Standing in Israel's Way on Iran

By BRIAN KNOWLTON
NYT Published: July 06, 2009

WASHINGTON - Plunging squarely into one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. suggested on Sunday that the United States would not stand in the way of Israeli military action aimed at the Iranian nuclear program.

The United States, Mr. Biden said in an interview broadcast on ABC's "This Week," "cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do."

"Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," he said, in an interview taped in Baghdad at the end of a visit there.

...

Mr. Biden's comments came at a particularly sensitive time, amid the continuing tumult over the disputed Iranian elections, and seemed to risk handing a besieged President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a new tool with which to fan nationalist sentiments in Iran.

What was not immediately clear was whether Mr. Biden, who has a long-standing reputation for speaking volubly - and sometimes going too far in the heat of the moment - was sending an officially sanctioned message.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

A new-born panda cub at Chiang Mai zoo in northern Thailand

2009-07-05T18:58:00.000-04:00

Notice the size of Mom's paw? The baby panda is about 2 weeks old here and is still un named

History of bi-national solution in British Palestine

2009-07-05T16:53:00.001-04:00

It is easy to forget that the concept of bi-nationalism, a union of Israelis and Palestinians in a single state, is not very new. It was considered, and generally rejected, well before the Second World War.

By the mid-1920's there were groups in the British Palestine calling for a single unified state, under British rule, for both Arabs and Jews. Arguably the concept had its roots in the Czech lands under the Hapsburgs -- there three groups, Czech, German and Jew shared on state but were distinct from each other in culture and nationality.

So, "Brit Shalom" sought a peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews, to be achieved by the Jewish renunciation of the Balfour Declaration. Brit Shalom (also called the Jewish-Palestinian Peace Alliance) was founded in 1925 and never exceeded a membership of 100.

Brit Shalom supporters and founders include Arthur Ruppin, Martin Buber, Hugo Bergmann, Gershom Scholem and Henrietta Szold; others, such as Albert Einstein also voiced their support.

Most Palestinian Jews and Arabs rejected this proposed solution, and the movement became a marginal, temporal element in the politics of the region. With the departure of the British the issue of bi-nationalism was decided by war. The large Jewish communities in Arab states were relocated in bulk to Israel and many Palestinians fled the fighting to Egypt and Transjordan (well, fled to what became a part of Transjordan, later Jordan. After capturing the 'West Bank' area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Transjordan became Jordan and in 1950 Jordan annexed the West Bank, only to lose it to Israel later.)

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Corrina and Anton

2009-07-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

Good for Stephen Harper!

2009-07-05T08:42:00.001-04:00

The Prime Minister gave a thoughtful, compassionate and humane eulogy for Dave Batters, a former MP. I don't often praise Stephen Harper but he deserves praise here:

Harper mourns former MP's suicide

PM urges greater public understanding of anxiety, depression

Tonda MacCharles
OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA – Reflecting on the life and tragic suicide of a young former Saskatchewan MP, Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged a greater public understanding of the severe anxiety and depression that touch so many Canadians.

At a funeral in Regina yesterday, Harper eulogized Dave Batters, 39, who committed suicide June 30, as a colleague whose energy and enthusiasm "were infectious. He lifted spirits and inspired others."

Batters's suicide shook the ranks of fellow Conservatives and others on Parliament Hill.

A few months before Batters announced that he would not run again last fall, the Prime Minister said, "I became aware that beneath this veneer of optimism, Dave struggled with severe anxiety and depression.

"While we cannot understand why a loved one would act with such sudden finality, we need to know that Dave is not alone. Each year, nearly 4,000 Canadians make this same choice."

Although science has made progress in understanding mental illness, "we still don't know enough about depression, and less about suicide," Harper said.

"But we know this much: Depression can strike the sturdiest of souls. It cares not how much you have achieved, nor how much you have to live for."

Severe anxiety and depression hit men and women "in their primary working years and, most sadly, in their adolescent children," according to a transcript of Harper's comments at the funeral.

Full story here:

http://www.thestar.com/article/661081
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Sid Ryan on the Toronto City Workers Strike

2009-07-04T16:19:00.001-04:00

By way of balance to the OpEd from the Post, here's something from the Star.

I'm not sure I agree with this analysis either -- but I do think the unionized workers are being given too harsh public treatment for exercising their rights, especially when, in Toronto, the City has given good deals to some and not to others:

In a crisis, bash the workers
TheStar.com
Sid Ryan
President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees-Ontario

In tough times, diehard free market disciples can be relied on to do two things: revert to divisive hard-right talk and scapegoat. The poor, unionized workers and those on the margins are common targets for attacks that pander to a base of support and baser emotions, rather than seeking solutions that are best for all people.

So it's hardly surprising that those who benefited most from the economic boom are now, in the throes of a recession, taking advantage of the nasty public mood and pointing an accusing finger at unionized working men and women.

What's unique in this recession is how many people, from municipal mayors to a newly minted Ontario political party leader to the usual business lobbyists, want in on the worker-bashing. The chorus is now gaining fever pitch.

It began in earnest following the beginning of the recent legal strike in Toronto by CUPE Locals 416 and 79, but this particular dispute is just the largest and highest-profile of several underway across the province involving public- and private-sector workers.

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/659087

My toy!

2009-07-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

845 years for fraud

2009-07-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

Interesting piece from the New York Times today on the sentencing in Madoff. Clyde Haberman points out Sholam Weiss got 845 years for stealing less money -- but to my mind sentences of more than, say, 25 years for anything are merely symbolic. I suppose, and many readers commented, that symbolism is important. Still, will this sentence reduce white collar crime or help any of the victims? I doubt it... .

Full story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/nyregion/03nyc.html?_r=1

...
For that matter, what about a sentence of 150 years? It, too, can never be fully served. The reference, of course, is to the century and a half in prison to which Bernard L. Madoff was condemned this week by a federal judge in Manhattan, Denny Chin.

James A. Cohen, a Fordham University law professor, is among those who have a problem with sentences that are on their face impossible. “It prompts in some people a lack of respect for the system,” Professor Cohen said. “Somebody has to be asking, ‘What is that about? What are we really thinking?’ ”

“It’s putting out something that is obviously false and fake to everybody,” he added, “and why are we doing that?”

Obviously, his is not a universally shared opinion. A more popular view is probably that 150 years in prison is too good for the likes of Mr. Madoff. That is reflected in victims’ comments and in the “boil him in oil” tone of much of the news coverage.

But at some point the Madoff case may be examined with more dispassion. Any analysis would have to include the reasonableness of the sentence ordered by Judge Chin, a widely admired jurist. Acknowledging the symbolic nature of those 150 years, the judge cited a need for deterrence, retribution and justice for the victims.

Deterrence, however, is often an elusive goal. It is mentioned by some as a reason, for example, to preserve capital punishment. Yet the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, analyzing federal crime statistics, has found that the 10 states with the highest murder rates all have capital punishment on their books. Among the 10 states with the lowest murder rates, 6 get by without the death penalty.

With financial crime, are we to take as a given that a grifter will be deterred by sentences that, besides being unrealistic, seem to wander all over the lot? Mr. Weiss got 845 years for ripping off a few hundred million dollars. Mr. Madoff got a mere 150 years for a swindle put at $65 billion. What gives?

The dollar value is “a dangerous factor to focus on in many cases,” said Dan Markel, a law professor at Florida State University. “It introduces a variable that is highly contingent on luck and fortuity to drive sentences,” he said, and it may steer the courts away from “considered assessments” of blame and punishment.

RETRIBUTION?

Mr. Madoff is 71. The odds are against his making it to 100. A 30-year sentence would have provided the same degree of retribution as one of 150 years.

As for the victims’ desires, there can be a fine line between justice and pandering. Douglas A. Berman, an expert on sentencing law at Ohio State University, expressed concern about “a tone and culture that says, ‘Hey, if the victims are really ticked, let’s give them their due.’ ”

...

Palin quits

2009-07-04T09:05:00.000-04:00

When I first saw this I thought it was a joke -- I wonder if we'll ever learn the rest of the story?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 3 (Reuters) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate in 2008, said on Friday she will resign this month, an unexpected move that could signal a run for higher office.

Palin took no questions after a brief news conference in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, members of her state Cabinet by her side. She gave no indication of her future plans.

"I'm not seeking re-election" in 2010, Palin said, adding she would transfer authority to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on July 26.

Palin, Arizona Sen. John McCain's surprise pick as his running-mate in the 2008 presidential race, rallied the party's conservative base but alienated others who believed she did not have the experience to be vice president.

She has been mentioned as one of the top three Republicans who could vie for the party's presidential nomination in 2012. Those mentioned most often include Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

"We are not retreating, we are advancing in a different direction," Palin said. "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time."

I hate these child proof containers!

2009-07-04T04:15:00.000-04:00

Left-wing principles aren't to blame for the Toronto civic strike

2009-07-03T15:46:00.001-04:00

I'm not too sure that progressive politics always lead to "nothing works". But certainly things are not doing well in Toronto presently. As I see it the real problem isn't the general drift of Toronto civic politics -- the problem is that raises were given to some and others were asked to take haircuts. And that was obviously not fair. That said, the piece below, from the Post, is worth a read:

http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=fullcomment&e=kelly-mcparland-toronto-the-workers-paradise-where-nothing-works&s=Home

Toronto at the moment is a shining example of a major city operating along left-wing principles. Nothing works.

It's a workers' paradise, paradise in this case being a place where you no longer have to do your job. The services that two million people have paid for aren't being delivered, because two city unions can't get what they want and are on strike. The interests of the majority are subverted to the demands of a small, privileged minority. It's the Family Compact in reverse. The unions, ultra-conservative in their left-wing zeal, resist change at all costs. They want a world that remains forever unchanging, if change requires acceptance of fewer personal privileges. The state, according to the striking city workers, is them. The rest of us are supplicants.

Toronto has ceased functioning. The daycares aren't open. The community centres are closed. The pools don't operate. City-run camps are shut. Parks aren't maintained.

Families that counted on services to help amuse the kids over the summer are out of luck. Working families -- the sort the left is supposed to care about, more than hard-hearted right-wingers -- are on their own, forced to juggle jobs, in a recession, with unexpected and unnecessary childcare complications. Small businesses, the kind that fuel the economy and employ the sort of people unions champion, are suffering. The normally left-friendly Toronto Star reported on Sam Sinnthurai, a restaurant owner who spent $7,000 adding an outdoor patio for customers, but now can't open it because he can't get fire and safety approvals from the city. (Why you'd need a fire or safety inspection for a concrete slab surrounded my a metal fence is another issue). "I'm a hardworking man and we're losing business," he complains.

Do the city unions care? Nope. Because unions, despite their rhetoric, care only about themselves, public sector unions in particular. Private sector labour groups have had to concede the reality of the recession, contributing to the survival of their jobs. Air Canada, Chrysler, GM -- even Globe and Mail employees agreed to concessions Thursday to avoid a strike. But the city can't go bankrupt, and the strikers jobs are safe whatever the case, so there's no such pressure on Toronto workers. All the pressure is on the politicians, and in Mayor David Miller Toronto's unions have an unusually vulnerable opponent.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

A change in the law relating to similar fact or bad acts evidence?

2009-07-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

Today's decision in R. v. Cudjoe, 2009 ONCA 543 seemingly simplifies that law relating to similar fact evidence.

The Court seems to suggest that evidence of bad acts will be admitted, regardless of similarity or exclusion of coincidence, if "the probative value of the evidence on a fact in issue exceeds its prejudicial effect".

If this reading of the case is correct (and it related to a tragic domestic situation and so it may be the breadth of language should be read down?) it could have wide reaching effects. The Court holds:

[63] As a general but not unyielding rule, the prosecutor is not entitled to introduce, as part of the prosecution's case in-chief, evidence of an accused's bad acts, other than those charged, to support an inference of guilt from general bad character. We generally bar the introduction of evidence of other bad acts because it invites propensity reasoning – a finding of guilt based on character not conduct: R. v. Batte (2000), 49 O.R. (3d) 321 ( C.A. ), at para. 100. Evidence of bad acts of an accused, other than the acts charged, may be admitted as an exception to the general rule, however, when the probative value of the evidence on a fact in issue exceeds its prejudicial effect: Batte at para. 90.

[64] In a prosecution for a crime of unlawful homicide, such as murder, evidence of an accused's prior abuse of the deceased may illuminate the nature of the relationship between the principals, demonstrate animus and establish a motive for the killing. This circumstantial evidence, used prospectantly, may assist in proving complicity in an unlawful killing and in establishing the state of mind that accompanied it: R. v. F. (D.S.) (1999), 43 O.R. (3d) 609 (C.A.), at p. 616; R. v. Jackson (1980), 57 C.C.C. (2d) 154 (Ont. C.A.), at p. 167; R. v. Misir (2001), 153 C.C.C. (3d) 70 (B.C.C.A.), at para. 17; Plomp v. R. (1963), 110 C.L.R. 234 (H.C.).

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Conservatives lawlessness

2009-07-03T08:44:00.000-04:00

This clip from the Globe shows two things.

First, the Conservatives have no respect for the law and second the Conservatives have no respect for the law.

Challenging minimum sentences is not "soft on crime" any more than suggesting there are problems with the medical system suggests being "soft on disease". The Bloc may be wrong but they are not child molsters or supporters of child molesting. They hold a position in good faith and it is worth debate on the merits. The law (and the justice system) deserves a substantive discussion -- the Conservatives have too little respect for the justice system to do that.

I had considerable respect for the Conservative justice program initially -- perhaps I didn't agree with it but it was a serious attempt to revisit a broken system and I was ready to be convinced it was right, or worth a try. That respect is gone.

Second, the ten percenters. What an outrage! When I worked with a Liberal MP in a held riding we were very very careful not to cross a line into political material. Maybe there were Liberals who were less careful but this stuff is Conservative Party mailings at the expense of tax dollars. The contempt for the law shown by this behavior is breathtaking.

A pervert in a plaid shirt is luring a child in a park, but the Bloc Québécois will not do anything to stop him, the Conservative Party says in a new round of attack ads.

The message, which was sent at taxpayers' expense in every single Bloc riding, features a blurry picture of a small boy leaving a park with an older man. The two are walking hand-in-hand, and a nearby kiddy swing is empty.

“Your Bloc MP has voted against the protection of children,” the tag line states.

Controversial Conservative ad blasting the Bloc Quebecois position on crime
The hard-hitting Conservative campaign aims to highlight the fact the Bloc was the only party last April that voted against a bill imposing minimum sentences for the trafficking of children, in matters such as prostitution rings.

“The Bloc prefers sweet deals for criminals. That's unacceptable,” the Conservative campaign states.

Law-and-order issues are rarely at the centre of political debate in Quebec, but the Conservatives argue that Quebeckers are as concerned as other Canadians about crimes against children.

“What we are denouncing is the fact that the Bloc is voting against the values of Quebeckers,” Conservative MP Steven Blaney said in an interview. He represents a riding just south of Quebec City.

The Conservative Party used a controversial method to distribute the ads, relying on each MP's ability to send out free mail to 10 per cent of the addresses in a riding.

The rules state that the pamphlet's contents must relate to parliamentary functions and cannot refer to coming elections. But the Conservatives have raised eyebrows in Parliament by issuing hard-hitting partisan pamphlets in opposition ridings.

In this case, the carpet-bombing of the 48 Bloc ridings was sponsored by Conservative MPs in and outside Quebec.

Bill C-268 proposes “minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years,” and has been championed by Conservative MP Joy Smith. It was approved at second reading in April by a vote of 232-47, and will now be studied by the justice committee of the House.

The Bloc explains that it voted against Bill C-268 because it prevents judges from exercising their discretion.

“Minimum sentences have no dissuasive effect,” said Bloc MP and whip Michel Guimond.
Mr. Guimond said the use of parliamentary resources to send out the ads is despicable. “It's just unbelievable, saying that we are against the protection of children … and are almost condoning these types of abuses,” he said.

The Conservatives defended the practice and the content of the ads, saying that it was a reflection of a clear vote in Parliament.

Check out who's in the pool!

2009-07-02T15:52:00.000-04:00

Liberals regain slim lead, poll finds

2009-07-02T15:49:00.001-04:00

Jul 02, 2009
Reuters News Agency

OTTAWA - The opposition Liberal Party has regained its slender lead in public support, thanks largely to a sharp dip in backing for the ruling Conservatives, according to a poll released Thursday.

A weekly Ekos survey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp put the Liberals at 32.2 per cent, down from 32.6 per cent last week. The Conservatives dropped to 31.0 per cent from 34.8 per cent while the left-leaning New Democratic Party was at 16.2 per cent, up from 14.3 per cent.

Ekos said the Conservatives had lost the short-term advantage they gained the previous week after the Liberals effectively backed down from a threat to bring down the government over the way it was tackling the economic crisis.

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Gay sex now legal in India

2009-07-02T14:03:00.000-04:00

The Indian court was able to make this decision without any reference to consitutional law or human rights because the statute merely banned "sex against the law of nature" and since that was not precise, a mere reconsideration of what is natural was required. Apparently the law will no be used only in non-consensual situations.

NEW DELHI -- An Indian court on Thursday ruled gay sex was not a crime, a verdict that will bolster demands by gay and health groups that the government scrap a British colonial law which bans homosexual sex.

In a country where public hugging and kissing even among heterosexuals invites lewd remarks and sometimes beatings, gay sex has been a taboo, leaving the government unsure how conservative Indians would react if the law was repealed.

The Delhi High Court's ruling that homosexual sex among consenting adults is not a crime is expected to boost an increasingly vocal pro-gay lobby in India that says the British-era law was a violation of human rights.
The current law bans "sex against the order of nature," and is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex in India.

Context matters

2009-07-02T13:08:00.001-04:00

Some years ago I wrote an article where I quoted some vile sexist drivel for the purpose of showing how vile it was. Sure enough, the drivel showed up as a "quote" of mine.

I learned a lesson and no longer repeat nasty material I am holding up to ridicule.

That's what is happening in the story below:

EDMONTON - Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says comments he wrote about Ukrainians 15 years ago have been misinterpreted by the federal Conservatives.

He told reporters after a town hall meeting in Edmonton on Tuesday night that some of the terminology he used was derogatory, but said it was done in an "ironic" manner to describe some of the prejudices about Ukrainian people.

Earlier this month, Treasury Board President Vic Toews sent a pamphlet to constituents in his riding of Provencher, southeast of Winnipeg.

The pamphlet contained excerpts from Ignatieff's 1993 book Blood and Belonging, in which Ignatieff referred to Ukrainians as "little Russians."

Ignatieff also wrote that Ukrainian independence would for some conjure up images of "phoney cossacks in cloaks and boots, nasty anti-Semites."

The same words angered some members of Toronto's Ukrainian community in 2005, when Ignatieff first ran for office. They protested outside party headquarters in Toronto.

Ignatieff said at the time that his comments had been taken out of context.

On Tuesday, he said he has always "felt the deepest affection and respect" for Ukrainian people.

"I used those terms - and they are derogatory terms, with which I wish to disassociate myself - I use them in an ironic manner to describe some of the illusions and prejudices that people have about Ukrainians, and they're wrong," Ignatieff said.

"I've never believed them, I've never supported them, I reject them absolutely. Because some of my own family ancestors are buried in the Ukraine, I owe the fact that those graves have been protected and honoured to anonymous Ukrainians. And that means a great deal to me emotionally."

About 550 people turned out for the town hall meeting, which Ignatieff said was encouraging.

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Canadian-made HIV vaccine close to human trial

2009-07-02T12:50:00.001-04:00

Canada has a proud history of medical breakthroughs. Look at diabetes. One can only hope this story will be another triumph:

Linda Nguyen , National Post

It has been 20 years in the making but researchers at the University of Western Ontario say they're confident their HIV vaccine is only months away from being approved for human trials.

Lead researcher Dr. Chil-Yong Kang said Thursday the approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can come as soon as two or three months.

"We've been working on the HIV virus since 1987. This is a very important day for us," Dr. Kang said while attending a conference in South Korea. "It is a very important milestone for us, this vaccine."
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Assault in prison costs

2009-07-02T08:05:00.000-04:00

This decision may seem absurd but perhaps it makes sense. Prisons should be safe -- and they are not. Assault is widespread and such "inside" crime makes rehabilitation even less likely. If prisons are "fined" for assault maybe they will take steps to stop it?

Inmate's $12K reward for buttocks injury upheld
Natalie Alcoba, National Post

A former inmate who claimed he suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a fellow prisoner stabbed him in the buttock with a plastic weapon should receive the $12,000 he was awarded in damages, a federal judge has ruled.

Crown lawyers had appealed a decision made late last year by Federal Court prothonotary Martha Milczynski, who found Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) had "inadequate" security measures that contributed to a "breach of the duty of care" of Barry Carr, a 38-year-old who was attacked in 2005 by an unidentified prisoner in Millhaven Institution in Bath, Ont.

She said corrections officers did not heed the signs of a possible violent confrontation, and ordered the federal government to pay Mr. Carr's court costs, plus the damages.
A Federal Court Justice has upheld her ruling.

In his judgment of June 2, Justice James Russell acknowledged that while it is possible to take issue with the findings, he "cannot find that Prothonotary Milczynski committed a palpable and overriding error."

The judge dismissed the appeal, and in doing so set a precedent for future cases involving CSC's liability of inmate safety, said John Hill, who represented Mr. Carr in the lawsuit against the federal government.

His client claimed that CSC was negligent because it failed to monitor the movements and actions of inmates, failed to notice signs of the impending assault, and did not act quickly enough to suppress it.

"Now, instead of saying it's up to the inmate to report damage that may occur to him, what they're saying is you have procedures in place to prevent this, if you don't use them properly and harm befalls the inmate, you're going to pay," Mr. Hill said in an interview yesterday.

A nice meal on a restful day ... .

2009-07-01T16:19:00.000-04:00

Clerical error???

2009-07-01T13:11:00.003-04:00

This is a very weird story from the Law Times indeed. The announcement was obviously correctly done -- they had the chap's resume. So what happened? Was there a consideration at Cabinet and the appointees listed wrongly? Was there a political change of mind? Newton is a senior and well respected lawyer -- he would be a fine judge.

So, it was an ‘unfortunate clerical error?’

By Robert Todd Publication Date: Monday, 29 June 2009

The federal Department of Justice was left red-faced — and a press secretary short on words — after releasing an announcement wrongly naming a Thunder Bay lawyer a new judge of the Superior Court of Justice.

Carrel & Partners LLP lawyer Danial Newton was wrongly included on the lengthy list of new appointments from across the country that was released June 19 at 4:39 p.m.

The announcement stated that Newton would be replacing Thunder Bay Justice T.A. Platana “who elected to become a supernumerary judge.”

Three hours later, at 7:30 p.m., the department issued a corrected list of new appointments with the following notice: “An earlier version of this press release erroneously referred to the appointment of W. Danial Newton to the Superior Court of Ontario in Thunder Bay.

...

It was an unfortunate clerical error and we issued an apology to Mr. Newton as soon as we found out about it,” says Eke.

How was the “clerical error” made?

“Again, it was an unfortunate clerical error,” replies Eke.

How was the mistake discovered?“Again, as soon as we found out about it we issued an apology,” says Eke. “Again, I’m not going to get into any details.”What’s the status of the judicial vacancy in Thunder Bay that Newton was wrongly slated to fill?“Again, I’m not going to comment any further. What occurred on Friday was an unfortunate clerical error,” he says. ...

The announcement regarding Newton went on to outline his credentials, including a BA from the University of Toronto in 1979 and a LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1982. The civil litigation specialist was called to the bar in 1984 and “was a partner at Carrel & Partners LLP from 1984 to 2009,” stated the announcement.

Newton did not respond to Law Times’ requests for comment.