Speaking of getting “tough on crime”, how about “hate”?

By: Amelio The · March 3, 2010 · Filed Under Criminal Law, Diversity in Law, Legal Reform, Politics · 2 Comments

When a local Georgian Township man, Trevor Middleton, was convicted of assault and criminal negligence in December, 2009, friends and family of the victims were hopeful that justice was served.

The Toronto Star

During the case, the jury had heard how Middleton and his friends had engaged in the practice of “nip-tipping” – that is, they would push into the water individuals who were fishing and who were of visibly Asian descent. This would be on the pretense that such people were fishing illegally, without licenses, or catching more fish than they were allowed to.

As well, the jury had heard how, after this altercation, Middleton had pursued the victims in his F-150 pick-up, how he had rammed their Civic with his truck, and how the victims were forced off the road and into a tree. The jury also had heard how one of the occupants, Shayne Berwick, suffered severe brain injury and is now confined to a wheelchair.

(see mp3 of call here)

As a result, the jury had taken all of three hours to find Middleton guilty.

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Post tags: crimes, enhancement, Georgian Township, hate, nip-tipping, racism, Ruohang Liu, sentencing, Shayne Berwick, Trevor Middleton, Vincent Chin

Criminalising Refugees

By: Fathima Cader · October 29, 2009 · Filed Under Immigration Law, International Law · 2 Comments

The arrival in Vancouver by boat two weeks ago of 76 refugees from Sri Lanka has triggered a predictable wave of paranoia and xenophobia, not the least of which has come from our own Ministry of Immigration. Alykhan Velshi, director of communications and parliamentary affairs, felt compelled to reassure the public that:

We won’t allow Canada to become a place of refuge for terrorists, thugs, snakeheads and other violent foreign criminals. Nor will we support those who want to create a two-tier immigration system: one tier for law-abiding immigrants who wait patiently in the queue, and a second, for-profit tier for criminals and terrorists who pay human smugglers to help them jump the queue.

Minister Jason Kenney, somewhat less flamboyantly, has said, “We don’t want to develop a reputation of having a two-tier immigration system – one tier for legal, law-abiding immigrants who patiently wait to come to the country, and a second tier who seek to come through the back door, typically through the asylum system.”

On the face of it, the preemptive criminalisation of the 76 men as terrorists and snakeheads aside, it seems like a fair thing to ask: that whatever system Canada have in place for immigration be respected.

The fact is, however, that Kenney is being willfully misleading. As Shauna Lubman, of UBC Law, notes:

[Kenney’s] statement belies the fact that Canada has a two-pronged system already – the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that legislates the entrance of both immigrants and refugees. There is no “back door.” There is an immigration door and an asylum door. While there is a clear legal process for entering Canada as an immigrant, it is specifically acknowledged in the 1951 Refugee Convention, whose signatories include Canada, that asylum seekers cannot be penalized for illegal entry. [emphasis mine]

Moreover, she continues,

Minister Kenney’s two-tier concern is misleading and completely misses the point that the Sri Lankan men might be genuine refugees. There are legitimate concerns with the arrival of migrants by boat, be they false or genuine refugee claimants. Human smuggling is a corrupt and exploitative criminal enterprise that should not only be discouraged but prosecuted. However, it is the smugglers who are the criminals, not the vulnerable migrants who in desperation pay their way into the smugglers’ hands.

Post tags: Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Kenney, Ministry of Immigration, racism, Shauna Lubman, Sri Lanka, vancouver

Problems finding rental housing?

By: Law is Cool · August 22, 2009 · Filed Under Administrative Law · Add Comment

Rights commission targets `blatant discrimination’ in rental-housing market

There’s obvious discrimination in rental housing, says the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s annual report released yesterday, identifying the problem as a key area that needs immediate intervention.