On Tuesday morning, I attended the media tour of Burnside jail with Tim. Tim summarized the tour this way: This was a PR exercise on the part of Corrections, and as such things go, was well-run. Corrections staff were informative and answered even the most pointed questions. Reporters did not, however, get the chance to […]
Canada’s prisons: despair, hopelessness, and institutional racism
On May 2, four members of the Senate Committee on Human Rights released a statement about the human rights of prisoners in the Atlantic region. The senators visited all the federal penitentiaries in the region. They also visited the East Coast Forensic Centre: Tona, a patient there, described the differences between her 10 years in […]
Holy body parts and their accompanying underwear: Morning File, Thursday, January 4, 2018
News 1. Matthew Hines “Police have laid criminal charges against two New Brunswick correctional officers in the death of prisoner Matthew Hines at Dorchester Penitentiary more than two years ago,” reports Karissa Donkin for the CBC: Alvida Ross, 48, and Mathieu Bourgoin, 31, have both been charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death, RCMP announced Wednesday. […] Last […]
Bearing Witness and Paying Tribute: Morning File, Saturday, November 18
1. What it’s like when someone dies in custody. An original report from prisoners Background. November 22nd will be 10 years since the death of Howard Hyde in custody. Hyde was tasered by correctional officers during a mental health crisis. His death also marks the last time there was a public inquiry in the province into […]
Taxi drivers gone bad: Morning File, Wednesday, May 3, 2017
News 1. Matthew Hines “Matthew Hines didn’t have to die,” report Karissa Donkin and Joan Weeks, who have been doing excellent work and follow-through on this story for the CBC: That’s the conclusion of a scathing report by Canada’s prison watchdog, who found that staff at New Brunswick’s Dorchester Penitentiary ignored repeated cries for help from the […]
Eternity Expires as Eyes Close: Morning File, Saturday, November 12, 2016
News 1. Deaths in Custody, Again. This week brought another death in custody in Nova Scotia. …Paul Dauphinee Jr. was found in unresponsive in his cell at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth on Nov. 2. Dauphinee Sr. and family members made the heartbreaking decision to remove life support on Nov. 5, and […]
Bad attitude: Morning File, Friday, September 23, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Matthew Hines “Correctional Service Canada has fired one staff member and disciplined three others after an inmate was beaten and repeatedly pepper-sprayed at a New Brunswick prison before his death,” report Karissa Donkin and Joan Weeks for the CBC: The top correctional official in […]
Love you berry much: Morning File, Thursday, August 25, 2016
Today’s Morning File is written by Katie Toth. I’m kind of into the idea of just leaving the phrase [fascinating biographical info here] from the template Tim Bousquet made for us, and letting you imagine how great I am. News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Wind turbine panic Terence Bay, […]
The planet is dying and the rich are playing: Morning File, Monday, August 22, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Matthew Hines and ethics in PR CBC reporters Karissa Donkin and Joan Weeks this morning provide a detailed account of the death of Matthew Hines at the Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick: The report says even though he was “sufficiently under control of staff,” Hines was […]