From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #210 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Sunday, June 29 2003 Volume 06 : Number 210 In this issue: Gun spooks high school Hiding behind Radwanski Big government a taxing reality School books being censored, quietly: experts Police want more funds to target bad drivers 'Why is Mr. Radwanski treated differently than us?' `I'm an innocent person' Domestic abuse rates still rising ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:11:50 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Gun spooks high school http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=3f1771ae-daef-413d-8e1c-0744b0e4b13c >From Calgary Herald Gun spooks high school Police go room to room at Lester Pearson Deborah Tetley Calgary Herald Saturday, June 28, 2003 (Photograph) CREDIT: Ted Jacob, Calgary Herald Emma Goertzen hugs her daughters Nora and Alia at Lester B. Pearson High School Friday after a weapons scare. Emma Goertzen was on her way out the door of her northeast home at about 11 a.m. when the phone rang. It was her 15-year-old daughter Alia calling from a cellphone. "Mom," she said, her voice vibrating with fear. "I'm inside the school. We're in lockdown. Someone has a gun and they don't know where he is." While Goertzen and her husband raced to the school, as many as 30 Calgary police, canine and tactical team officers swooped down on Lester B. Pearson High School in the northeast, fanned out and swept the building in search of a weapon. Goertzen's daughters, in grades 10 and 11, were two of about 1,000 students in lockdown Friday morning when an adult library volunteer reported seeing one person pass what was believed to be a gun to another. Friday was the last day of school. Students arrived throughout the day to pick up their report cards, yearbooks and refunds from school fees. >From behind police tape,Goertzen, dozens of students and parents waited anxiously for answers. The mother said she was scared and angry. "My nerves are shot right now," she said. "Even if this turns out to be a minor weapon, it's still a weapon and this should not be happening in our schools. "It's scary to think what kids are growing up into." More than an hour later, police took six students into custody and seized at least two weapons, including a handgun that shoots pellets and a hunting knife. Later in the afternoon, only two male students, aged 14 and 15, remained in custody and were being questioned by police. "We did a rapid intervention," said District 5 Sgt. Neil Gibson. "When we did a sweep of the school, we found a student matching the description in a classroom in possession of a handgun and another matching the description with a hunting knife." Gibson said both are "very deadly weapons" and police are still trying to piece together the students' intentions. However, it is unlikely they will face charges because possessing a pellet gun or knife is not an offence. Rocky Noseworthy arrived at the school just after 11 a.m. and was ushered into a classroom by a panicked teacher. He ran into room 2173 with seven others, two teachers and six students in total. While the group was confused about what was going on, they made a few jokes and tried to calm themselves. About half an hour later police, guns drawn, stormed the room and ordered two students sitting one metre from Noseworthy to the floor and emptied their bags. Out fell a handgun and a hunting knife. Noseworthy's heart sank. "I felt like I was going to be sick," he said, moments after students were released. "They sat there so calm and cool. No one had any idea it was them," said Noseworthy. "When police busted them they went pale and started shaking," he said. "The police officer was furious, telling them that they did this and scared everyone." Noseworthy, 17, said the incident has rattled his faith in the school's security. "I can't believe anybody would come to my school with a weapon that could hurt someone," he said. While many students were in the dark about what was going on, some who hunkered down in the computer lab logged on to local radio stations to learn about the weapon search. "The lockdown went down in textbook style," said spokesman Dwayne Sheehan. "We've practised it many times with kids in all our schools for an event such as this and the kids, everyone behaved appropriately. "Events like these are always in the backs of minds of the administrators," he said. Goertzen, recalling an incident two years ago in which a student was stabbed to death at the school, called for tighter security in Calgary schools. "Scan them, just like they do at the airport," she said. Sheehan said that is not likely to happen. "This is one of our flagship schools," he said. "We want to maintain a welcome, open, safe learning environment." Students will not be allowed back in the school to retrieve their belongings until Monday. dtetley@theherald.canwest.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:12:18 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Hiding behind Radwanski http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030628/SATLETS28-11/TPComment/Letters LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GLOBE AND MAIL Hiding behind Radwanski By Jim Hill Saturday, June 28, 2003 - Page A16 Fletchers Lake, N.S. -- We watched recently as the Liberals and the media had a field day with the privacy commissioner, George Radwanski, forcing him to resign. While I do not condone his spending habits, I cannot help but feel that they turned on him in order to deflect some of the attention the Liberal ministers have received over the last couple of years. They must have enjoyed Question Period for a change, where the Prime Minister did not have to defend himself over golf courses and calls to bank managers. Several ministers must have enjoyed the respite also, as they did not have to answer questions on their own spending habits and departmental faux pas. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:12:46 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Big government a taxing reality http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=511310b0-df22-4149-9cc5-93ecb2b3e010 >From The Province In Other Words Big government a taxing reality Canadian Taxpayers Federation Sunday, June 29, 2003 While Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski was taking his long overdue walk in the snow, we learned that the former head of the discredited gun registry (on track to waste $2 billion by decade's end) racked up more than $200,000 in travel expenses between his Edmonton home and Ottawa office. How many more of them are out there? Rest assured that Access to Information requests for expense- account records are being filed by major news organizations with a vengeance. Last week, Finance Minister John Manley showed his speechwriters were as good as his predecessor Paul Martin. His use of the phrase "the perfect storm" to describe the combined impact of a rising Canadian loonie (compared to the U.S. dollar), the SARS crisis and a mad-cow scare as elements battering our economy was quite clever. But that's where the entertainment and informational value of his speech to the Toronto Economic Club ended. While it's good news that our books will be balanced for the sixth straight year, Ottawa's record spending growth -- 46 per cent over nine years through to 2004 -- is twice the rate of inflation and population growth during that time. It explains why this year's Tax Freedom Day is June 28, two days later than last year. By contrast, our U.S. friends celebrated TFD on April 19 and our cousins in the U.K. "stopped workin' for the man" June 2. The lesson for taxpayers is clear: Big government in Canada is still a taxing reality. - -- Canadian Taxpayers Federation ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:13:23 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: School books being censored, quietly: experts http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/story.asp?id=C4E49E6B-0932-4D17-8C39-C65C9E644E68 School books being censored, quietly: experts Behind closed doors, teachers and school librarians are increasingly opting for bland classroom materials, Sarah Schmidt discovers. CanWest News Service Sunday, June 29, 2003 Call it the left-right jab of school censorship. Censorship in children's literature is hardly new, but the attacks today come from both sides of the political spectrum, experts at the International Forum on Canadian Children's Literature said yesterday at a four-day conference at the National Library of Canada that has attracted 450 delegates. Conservatives continue to push for classroom bans on books they consider to be sexually explicit or packed with profanities. Now liberals want "politically incorrect" books removed for fear of offending a minority group or entrenching gender or racial stereotypes. David Jenkinson, associate dean at the University of Manitoba's faculty of education, refers to this as the "polite censorship coming from the liberal left. You ask yourself, 'Could this possibly offend people?'" What's worse, much of the censorship in schools is now carried out without any public scrutiny, said Mr. Jenkinson, who has studied censorship in schools for three decades. Behind closed doors, teachers and school librarians are increasingly opting for bland classroom materials. Even the personal journal, which allows students to share their thoughts and problems, is considered too risqué in some schools, he said in an interview. This way, educators can avoid messy disputes with parents or embarrassing public fights over censorship, like the recent spat in Surrey, B.C., schools over children's books that profile same-sex parents. An exchange at a recent a teachers' conference is a case in point, he said. A new teacher spoke of her choice to have the students read The Chocolate Wars over The Outsiders, despite well-known objections to the book in schools across North America. The Chocolate Wars, set at a private school, delves into the issues of peer pressure, conformity, gangs and authoritarianism; it also includes a masturbation scene and tackles juvenile fantasy. "'Why teach one that could be challenged?'" Mr. Jenkinson heard an experienced educator in the crowd ask. "Saying this to a brand new teacher, what message is that? Take the path of least resistance?" The effect? Books set in a time and place when words like "nigger" were part of the cultural context can get stricken from the classroom. One example is Underground to Canada, the critically acclaimed novel set in 19th-century America about two girls who escape slavery and travel on the underground railroad to Canada. Children's books that happen to place a woman in the kitchen can be left out of the reading curriculum just as easily. "If I'm throwing out a book that represents a time when society was racist, I don't think people think of this as a kind of censorship. Who wants to attack somebody who wants to make the world less sexist, less racist?" asked Mr. Jenkinson. Speaking at the conference yesterday, Jean-Denis Côté shared the findings of a new study on the effects these educational choices have on the writing process and publishing choices. Mr. Côté , a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, interviewed leading writers of children's books in Quebec and their editors and publishers. He found authors sometimes censor themselves or tweak "controversial" passages at the prodding of their editors to make sure their work isn't shut out from the schools, which can provide a lucrative market. Diane Ravitch, author of the recently published The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn, has tracked a similar trend in the United States. She reviewed education policy over a three-year period and found that children's classics like The Little Engine That Could have been banned in some school districts -- the train in the story is male in some versions. "Some of this censorship is trivial, some is ludicrous, and some is breathtaking in its power to dumb down what children learn in school," Ms. Ravitch writes. Peter Carver, a member of the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council and materials co-ordinator of the annual Freedom to Read Week, said the effect of such censorship in Canadian schools is devastating. "You end up 'blandifying' and presenting innocuous and not every interesting material. What an educator should be doing is showing the range of literature out there," said Mr. Carver. The conference concludes today. © Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:13:52 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Police want more funds to target bad drivers http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=60d239e0-e97f-41f6-adbd-e6d6e7617947 Police want more funds to target bad drivers Public concerned about 'growing traffic problem' Jake Rupert The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, June 28, 2003 In response to community concern about speeding cars and aggressive drivers, the Ottawa police force has asked for city money to more than double the size of its traffic enforcement unit. Currently, 13 officers are responsible for enforcing traffic laws on city streets and escorting dignitaries around town. Under the proposal, which was passed by the Ottawa Police Services Board this week, 18 officer positions dedicated to enforcement would be created, along with four civilian positions, including an analyst. Startup costs for the project, including nine new cruisers, nine new motorcycles and radars for the vehicles, are estimated at $1.2 million. Annual operating costs, including salaries, are estimated at $2.3 million. Staff in the force's financial services department are hoping these numbers will be reduced significantly with money set aside by the provincial government for a pledge to hire 1,000 more police officers across Ontario. Municipalities must apply for this funding. The proposal must now be approved by the city's finance committee, before being put to a full council vote sometime in July. If passed, the officers could be on the road by September. Until recently, annual police surveys of the public's concerns put speeding cars fourth on the list behind break and enters, thefts from vehicles and vandalism. But last year's survey found speeding cars had become the chief concern of citizens and worries about aggressive drivers had moved to No. 3 on the list. Combining this with a jump in fatal accidents on city roads between 2000 and 2002 shows "a growing traffic problem in Ottawa," says the proposal. A study by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, an independent national organization, showed poor driving habits were the main cause of collisions in Ottawa. These include following too closely, speeding, losing control, failing to yield the right of way and improper turns, among other causes. The extra officers would concentrate on catching people driving badly and ticketing them. "The objective is to realign driving norms with the rules of the road and, by extension, reduce motor vehicle accidents and improve traffic safety for the community," the proposal says. The force looked at taking officers off patrol services and assigning them to traffic enforcement, but this was ruled out because it would reduce the number of officers available to respond to 911 calls. Staff Sgt. Richard Lavigne of the traffic unit said there has been a noticeable deterioration in people's driving habits in Ottawa, and he hopes the proposed new officers, coupled with a public awareness campaign, will change things. © Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:45:16 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: 'Why is Mr. Radwanski treated differently than us?' http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id=FA97A1EC-68E1-49CA-9DAD-03F6F35D8EBB 'Why is Mr. Radwanski treated differently than us?' North Gower couple would like their $58,991 bill forgiven Elaine O'Connor The Ottawa Citizen Sunday, June 29, 2003 CREDIT: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen John and Colleen Jones want to know why former Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski was forgiven almost $540,000 in income taxes, while they had to shut their business, take a second mortgage, and come out of retirement in order to pay up $58,911 and keep out of bankruptcy court. When North Gower residents John and Colleen Jones opened their mail last December they got the shock of their lives -- a $58,991 bill for four years of back taxes they never knew they owed. When they opened the newspaper last week they got another -- one of the country's most senior officials, former Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski, had been forgiven almost $540,000 in taxes he owed, while they had to shut their business, take a second mortgage, and come out of retirement in order to pay up and keep out of bankruptcy court. "It's not fair," Mr. Jones, 56, said yesterday, sitting at a kitchen table covered in collections letters and tax files. On an opposite wall a plaque reads Bless this mortgaged home. "Why is Mr. Radwanski treated differently than us?" asked the former public servant. There is one law, the couple say, for the Radwanskis of the world and another for ordinary taxpayers. They want to know why Mr. Radwanski was treated differently and have sent letters to their MP and Minister of National Revenue Elinor Caplan asking for an explanation. When Mr. Radwanski filed for bankruptcy protection four years ago, owing $606,947 to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Canada in unpaid taxes, the federal government wiped out his bill in exchange for a $67,726 payment -- just 11 per cent of the total owing. Last year the agency, which collects $300 billion in taxes each year, wrote off $300 million owed by 38,000 individuals, but not for the Joneses. They say that while Mr. Radwanski was able to strike a deal, they were told they had to pay $48,000 up front, and make arrangements to pay $200 a month over the next seven years. Only after they had paid the lump sum and handed over the post-dated cheques, would they be allowed to appear before the agency's fairness committee to ask that $18,000 worth of interest and penalties be waived. The Joneses' troubles began in 1997, when Mr. Jones, newly retired after 30 years as a supervisor at Natural Resources Canada, set up a small business repairing engines in his garage. The couple hired an accountant to do their taxes. Over the next four years, unbeknownst to them, the accountant (who was not certified) was passing off household expenses like birdseed, tennis balls and shoes as business costs and claiming some expenses twice. "She claimed everything," Mrs. Jones said ruefully, wishing she'd examined the tax returns. "We were just stunned." They were audited in September 2001 and told they owed almost $59,000, which has since risen, with interest, to $60,613. "We were scared they would come in and seize things. They would have had to seize everything," Mrs. Jones said. Instead, they refinanced their home and Mr. Jones began working full time in a hardware store in order to pay the $48,000. They are now waiting to appear before the fairness committee. If they don't win over the committee, they will keep paying for the next seven years. Unless, of course, they find themselves the same sort of help Mr. Radwanski secured. © Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:45:49 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: `I'm an innocent person' http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1056665412399&call_pageid=976163513378&col=969048863474 Jun. 27, 2003. 01:00 AM `I'm an innocent person' Romeo Phillion seeks bail pending minister's review Has spent 31 years in prison after murder conviction TRACEY TYLER LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER A man who has spent more than 31 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit stepped into a witness box for the first time yesterday to tell his story, breaking down as he declared decisively that he is innocent of the crime. "I did not kill Leopold Roy," Romeo Phillion testified yesterday in the Superior Court of Justice. "My life has been taken away from me for 31 1/2 years. "I'm an innocent person." Speaking quietly but firmly, Phillion, 64, was testifying at an unprecedented hearing before Mr. Justice David Watt, who is considering his bid to be released on bail until federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon completes a review of the case. The Innocence Project, an organization based at Osgoode Hall law school, filed a brief with Cauchon on Phillion's behalf last month, asking the minister to overturn his conviction and order a new trial on a charge of murdering Roy, an Ottawa firefighter stabbed in his apartment stairwell on Aug. 9, 1967. The centrepiece of his request is a 1968 report from an Ottawa police detective that was suppressed for 27 years. In it, Detective David McCombie concluded Phillion could not have killed Roy because he was in Trenton shortly before the murder with a broken-down car — more than 237 kilometres away. If released, Phillion said he plans to live with his sister and would like to visit his mother's grave, go fishing and visit the CN Tower, which wasn't built when he was convicted. "We'd all be a family," his sister, Simonne Snowdon, 67, told the court, adding she knows her younger brother is innocent. "Romeo wouldn't hurt a fly. His cat is the most important thing in his life." While the Criminal Code doesn't allow people like Phillion to seek bail while the justice minister reviews their cases, judges can grant release using common-law powers or by finding continued imprisonment violates their constitutional rights, said lawyer Philip Campbell, who represents Phillion. But crown counsel James Stewart said the "sensible, workable and fair" approach is to wait until Cauchon decides. Otherwise, Phillion's way "out" is to apply for parole, he said. Phillion, who cut a slight figure in the witness box and wore a taupe suit picked out by Snowdon, explained he has consistently refused to apply for parole, despite being eligible in 1982, because parole is "for the guilty, not the innocent." One of the things Phillion has in common with most wrongly convicted people is a refusal to play by the system's rules, James Lockyer, who also represents him, argued, citing Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, who listened in court yesterday, and David Milgaard as examples. Phillion was convicted in 1972 of murdering Roy, who was stabbed by an intruder. Phillion's then-prostitute girlfriend told police he resembled a composite sketch of the killer. But Phillion told police that on the day of the murder, he arrived at a Trenton gas station with his car in tow. He left his car radio as partial payment for gas. Five years later, Phillion, a bisexual drifter, was picked up on a charge of robbing a taxi driver. When police were looking for him, they brought his drag-queen girlfriend, Neil Miller, in for questioning. Miller told police Phillion had admitted to Roy's murder in the past. With Miller locked up in the station, Phillion signed a confession. However, everything Phillion said about the murder could be gleaned from a newspaper story, and his attempt to re-enact what happened at the scene was a failure, Lockyer said. One of the world's leading experts on false confessions, British psychologist Gisli Gudjonsson, says Phillion's confession can be explained by a number of factors, including a desire to seem important in front of Miller, send police on a wild-goose chase and secure Miller's release from custody. Watt will deliver his decision on July 21. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 18:46:22 -0600 (CST) From: Bruce Mills Subject: Domestic abuse rates still rising http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1056406213096&call_pageid=976163513378&col=969048863474 Jun. 24, 2003. 06:18 AM Domestic abuse rates still rising Increased reporting partly responsible Many turned away from full shelters ELAINE CAREY DEMOGRAPHICS REPORTER Spousal abuse rates are on the rise in Canada, and far more women are being turned away from shelters because they're full than in past years. Between 1995 and 2001, spousal violence incidents rose from a rate of 302 for every 100,000 women to 344, Statistics Canada said yesterday in its annual report on family violence. But surveys suggest the rise is a reflection of the growing willingness of victims to report these incidents to police, the report says. While the spousal murder rate has been dropping since 1974, the actual number of murders rose dramatically in one year, from 52 women killed by a partner in 2000 to 69 in 2001 — an increase of 33 per cent. Overall, the murder rate has dropped from 16.5 women per million couples in 1974 to 8.3 in 2001. StatsCan credits the decline to women becoming better educated and less economically dependent and marrying and having children later. But criminal harassment by a spouse — which often precedes more serious crimes including murder — jumped an alarming 53 per cent between 1995 and 2001, from 1,897 victims to 2,899 in a sample of 104 police agencies, representing 42 per cent of the national crime volume. Ninety per cent of the victims were women. Overall, there were 7,610 incidents of stalking reported to police in 154 agencies, and 8,023 victims. More than half of the women stalked were victimized by their partners, 29 per cent by acquaintances. A total of 55,901 women and 45,347 children were admitted to 482 shelters in the year ending March 31, 2002. The number of shelters rose from 376 in 1992 to 524 in 2002. But on April 15 last year, StatsCan's annual one-day survey found that a total of 295 women and 257 children had been turned away from 115 shelters, three-quarters of them because the shelters were full. That was a 10-point increase over the number turned away in 2000. Shelter and anti-violence workers in Ontario say that with shelters full, some women are forced to stay longer in violent relationships because they have nowhere else to go. The report found that one-quarter of all violent crimes reported to a sample of police forces in 2001 involved family members — two-thirds committed by a spouse or ex-spouse of the victim. Eight-five per cent of the victims were women, and they were more seriously assaulted than men. Police laid charges in 80 per cent of all spousal violence cases. Six of every 10 charges were common assault. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V6 #210 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) If you find this service valuable, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the freenet we use: Saskatoon Free-Net Assoc., P.O. Box 1342, Saskatoon SK S7K 3N9 Phone: (306) 382-7070 Home page: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/ These e-mail digests are free to everyone, and are made possible by the efforts of countless volunteers. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this digest as long as it not altered in any way.