MAY 2009

Hello, Welcome to the MAY issue of the National Justice Network Update. As always, our goal is to provide you with updates on what bills have been introduced; what stages they are at; who is doing what for victims and what is happening in areas such as young offenders, highrisk offenders, conditional release and victims' rights. This month’s articles were written by our long-time volunteer Laura Tanner. Thank you Laura! PLEASE SHARE THIS FREE NEWSLETTER WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES! OR, HAVE THEM SIGN UP TO RECEIVE IT DIRECTLY AT http://crcvc.ca/en/newsletter/. Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime Visit: http://www.crcvc.ca Email: [email protected] Phone: 1.877.232.2610

____________________________________ SON OF MURDER VICTIM BARRED FROM KILLER’S HEARING The son of a woman who was raped, strangled, and left to rot in the woods has been barred from the killer’s parole hearing. Jeremy Mead, who was six years old when he watched his mom brutally assaulted at gunpoint, is barred from the May 27 hearing in Kingston because he wrote a victim’s impact statement that was deemed “disturbing” by officials at Correctional Services Canada. Now 28, Mead says he was only venting his anger in writing for the first time and has no intention of acting out violently. “If you’ve been through what I’ve been through, you’re probably going to say some stuff you shouldn’t say,” he told Sun Media. Mead wrote that he wished Raymond Babinski dead, and that he would like to be the one to (kill him). Realizing his threats were inappropriate, he rewrote his statement and offered assurances that he would not disrupt parole proceedings. Correctional Services Canada, however, refused to reverse its decision — a position Mead calls a “slap in the face” to himself and to his mother’s memory. “They’re going to give him a second chance, but they’re not going to give me a second chance,” he said. “His rights precede mine.” The CRCVC feels strongly that the National Parole Board and Correctional Services Canada were unjust in banning Mead from Babinski’s parole hearing. Our experience with family members of homicide victims has shown that it is natural for survivors to vent their

Volume 16, Issue 5 1st ANNUAL CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON THE PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC HOMICIDES The Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (www.crvawc.ca) is holding the first national conference on the prevention of domestic homicides. The conference proceedings will focus on common risk factors and systemic gaps in policies, training and resources that are related to domestic homicides. The ultimate goal of this work is to prevent domestic violence and save lives lost to these tragedies. The conference takes place June 14-16, 2009, at the Convention Centre in London, Ontario. Visit the website to register. NEW RESOURCES AVAILABLE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA The University of Ottawa’s Institute for the Prevention of Crime (IPC) has issued a summary of new articles and publications available on crime prevention. Topics highlighted include building crime prevention strategies based on the success in other countries, youth crime prevention, and cultural impacts on crime prevention. These and other resources available from the IPC’s website. THE WORLD SOCIETY OF VICTIMOLOGY’S 13th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VICTIMOLOGY The World Society of Victimology along with Tokiwa University is holding the 13th International symposium focusing on victimology

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anger following the murder of a loved one, and to direct that anger toward the murderer. This case illustrates the sad reality of the corrections and parole system in Canada. The overriding focus remains on the rights of the offender, and to provide them with a second chance, no matter how horrific their crime(s). In Babinski’s case, he has not even accepted responsibility for his crimes, denying all involvement 20 years later despite his convictions being repeatedly upheld. On May 27, 2009, the National Parole Board denied Babinski’s application for Unescorted Temporary Absences. Members of the CRCVC attended the hearing in Kingston. Jeremy Mead and his grandmother, who were only permitted to read their victim impact statements via video-conference from Toronto, cheered and clapped when the Board announced its decision. It is truly shameful that the victims were barred from physically attending the hearing.

4th ANNUAL NATIONAL VICTIMS OF CRIME AWARENESS WEEK A SUCCESS April 26 – May 2 was the fourth annual National Victims of Crime Awareness week, marked by many events across Canada. In Ottawa, a day-long federal symposium was held on the 27th which included a powerful keynote presentation by survivor Martine Ayotte. Martine was sexually abused for many years during her childhood by her father and spoke about the trauma she suffered at his hands, as well as her journey through the criminal justice system many years later when she reported the crimes against her.

and human security from Sunday, August 23rd to Friday, August 28, 2009 in Mito, Japan. The symposium is proud to announce this year’s lineup of worldrenowned keynote speakers, who are all experts in their respected fields, and will be speaking on topics related to the conferences main themes. All the details regarding participant registration, visa support, abstract submission, campus arrangements/hotel arrangements/ tours is available by visiting: www.isv2009.com NEW WEBSITE EDUCATES ON CHILD MOBILE PHONE SAFETY The launch of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection/TELUS Mobile Safety website was announced in May. This site aims to educate parents and guardians about the potential risks posed to children and adolescents using mobile phones, and to highlight strategies to help keep children/adolescents safe. The site also provides information about mobile phones for children. For more information, please visit: www.mobility.protectchildren.ca

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The CRCVC was one agency that received funding from the Department of Justice for Victims Week events. We developed an information kiosk, which was displayed for outreach and awareness raising purposes during the federal Symposium in Ottawa April 27th and again during the Ottawa Police and Ottawa Victim Services breakfast on April 28th. In Regina, Qu'Appelle Haven Safe Shelter hosted a conference on May 1st, featuring speaker Wilma Derksen. Derksen presented a session entitled Have You Seen Candace?; the story of her journey of grief, loss and trauma following her daughter’s murder in 1984. The conference was well attended with 209 participants. Derkson’s presentation, covering the 15 elements of serious crime, was both moving and entertaining to attendees. Derkson has authored a book on the same subject, entitled Confronting Horror – the Aftermath of Violence. Other conference speakers covered topics such as stalking, criminal harassment and police investigation.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR VICTIM SERVICES AWARDS OF DISTINCTION Ontario’s Government called for nominations for the Attorney General’s Victim Services Awards of Distinction during this year’s National Victims of Crime Awareness Week. Ontario is calling for awards to honour achievements of people helping and supporting victims of crime. Nominations for these awards will be accepted until September 18, 2009, and will be awarded at a later date. Awards will recognize excellence in the following categories: • Victims and other individuals personally impacted by crime who have raised the profile of victims' issues in the province; • Service providers who deliver exceptional services to victims of crime; • Field practitioners who develop and implement innovative victim service programs and projects; • Volunteers who give of their time and personal resources to help victims; and • Youth who dedicate time and effort to support victims in their communities. More information is available at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/vw/awards.asp

SASKATCHEWAN INTRODUCES LAW TO PREVENT COLIN THATCHER FROM PROFITING FROM BOOK SALES Colin Thatcher was convicted of first-degree murder and spent 22 years behind bars in the 1983 killing his wife JoAnn Wilson. In light of news that the convicted killer planned to write a book, the Saskatchewan government has tabled legislation aimed at stopping criminals from cashing in on their crimes. The Profits of Criminal Notoriety Act, introduced this month, would prevent criminals from keeping money earned from crime stories. Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Alberta have similar laws. The Saskatchewan law borrows from the Alberta law and prohibits profits from “an expression of thoughts or feelings” about the crime, in light of reports that Thatcher’s book is a memoir in which he asserts his innocence. The act allows the government to redirect book profits to victims of the crime in question or to a victim’s support fund, and does not apply to the retelling in support of crime prevention or victims services programs.

NATIVE WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION ISSUES REPORT The Native Women’s Association (NWAC) has issued their second Report to Families and Communities entitled “Voices of Our Sisters In Spirit”. The report details stories of nine missing Aboriginal women and girls, and raises awareness of violence against Aboriginal women. NWAC manages a database of missing or murdered Aboriginal women, which currently includes 520 cases. The majority of these are murders of women or girls in western Canada. Through these endeavours, NWAC can analyse trends on crimes against Aboriginal women, as well as advise

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on measures to help with safety and prevention. NWAC suggests, in the report, that crimes against Aboriginal women are a consistent problem, and that measures are needed to improve access to housing and reducing homelessness, reducing poverty, and improve the access of Aboriginal women, girls and their families to justice systems and processes.

SUPPORTLINK PROGRAM MARKS 10 YEARS OF VICTIM SUPPORT SupportLink, a program coordinated by the Ontario government, Rogers Wireless and Ericsson Canada, is marking ten years of victim support this National Victims of Crime Awareness Week. The program provides support to victims at risk of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking with support and safety planning, as well as wireless phones for use in the case of a personal safety emergency. SupportLink began with pilot programs in Ottawa and Barrie, and has expanded to Whitby, Bracebridge, Orillia, Peterborough, Markham, Brantford, Bolton, St. Catharines, Guelph, Brampton, Napanee, North Bay, Sudbury, Timmins, Toronto, Strathroy, Sarnia and Essex. The Ontario government provides $676,000 per year for the program, which now supplies more than 730 SupportLink phones, and services over 2000 victims of crime in Ontario.

POLICE REPORT REDUCTION IN HATE CRIMES Police services reported 785 hate crimes were committed in 2007, down from 892 in 2006. Statistics Canada says that race or ethnicity accounted for the majority (64 percent) of hate crimes, with religion being the motivation for 24 percent, and sexual orientation being the motivation for 10 percent. These proportions remain relatively unchanged from the previous year. Blacks are most often the target of racially-motivated hate crimes, though these crimes declined significantly. Also in decline are crimes against Arabs and West Asians, while crimes against East-Southeast Asians and whites increased. Incidents against Jews accounted for two thirds of hate crimes motivated by religion.

ONLINE VICTIM SERVICES DIRECTORY LAUNCHED The Policy Centre for Victim Issues (PCVI) has announced the launch of an online Victim Services Directory available on the Department of Justice Web site. This site aims to ease the burden on victims who do not know what assistance and services may be available to support them. Listing over 350 organizations nationally, the directory is designed as a resource for victims and their families, as well as for service providers. Victims can enter the name of the town as well as the type of victimization they have suffered or the support they are seeking in order to access appropriate local serving agencies. Information is taken from the 2006 Victim Services Survey conducted by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics at Statistics Canada. Victims’ services providers are invited to review and update their information, and complete the appropriate online forms should their services not be listed correctly. The website is available at: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pcvi-cpcv/vsd-rsv/schrch.asp.

ARREST MADE IN 1979 COLD CASE MURDER OF CANADIAN NURSE Close to 30 years after the 1979 murder of Canadian Nurse Lynne Knight, in California, Los Angeles police have charged 57-year old Douglas Gordon Bradford, an engineer from Orange County California. Lynne Knight, 28, a Registered Nurse was a Nurse Recruiter and had worked in Pediatric Intensive Care with premature babies for many years.. Just prior to her death she was planning

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to recruit nurses in Toronto and be home for her sister’s wedding being the Maid of Honour. Then she was found strangled and stabbed to death. The arrest transpired after a cold case squad in LA reopened the case, crediting "old-fashioned police work" as the reason behind the arrest according to LA County District Attorney John Lewin. Douglas Gordon Bradford, an engineering student who had dated Knight, is to be formally charged with one count of murder and one count of using a deadly weapon, and is due in court June 18th. Bradford, currently out on bail of $1.02 million, could spend 26 years to life in prison if convicted. Knight’s father, Clair Knight, feels good about the news, but bittersweet since his wife Lillian didn't get the chance to see this day, as she passed away from cancer in 2005. "I know she would have loved to have seen justice done -- it was such a cruel and terrible thing," said Mr. Knight. He gives credit to his wife, as well as daughter Donna Wigmore, also a Registered Nurse, with helping push police to keep working on the case. Ms. Wigmore said: "It's a dream come true for the truth to finally come out, if this is the individual. It's been a long time coming, and to finally get to this point is nothing short of a miracle." "Nothing is ever going to bring her back no matter what they do," Mr. Knight said, "But it would be nice to see that justice is served." Mr. Knight, his daughter and other family members will travel to California for the trial.

BAIL DENIED FOR CONVICTED TEEN KILLER A woman convicted of the 2005 murder of a teenager in Surrey, B.C. has been denied bail while she appeals for a new trial. In 2007 Katherine Quinn and her co-accused, Robert Forslund, were convicted of the second-degree murder of Matthew Martins (age 16), for which they both received an automatic life sentence. Bail was denied for Quinn due to Quinn's bad temper, her being prone to violence and her posing a moderate to high risk to re-offend. Quinn was to serve 10 years before parole eligibility, while Forslund was to serve 17 years before being eligible for parole. In July 2005, during an attempted robbery at the SkyTrain station in Surrey, Quinn gave the command to Forslund to kill by saying "If you love me, you'll kill him". Martins was thrown into a wall, kicked, stomped on, and had his throat cut. Sandra Martins-Toner said that her son's killer should never been granted bail hearings in the first place, stating "Families shouldn't have to be brought back into the courts over and over again to be put through this. It's a constant re-victimization and a constant reminder of how much we need to work on this justice system." David Toner, Martins' stepfather, said that they would be disappointed if Quinn gets a new trial saying, "The facts speak for themselves. They've got very clear evidence of what happened. Crown presented a very strong argument in the original trial, and the jury found her guilty without any doubt".

MAY WAS SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION MONTH IN ONTARIO Several events were held last month in honour of Sexual Assault Prevention Month in Ontario. The goal of Sexual Assault Prevention Month is to affirm the community’s commitment to improving prevention programs, increase sexual assault awareness, and aid in supporting victims. In Ottawa, for example, Family Services à la famille Ottawa painted t-shirts for the

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Clothesline Project. This project helps women and children to express their experiences and reactions to violence by painting artwork on T-shirts. These T-shirts are then hung on a clothesline to symbolically break the silence surrounding violence against women. Statistics on sexual assault in Ontario highlight the importance of these efforts: • In 2007 - 2008, there were a total of 606 sexual assault cases reported, however it is estimated that only 10% of sexual assault cases are actually reported to police. • In 2008, Ottawa courts tried individuals on 245 sexual assault charges and 93 other sexual offences for a total of 338 charges. • Ottawa’s rate of suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault was 4.5% higher than average at 25.5% out of 7 Ontario cities.

DISAPPOINTMENT IN POPE’S SPEECH TO RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVORS During a visit to Canada this month, Pope Benedict expressed “sorrow”, but did not outright apologize this month to native Canadians who were physically and sexually abused at church-run residential schools. Some natives were comforted by these words, but others did not find forgiveness due to the Pope’s failure to apologize. The Catholic Church administered threequarters of residential schools across Canada, but has yet to apologize for the rampant abuse suffered by many of the 90,000 former students. Other Christian denominations implicated in abuse at residential schools have already apologized, including the Anglican Church in 1993, the Presbyterian Church in 1994 and the United Church in 1998. Doreen Bernard, a residential school survivor said, “What were dealing with today is the aftermath, the reason why people haven’t embraced their spirituality in hoping to heal through all this, for a lot of people, is because (of) that message of forgiveness…you can’t forgive when somebody hasn’t apologized." While the government has formalized a $1.9B compensation plan for the victims, the truth and reconciliation commission has suffered organizational turmoil, with the recent resignations of its commissioners.

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