January 2008 Hello, Welcome to the JANUARY 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, high-risk offenders, conditional release and victims' rights. This month’s articles were written by our 3rd year Carleton University criminology placement student, Danielle Brooks. Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime Visit: http://www.crcvc.ca Email: [email protected] Phone: 1.877.232.2610

____________________________________ REPORT OF THE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE CANADA REVIEW RELEASED; CRCVC WRITES TO MINISTER DAY A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety; Report of the Correctional Service of Canada Panel Review was released in mid-December, 2007. The review was held to assess the operational priorities, strategies and business plans of CSC with the goal of enhancing public safety. This review included a report on the role of victims and victim services. We recently wrote to the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, to state our support for recommendation number 83 of the report, where “the panel recommends that the Corrections and Conditional Release Act be amended to share information with registered victims on the progress of offenders in addressing their correctional plan and the incidents of penitentiary discipline on an annual basis at a minimum”. We feel that victims of crime should be privy to information about the criminals who have destroyed their lives. We asked the Minister to introduce legislation to immediately amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, as per recommendation #83. The CRCVC believes this information should include all aspects of the offender’s Correctional Plan, including institutional conduct, rehabilitative programming/assessments, psychological evaluations, educational upgrading, and employment (within the institution or work release programs) and that this information must be provided to victims where the offender is making positive

Volume 15, Issue 1

SNAPSHOTS British Columbia's Family Violence Conference Healing Families, Healing Communities (HFHC) will be hosting their third annual conference on February 46, 2008. The theme of this year’s conference is Inclusive Approaches to Creative Healing. The conference will consist of information sharing, knowledge and wisdom concerning violence occurring in the family. The cycle of abuse will be examined, and practical information will be shared as to what works and what does not in ending violence, what the newest information available is, and programs across the province that help in healing. More information is available at www.ffs.shawbiz.ca/healing families, or by contacting Pat Kelln at 604-524-2329 or [email protected]. National Victims of Crime Awareness Week National Victims of Crime Awareness Week 2008 will be held April 13-19. The week presents an opportunity to raise awareness about victim issues and about the services and laws in place to help victims and their families. This year’s theme is “Finding the Way Together.” Limited funding (up to $5,000 per project) will be available under the Victims Fund for projects that support the goals of the Week. These projects include those aimed at

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progress or not. It is our hope that the Minister will act swiftly to introduce legislation to amend the CCRA, as recommended by the CSC Review Panel. __________________________________________

OPP’S HISTORICAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT MAY FACE CLOSURE The CRCVC, along with many families with whom we work, is concerned over the possible closure of the OPP’s Historical Investigations Unit. OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino has stated that he intends to bolster front line policing, road safety, and the fight against violent crime. This statement has raised questions about the force’s willingness to continue to employ senior investigators and significant resources to solve cold cases. The Unit, formed three years ago, operates out of London, investigating unsolved cases in the Western Region. They have 65 cold cases from across south-western Ontario, none more than 50 years old. The Unit’s mandate has been extended by six-month based on achievement assessments. It was renewed last October, which means it will remain operational until at least April. Det-Const. Dan Linkenheld, a Walkerton-based cold case squad member does not think its time to close the unit, with investigative tools being sharper, with the benefits of DNA testing and case management protocols and databases. However, in order to fit into Fantino’s first-line policing, numbers become very important. Numbers which haven’t came easily to the cold case squad. Over three years detectives have solved one murder and eliminated suspects from a number. Cold case detectives however, carry the hopes of victims’ families. Some want justice while others want to know how a loved one disappeared. For Kathy Caughlin, the retention of the cold case unit is vital. Kathy’s sister, Karen was murdered when she was 14-yearsold, her body beaten and left in a ditch. Her case has remained unsolved for 34 years. Kathy states that families of unsolved homicide victims suffer great injustice, knowing that their loved one’s killer is still free, while the survivors live in a “cage of suspended grief.” If the Historical Investigations Unit is closed, cases will be handed to police officers who will be expected to deal with current crime issues first and cold cases as an afterthought. “Families of unsolved homicides should not be forced to endure the cruelty of back seat investigations,” says Caughlin. The Historical Investigations Unit commander, Det-Insp. Ian Maule, thinks the OPP should expand the cold case squad

Limited funding (up to $5,000 per project) will be available under the Victims Fund for projects that support the goals of the Week. These projects include those aimed at supporting events within the communities or other activities that raise public awareness about victim issues during NVCAW. For information on if your organization qualifies and how to apply visit http://canada.justice.gc.ca/ en/ps/voc/funding/info.html. Men of Courage: Conference on Male Sexual Victimization The Men’s Project, a nonprofit, charitable men's counseling agency is presenting the first Provincial Conference on Male Sexual Victimization th th on March 17 and 18 , 2008 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. The conference will include a gathering of helping professionals, academics, and male survivors. The purpose of the conference is to further the knowledge of male sexual victimization and to enhance the services that can address survivor’s healing and recovery. Registration for the event for both service providers and male survivors goes through The Men’s Project website at www.themensproject.ca. Third International Virtual Global Taskforce Conference

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across Ontario. He said that a dedicated cold case squad is the most effective way to solve crime, allowing Detectives to focus on a case in a way that isn’t possible when working on current crimes. "And at this point in time I believe it's paying dividends and that it is a benefit not only to the OPP but to the communities and to the families." The CRCVC strongly supports the OPP’s Historical Investigations Unit and will write to Commissioner Fantino on behalf of families like the Caughlins to ensure this unit can continue to do the work that is very much needed in Ontario. These crimes must never be forgotten! __________________________________________ KILLER WAIVES PAROLE HEARING, RELIEF FOR FAMILY Sheryl Gardner was a 20-year-old aspiring model working in Toronto when Ralph Ernest Power, then 28, ended her life. Power impersonated a telephone repairman and arrived at Gardner’s apartment to fix her phone. Once inside he hit Gardner with a hammer and, when she began convulsing, he hit her 15 more times, bludgeoning her to death. Days later, Power attacked another woman who escaped. When he was arrested, police found files on 15 other women he had been stalking. At the time of the killing he was on parole for an arson sentence. He was convicted in 1981 for Sheryl’s murder. Sheryl’s sister, Carolyn is relieved he has waived his right to a parole hearing. Carolyn began a campaign in December 2004 to prevent his release because she believed he was still a threat to the public. Over 1500 people across Canada signed a petition urging the National Parole Board not to release Power. The petition and information about her sister’s murder is available on her website, www.powernoparole.ca "It is a matter of public safety that he should not be released," the petition reads. "He should not be free to harm others. Please remember Ralph Power had a list of 15 other victims." "I feel a huge sense of relief and a sense of victory because of the awareness that has been created about this case," said Carolyn. "Too many hearings like this happen where people get parole and nobody says it is wrong. That is why so many dangerous offenders are released into the community." __________________________________________

UNBORN VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT When Mary Talbot’s 19-year-old daughter, Olivia, was murdered, Mary not only lost her youngest daughter but a grandson as well. Olivia was 27-weeks pregnant at the time of her murder. A similar tragedy occurred in October in Toronto when Aysun Sesen, 7 months pregnant, was stabbed to death. Aysun’s baby, Gul, also died in the attack. The families of these victims are actively campaigning to change Canadian law in order to recognize unborn children as secondary victims of crime when their mothers are murdered.

The third International Virtual Global Taskforce Conference, “Protecting our Most Vital Resource, Our Children,” hosted by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, will be held in Vancouver, B.C. on February 17-20, 2008. The Conference will highlight the need for law enforcement, government, industry and non government agencies to cooperate globally to fight child exploitation. It will attempt to build awareness of the challenges faced when fighting a borderless cross-jurisdictional crime, recognizing that the protection of children can only be achieved with international cooperation. More information and event registration can be found online at http://www.cacp.ca/english/ conferences/VGT%20Conf erence/VGT%20English/De fault.htm Victims of Homicide Western Canadian Conference The Victims of Homicide Support Society, founded by an Edmonton couple in 1994 after their son was murdered, is presenting a conference that will bring together ‘first response’ professionals from Western Canada to explore the needs and issues of families who have been affected by murder. The Conference will be held May 1-2, 2008, at the Fantasyland Hotel, West Edmonton Mall, in Edmonton, Alberta. Topics

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“My grandson was murdered. The Canadian Government does not recognize this as a crime,” stated Mary Talbot in an article written about her daughter and grandson’s murder. Olivia and her unborn son were shot and killed in the foyer of her Edmonton apartment in November 2005. “Olivia and her fiancé had been together for 2 years and were excited about the future. My daughter’s joy was infectious and the whole family joined in to help with preparations and establishing a home for the three of them…. I lost a part of myself when this man gunned down my child and grandchild.”

covered at the conference will include victim’s issues and rights, post traumatic syndrome, and healing and forgiveness, among others. More information and registration details can be found at, www.victimsofhomicide.ca.

The man was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Olivia, but no recognition was paid to the death of her unborn son. “Why shouldn't my grandson be treated with the same dignity and respect as a baby who would have lived for 2 seconds after being delivered? Why is he any less worthy?” The fact that Canadian law doesn’t recognize the death of her grandson is “a slap in the face to me, his grandmother, to all his surviving relatives who loved him and anxiously awaited his birth, and more importantly an insult to Olivia's memory.” Conservative MP, Ken Epp, in response to the pleas of the victims’ families and concerned Canadian citizens looking to address the injustice, introduced a Private Member’s Bill on November 21, 2007, that would allow charges to be laid in the death of an unborn child if the mother is a victim of a crime. The bill is known as the Unborn Victims of Crime Act (C-484) and received its first hour of debate in the House of Commons on December 13, 2007, with the second hour of debate scheduled for February 29, with the vote at Second Reading scheduled for March 5. Further information about this bill can be found on Mr. Epp’s website, www.kenepp.com. A new law such as this would make a difference to families whose “pregnant daughter, or wife, or sister is brutally attacked,” says Mary Talbot. “It would make a difference because those family members who survive such a heinous crime would know that they are not alone, that the rest of society recognizes just how much that baby meant to them. It would have made the world of difference to me, our family and to Olivia, if she had survived.” The CRCVC supports the Unborn Victims of Crime Act and recognizes the importance in holding accountable those who are guilty of harming or killing an unborn child during the commission of an offence against the mother. __________________________________________

CONVICTED KILLER TO BE RELEASED DESPITE CONCERNS Former doctor, Abraham Cooper, 69, convicted of killing a colleague is to be released from a federal prison in Alberta

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February 10, despite concerns that he may seriously harm or kill again. Cooper was convicted of manslaughter based on forensic evidence, after colleague Dr. Doug Snider went missing May 5, 1999. Snider’s body was never found, but his blood was discovered in Cooper’s office, clothes, and in the trunk of his car. Cooper, now in his late 60’s, will have served his entire sevenyear-and-four-month sentence on February 10, leaving the system without any options to hold him. He has had a parole review annually for the last third of his sentence, but was never granted release. He has exhibited aggressive behaviour and refused to acknowledge his crime or take treatment programs which prompted the National Parole Board to rule in 2005 that he must be detained for his entire sentence. At one parole hearing, Cooper threatened to “go after” those who he believes conspired to convict him. Throughout his sentence, he stated that once released he will find the victim of his offence and once he finds him he will hurt him, demonstrating a “complete lack of empathy for the victim’s family and serves to further bully and harass them,” stated a report from Cooper’s case management team. Federal law requires that Cooper be released even though a final parole board report noted no significant change in his behaviour. "What I can say is the board determined that there was the likelihood that this individual could commit an offence causing serious harm or death and consequently that is why the decision to detain was made," said Bernard Pitre, director of the National Parole Board for the Prairie region. "He may well pose a threat, but at the same time the law says that he has to be released, and there is no authority to keep him incarcerated any longer." The CRCVC is very concerned about the risk presented by the release of high-risk offenders who have served their entire sentences. The mechanisms currently in place are ineffective at dealing with these offenders. __________________________________________ CROWN TO APPEAL PICKTON VERDICT BASED ON JUDICIAL ERRORS Robert Pickton was acquitted December 9 of six counts of first-degree murder but found guilty instead of second-degree murder on the same counts. The Crown wants the BC Court of Appeal to order a new trial for Pickton in order for him to be tried on 26 counts of first-degree murder. Pickton was charged with 26 counts of first-degree murder but Justice James Williams divided them into two separate proceedings, with only six being tried last year. The remaining 20 counts are planned for trial this year. The Crown outlined a number of errors Justice Williams made during the trial as reasons for their appeal. BC Attorney General Wally Oppal stated that he believes Pickton planned to kill his victims, one of the reasons why the Crown is challenging the verdict. The Crown will argue that the judge erred by failing to instruct the jury that dismemberment and disposal of the victims’

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remains was relevant to the issue of planning and deliberation. The Crown also believes that the trial judge erred in severing the 26 counts into two separate trials. It was ruled that trying all 26 counts would pose an unreasonable burden on the jury and that Pickton be tried on the first 6 separately because the evidence in those cases was materially different from the remaining 20. Oppal said the Crown’s appeal is also partly precautionary as he expects the defence will also file an appeal of Pickton’s conviction. If a defence appeal was successful any new trial ordered would be based on second-degree murder. __________________________________________ SEXUAL EXPLOITATION CASE PRECEDENT SETTING A 21-year-old woman from Eastern Europe told police she was forced into sexual slavery after answering an Internet ad for a modeling job. Her information set into motion a precedent-setting case in Canadian law. Police arrested three suspects on charges relating to human trafficking, forcible confinement and sexual slavery. Canada’s anti-human trafficking legislation came into force in November 2005, but has been put to little use. Prior to this case the only charges to stick under the legislation were against a Montreal couple who allegedly enslaved an Ethiopian woman as a nanny. The three men charged will be the first human trafficking suspects to go through the courts with allegations of “sexual exploitation.” Artur Boris Tomchin, 35, Andrei Khazarov, 39, and Daniel Leshinsky, 38, have been charged with conspiracy to commit human trafficking, trafficking in persons, receiving benefit from trafficking in persons, withholding documents, exploitation, procuring a person to become a prostitute, living off the avails of prostitution, forcible confinement, exercising control and threatening bodily harm. Their arrest may provide police with the insight needed to reach out to those in trouble, said Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Deborah Abbott. __________________________________________ REPORT REVEALS VIOLENCE PREVALENT IN TORONTO SCHOOLS The final report of the School Community and Safety Advisory Panel made 126 recommendations to address school safety in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the rest of the province. In the report it was noted that there is a pervasive culture of silence and fear among the students and staff at the TDSB that has led to unreported incidents. The panel found that neither the school board nor the police are in a position to track the number of weapons entering the schools. For those reasons, the panel recommended that the TDSB consider using firearm-detecting canine units to randomly conduct “non-intrusive” searches of lockers and storage areas. Other recommendations included posting adult supervision at the entrance of schools, identification tags for students, as well as increasing the supervision duties of teachers, recommending negotiations for increased remuneration to reflect the increased workload. Last May’s shooting death of Jordan Manners, 15, at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate prompted the TDSB to lead an investigation into school safety procedures. During the investigation it was revealed that a Muslim female student had been sexually assaulted in a washroom at the school the previous year, but that the incident was not reported by school administrators. The incident was reported to a female teacher who then reported the incident to the principal, but there was no report made to the police or to the victim’s parents. The panel reported the incident to the TDSB who reported it to the police. Six males were arrested in September and face charges of forcible confinement, gang sexual assault and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. The principal and two former vice principals of C.W. Jefferys will appear in court in February to face

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charges under the Ontario Child and Family Services Act that they failed to report an incident contrary to their obligation. The panel found that sexual assault and harassment are prevalent in TDSB schools. To address the issue the report calls for a public awareness campaign regarding sexual assault and genderbased violence, recommends a hotline in each school staffed by students trained in reporting and support for students who are victimized, a partnership with community agencies that provide services for women and girls who experience violence, and that the TDSB develop a sexual assault and gender-based violence prevention strategy. __________________________________________ PROJECT TRUTH INQUIRY RESUMES WITHOUT KEY WITNESS The inquiry into a case involving allegations that a ring of pedophiles has operated in the eastern Ontario community of Cornwall since the late 1950’s and the institutional response to the allegations, resumed January 14, 2008, without the court-ordered testimony of the man who started it all. The inquiry started in 2006 and has heard evidence from experts, victims and community members over 174 hearing days and has a running tab of $23 million. Perry Dunlop, the former Cornwall police officer who brought the allegations to light has refused to testify, despite being under a court order to appear on January 14. He was found in contempt last year for refusing to testify but says he has lost faith in the justice system and has no plans to appear before the Inquiry. Commission counsel has stated that their work will continue without Dunlop, but critics believe his absence represents a major blow to the inquiry’s credibility. The mandate of the inquiry is to look into how authorities responded to dozens of accusations that men had sexually abused children over decades. "We're trying to tell as much as this story as we can and there will be a gap (without Dunlop's testimony)," said lead commission counsel Peter Engelmann. The inquiry is scheduled to be completed in July.

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