Here's something the vote grabbing politicians in Ontario should read instead of advocate groups and prohibitionist's annual reports filled with fluffed up stats!
They languished behind bars for years, wrongfully jailed for crimes they did not commit.
But the high-profile ordeals of Donald Marshall Jr., David Milgaard and others have put a spotlight on what has been called the fallibility of Canadian justice.
These cases are likely not unique and certainly not isolated to Canada, although estimates of the actual number of wrongful convictions vary widely. Each miscarriage of justice, however, deals a blow to a society's confidence in the legal system, experts say.
"Wrongful convictions undermine the two prongs of the criminal justice system’s legitimacy," states a 1992 report prepared by the Library of Parliament. "If someone is wrongfully convicted, that person is punished for an offence he or she did not commit and the actual perpetrator of the crime goes free."
To make it worse, advocates say many who were ultimately exonerated watched their applications stall for years in the federal review board process.
In 2000, federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan announced plans to try to prevent such cases from happening again. The changes, since enacted in the Criminal Code of Canada, enable the justice minister to use his or her discretion to respond to persons who believe they have been wrongfully convicted.
Groups such as the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted have also advocated on behalf of those they say have been jailed unfairly.
CBC
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I'm sure it's all a BIG misunderstanding!
It's true the SIU did actually charge a police officer!
This is how you write an article LapDOG Lamberti!
Cop charged after car chase
Officer accused of assault, dangerous driving
Aug 08, 2009 04:30 AM
Robyn Doolittle
Crime Reporter
In a rare move, the province's Special Investigations Unit has charged a Toronto officer with assault causing bodily harm and dangerous driving in connection with a car chase earlier this year.
Const. Ricardo Gomez, who has worked mainly out of 12 Division since joining the force eight years ago, was serving a stint with the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy, TAVIS, earlier this year.
On March 4, at 9:40 p.m., he became involved in a pursuit along Danforth Ave. The vehicle Gomez was trailing was involved in a collision and a Toronto man was injured, said SIU spokesperson Jasbir Brar.
Lawyer David Butt, representing Gomez, said the reason his client was pursuing the car will come out in court. "We respect the importance of (the SIU's) mandate completely and we are confident that a full review of this situation will show that PC Gomez engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever," said Butt.
The SIU is a civilian agency responsible for investigating all cases of death, serious injury or sexual assault involving police.
According to its 2007-08 annual report, during the SIU's last statistical year, the agency investigated 246 occurrences, laying charges against 10 officers in connection with seven incidents.
The last time the SIU charged an officer was in June. An Ottawa officer, Const. Shyldon Safruk, was charged with assault causing bodily harm for allegedly assaulting a cab driver.
The agency has been the subject of three government-ordered reviews, the most recent released last year. In September, the Ontario Ombudsman's office released a review in which the SIU was accused of "police bias" by Ombudsman André Marin, a former SIU director.
Staff Sgt. Gary Mulholland, who works with Gomez at 12 Division, refused to comment on the rarity of SIU charges, but said Gomez was a skilled officer. "I guess he's one of the better young officers I had on the shift," said Mulholland.
Gomez was investigated by internal officers in connection to a 2005 incident where he fired his gun. He was cleared.
He will appear in court on Sept. 14.
The Toronto Star
This is how you write an article LapDOG Lamberti!
Cop charged after car chase
Officer accused of assault, dangerous driving
Aug 08, 2009 04:30 AM
Robyn Doolittle
Crime Reporter
In a rare move, the province's Special Investigations Unit has charged a Toronto officer with assault causing bodily harm and dangerous driving in connection with a car chase earlier this year.
Const. Ricardo Gomez, who has worked mainly out of 12 Division since joining the force eight years ago, was serving a stint with the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy, TAVIS, earlier this year.
On March 4, at 9:40 p.m., he became involved in a pursuit along Danforth Ave. The vehicle Gomez was trailing was involved in a collision and a Toronto man was injured, said SIU spokesperson Jasbir Brar.
Lawyer David Butt, representing Gomez, said the reason his client was pursuing the car will come out in court. "We respect the importance of (the SIU's) mandate completely and we are confident that a full review of this situation will show that PC Gomez engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever," said Butt.
The SIU is a civilian agency responsible for investigating all cases of death, serious injury or sexual assault involving police.
According to its 2007-08 annual report, during the SIU's last statistical year, the agency investigated 246 occurrences, laying charges against 10 officers in connection with seven incidents.
The last time the SIU charged an officer was in June. An Ottawa officer, Const. Shyldon Safruk, was charged with assault causing bodily harm for allegedly assaulting a cab driver.
The agency has been the subject of three government-ordered reviews, the most recent released last year. In September, the Ontario Ombudsman's office released a review in which the SIU was accused of "police bias" by Ombudsman André Marin, a former SIU director.
Staff Sgt. Gary Mulholland, who works with Gomez at 12 Division, refused to comment on the rarity of SIU charges, but said Gomez was a skilled officer. "I guess he's one of the better young officers I had on the shift," said Mulholland.
Gomez was investigated by internal officers in connection to a 2005 incident where he fired his gun. He was cleared.
He will appear in court on Sept. 14.
The Toronto Star
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Healthy fees for eHealth execs!
August 04, 2009
The Canadian Press
TORONTO (Aug 4, 2009)
More details are emerging about what critics have called shocking spending excesses by consultants and executives at eHealth Ontario.
* Consultants who were contracted by eHealth at up to $2,750 a day were also allowed to bill taxpayers for a $75 per diem to cover laundry and other incidentals, as well as car rentals, parking and furnished suites in downtown Toronto.
* One Alberta-based consultant, Allaudin Merali, was paid $57,750 for 21 days of work in December -- he billed seven days a week, but only half days ($1,375) for Sundays -- and was reimbursed another $10,000 for his expenses that month. His bills climbed to an average of $76,000 a month in January through March 2009.
The details sparked renewed calls by opposition leaders Tim Hudak of the Progressive Conservatives and Andrea Horwath of the NDP for Health Minister David Caplan to step down
The Spec
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Ex-eHealth Ontario CEO expensed limo rides!
The ousted CEO of scandal-plagued eHealth Ontario liked to travel in style on the taxpayers' dime, billing repeatedly for limousine rides, while members of the agency's board were reimbursed for flights from as far away as Florida to attend meetings in Toronto.
After weeks of watching details trickle out about spending and expense abuses at eHealth, the Liberal government on Wednesday released hundreds of pages of receipts, day-planners, meeting minutes and other documents from the troubled agency.
The government wanted to be as transparent as possible, said Health Minister David Caplan, so it released all of the documents at one time. But the opposition parties accused him of trying to bury the story under mountains of paper.
"I think it's in the public's interest for us to be transparent and accountable, and that's why we're handing out the information in an open and unaltered way," Caplan said in an interview.
The New Democrats dismissed Caplan's explanation.
"They're trying to flood everyone with information with the hopes the whole smelly mess will go away sooner rather than later, and I don't think the people of Ontario are gong to buy that," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
EHealth CEO Sara Kramer resigned in June, as did board chair Dr. Alan Hudson, after the opposition parties complained about $5 million in untendered contracts awarded to consultants by eHealth, a figure that has since grown to about $15 million.
Six large binders full of documents released Wednesday show eHealth, and its predecessor agency Smart Systems for Health, spent nearly $82 million on consultants in 2007 and 2008. It's not clear how many of the contracts were awarded without competitive bidding.
"It keeps growing and growing," said Opposition Leader Tim Hudak.
"I worry this is just the tip of the iceberg of the McGuinty government growing far too comfortable and far too fat in office," the Progressive Conservative party leader said.
Board members billed for Florida flights, road tolls
The papers show Kramer billed for limo rides whenever she travelled for eHealth, including one $400 ride from Toronto to London, along with seeking reimbursement for meals at expensive restaurants.
EHealth board member Khalil Barsoum billed taxpayers nearly $2,400 for a round-trip flight from Florida, car rentals and road tolls to attend a board meeting in Toronto.
"This kind of abuse of taxpayers' dollars is outrageous and I want to know whose head is going to roll," said Hudak.
"To have someone flown back and forth to board meetings is the height of entitlement and that really is outrageous," added Horwath.
EHealth said Wednesday it will try to lower the travel expenses by holding future meetings when Barsoum is already in Toronto, but Caplan said the board would no longer approve the out-of-country travel claim.
"I've been assured that moving forward, the board members' travel expenses from Florida will no longer be reimbursed," said Caplan.
Another board member who lives in Ottawa, Heather Sherrard, is reimbursed for flying back and forth to Toronto to attend eHealth meetings, while Toronto-based board member Michael Decter billed for $10 cab rides to and from each meeting, for which he is paid $380 to attend, and another $380 for preparation time.
Both opposition parties are angry with the government for cancelling a promised third-party review of eHealth by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which Caplan had promised would "provide us with the proper advice, guidance and recommendations."
After the eHealth documents were released, Hudak said, "I think we understand now why the Liberals quietly dropped the PriceWaterhouseCoopers review in the dog days of summer.
"Somebody's head's gotta roll. The minister has to go."
The New Democrats also called for Caplan's head over the eHealth scandal, which also saw consultants who were being paid $2,700 a day billing taxpayers extra for snacks and beverages.
"The stench of this scandal continues to grow and the government has done nothing to put it at the feet of the minister, which is where it should have been," said Horwath.
EHealth Ontario was set up last September to replace Smart Systems for Health, another provincial agency which had spent $650 million trying to create electronic health records, but produced virtually nothing of value.
CBC
After weeks of watching details trickle out about spending and expense abuses at eHealth, the Liberal government on Wednesday released hundreds of pages of receipts, day-planners, meeting minutes and other documents from the troubled agency.
The government wanted to be as transparent as possible, said Health Minister David Caplan, so it released all of the documents at one time. But the opposition parties accused him of trying to bury the story under mountains of paper.
"I think it's in the public's interest for us to be transparent and accountable, and that's why we're handing out the information in an open and unaltered way," Caplan said in an interview.
The New Democrats dismissed Caplan's explanation.
"They're trying to flood everyone with information with the hopes the whole smelly mess will go away sooner rather than later, and I don't think the people of Ontario are gong to buy that," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
EHealth CEO Sara Kramer resigned in June, as did board chair Dr. Alan Hudson, after the opposition parties complained about $5 million in untendered contracts awarded to consultants by eHealth, a figure that has since grown to about $15 million.
Six large binders full of documents released Wednesday show eHealth, and its predecessor agency Smart Systems for Health, spent nearly $82 million on consultants in 2007 and 2008. It's not clear how many of the contracts were awarded without competitive bidding.
"It keeps growing and growing," said Opposition Leader Tim Hudak.
"I worry this is just the tip of the iceberg of the McGuinty government growing far too comfortable and far too fat in office," the Progressive Conservative party leader said.
Board members billed for Florida flights, road tolls
The papers show Kramer billed for limo rides whenever she travelled for eHealth, including one $400 ride from Toronto to London, along with seeking reimbursement for meals at expensive restaurants.
EHealth board member Khalil Barsoum billed taxpayers nearly $2,400 for a round-trip flight from Florida, car rentals and road tolls to attend a board meeting in Toronto.
"This kind of abuse of taxpayers' dollars is outrageous and I want to know whose head is going to roll," said Hudak.
"To have someone flown back and forth to board meetings is the height of entitlement and that really is outrageous," added Horwath.
EHealth said Wednesday it will try to lower the travel expenses by holding future meetings when Barsoum is already in Toronto, but Caplan said the board would no longer approve the out-of-country travel claim.
"I've been assured that moving forward, the board members' travel expenses from Florida will no longer be reimbursed," said Caplan.
Another board member who lives in Ottawa, Heather Sherrard, is reimbursed for flying back and forth to Toronto to attend eHealth meetings, while Toronto-based board member Michael Decter billed for $10 cab rides to and from each meeting, for which he is paid $380 to attend, and another $380 for preparation time.
Both opposition parties are angry with the government for cancelling a promised third-party review of eHealth by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which Caplan had promised would "provide us with the proper advice, guidance and recommendations."
After the eHealth documents were released, Hudak said, "I think we understand now why the Liberals quietly dropped the PriceWaterhouseCoopers review in the dog days of summer.
"Somebody's head's gotta roll. The minister has to go."
The New Democrats also called for Caplan's head over the eHealth scandal, which also saw consultants who were being paid $2,700 a day billing taxpayers extra for snacks and beverages.
"The stench of this scandal continues to grow and the government has done nothing to put it at the feet of the minister, which is where it should have been," said Horwath.
EHealth Ontario was set up last September to replace Smart Systems for Health, another provincial agency which had spent $650 million trying to create electronic health records, but produced virtually nothing of value.
CBC
This would never ever happen in Ontario eh!
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Ex-cop sent to jail for fraud, lying to judge
July 28, 2009
Barbara Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 28, 2009)
A former Hamilton cop who retired in disgrace two decades ago was convicted yesterday of further crimes of dishonesty and sentenced to 30 months in a penitentiary.
Randy Bailey, 56, pleaded guilty to defrauding Wilson, Blanchard Management Inc. of close to $530,000 and to fabricating the minutes of meetings of condominium boards of directors and altering financial statements of their corporations in order to cover up his lying and swindling.
Bailey also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by lying to Superior Court Justice Stephen Glithero while he was representing himself in court and to breaching the terms of his release on bail.
The convicted man left the Hamilton police department under a dark cloud in the mid-1980s when he and another officer, Doug Woods, were convicted of fabricating evidence and conspiring to pervert the course of justice during the infamous "vice squad" scandal.
Those convictions stemmed from a raid by vice officers on the home of a Hamilton man accused of running an after-hours booze can. A judge found Bailey fabricated a sign -- "All Drinks $2 -- to shore up the bootlegging case against the suspect. Bailey was sentenced to a prison term of two years, nine months.
Raymond Wilson, president of Wilson, Blanchard, said in a victim-impact statement filed yesterday that he hired Bailey and for 15 years considered him a valued and trusted employee. When he first heard about frauds, Wilson said, "I felt anxious and ill and could not believe the allegations."
The judge issued a restitution order against Bailey for nearly $530,000, but Wilson said the company has suffered $1.7 million in other damages associated with the forensic investigation, legal costs, lost business and the lost productivity of three full-time employees who were assigned to sort out the mess.
Wilson said it would not be an exaggeration to say he and others have suffered depression, anxiety and loss of sleep after realizing the full extent of Bailey's criminal conduct and how it had damaged the company, management, employees and clients.
The frauds came to light when an owner of one condominium unit complained to the management company about condo fees being raised despite the building falling into disrepair and no major work getting done.
An internal investigation revealed Bailey, who managed about 12 or 15 condo properties, had been submitting false invoices for maintenance and repair work. He also stole larger sums of cash from condo reserve funds -- which owners contribute to annually to cover major repairs such as roof and window replacements -- and altered the minutes of board meetings and audited financial statements.
Assistant Crown attorney Michael Fox said Bailey and his wife had been living a lifestyle to which they were not properly entitled and the money was "frittered away" on expensive European vacations, a horse and trailer, luxury vehicles and home renovations.
bbrown@thespec.com
905-526-3494
The Spec
Barbara Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 28, 2009)
A former Hamilton cop who retired in disgrace two decades ago was convicted yesterday of further crimes of dishonesty and sentenced to 30 months in a penitentiary.
Randy Bailey, 56, pleaded guilty to defrauding Wilson, Blanchard Management Inc. of close to $530,000 and to fabricating the minutes of meetings of condominium boards of directors and altering financial statements of their corporations in order to cover up his lying and swindling.
Bailey also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by lying to Superior Court Justice Stephen Glithero while he was representing himself in court and to breaching the terms of his release on bail.
The convicted man left the Hamilton police department under a dark cloud in the mid-1980s when he and another officer, Doug Woods, were convicted of fabricating evidence and conspiring to pervert the course of justice during the infamous "vice squad" scandal.
Those convictions stemmed from a raid by vice officers on the home of a Hamilton man accused of running an after-hours booze can. A judge found Bailey fabricated a sign -- "All Drinks $2 -- to shore up the bootlegging case against the suspect. Bailey was sentenced to a prison term of two years, nine months.
Raymond Wilson, president of Wilson, Blanchard, said in a victim-impact statement filed yesterday that he hired Bailey and for 15 years considered him a valued and trusted employee. When he first heard about frauds, Wilson said, "I felt anxious and ill and could not believe the allegations."
The judge issued a restitution order against Bailey for nearly $530,000, but Wilson said the company has suffered $1.7 million in other damages associated with the forensic investigation, legal costs, lost business and the lost productivity of three full-time employees who were assigned to sort out the mess.
Wilson said it would not be an exaggeration to say he and others have suffered depression, anxiety and loss of sleep after realizing the full extent of Bailey's criminal conduct and how it had damaged the company, management, employees and clients.
The frauds came to light when an owner of one condominium unit complained to the management company about condo fees being raised despite the building falling into disrepair and no major work getting done.
An internal investigation revealed Bailey, who managed about 12 or 15 condo properties, had been submitting false invoices for maintenance and repair work. He also stole larger sums of cash from condo reserve funds -- which owners contribute to annually to cover major repairs such as roof and window replacements -- and altered the minutes of board meetings and audited financial statements.
Assistant Crown attorney Michael Fox said Bailey and his wife had been living a lifestyle to which they were not properly entitled and the money was "frittered away" on expensive European vacations, a horse and trailer, luxury vehicles and home renovations.
bbrown@thespec.com
905-526-3494
The Spec
Smokes and Booze smuggling as a second income is Ilegal
This summer has seen two Windsor Police officers charged with smuggling, on July 10 2009 Const. Ronald Hansen was charged with 3 counts of smuggling tabacco in Canada.
On May 1st 2009 Const. Colin Little was charged, the Canadain Border Services Agency has charged him with non-report of goods, making untrue statements and evading the payment of duties.
Both officers are suspended with pay while they face these allegations in a Court of law.
On May 1st 2009 Const. Colin Little was charged, the Canadain Border Services Agency has charged him with non-report of goods, making untrue statements and evading the payment of duties.
Both officers are suspended with pay while they face these allegations in a Court of law.
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