STOPWATCH - June 1994

Focus on Youth

Excerpts from a CAVEAT Submission to The Royal Commission on Learning on the subject of Partnership: Education and the Community

CAVEAT has grave concerns for Canadian youth as they face a society which is increasingly threatened and challenged. The availability of community support in partnership with education is paramount.

The evidence of the needs of our youth is staggering. 'Opportunities for Health', a report on youth by the Ministry of Health identifies that the adolescent suicide rate is about one in every ten deaths for youth between ten and nineteen years of age.

By ignoring important social issues, our society will become increasingly violent as the youth of today attempt to deal with their anger and frustration in coping day to day.

These children often behave in ways that interfere with learning. Because their problems remain misunderstood, these students experience few opportunities to nurture alternative behaviours.

Educators cannot be expected to be care givers, nurturers, counsellors, nutritionists, anger management specialists and experts on healthy sexual relationships. Community resources must be committed to dealing with these problems.

The challenge that CAVEAT has undertaken is to support Ontario's education system to better meet these diverse needs in co-operation with schools, parents, the business community and the arts.

To address these concerns, CAVEAT organised a one day conference for 700 students from seventy-five schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth and Burlington areas. The conference, titled CAVEAT Youth Challenge '93, held on October 25, 1993, was attended by representatives of five boards of education and two private institutions of learning. The event presented a model that could be blue-printed in other Canadian communities.

This unique multi-board conference was organized in accordance with the Ontario Ministry of Education 'Strategic Directions', which examined the means of improving the ways in which educational programmes are delivered to children, youth and adults.

Students contributed their energy and expertise to the total planning of this event. Approximately 60 students, representing all five boards of education, were trained as conference facilitators.

A very important aspect of the Youth Challenge was to reward young people who made a committed effort to work towards awareness and reduction of violence.

Corrections Canada reports that 85% of violent criminals were raised in violent homes. Evidence suggests that programmes aimed at reducing the impact of the culture of violence by teaching healthy non-violent values are effective, and that they hold considerable promise in altering these alarming percentages.

Priority should be given to funding preventative and alternative education programmes, as opposed to spending 1.8 billion dollars on adult correction services. (Corrections Canada. 1992) The funding of programmes to facilitate the learning of anger management, conflict resolution skills and the development of peer support would be both preventative and cost effective tools.

The success of the CAVEAT Youth Challenge '93 is immeasurable. A direct result has been the organization of workshops and awareness days in schools throughout the region. Parental support groups are being established, speakers are being invited into the schools, and community volunteers are sharing their expertise. In support of these awareness days, CAVEAT has published the Break the Silence handbook, an organizational blueprint for such initiatives.

Evaluation of the CAVEAT Youth Challenge '93 and the workings of the education committee will continue. Round table discussions will be held with delegates from area schools. A resource guide detailing programmes at the school level will be printed and distributed. A broadcast-quality documentary video will be available for use in schools, both in our community and in other areas of Canada.

CAVEAT believes it is essential to share our experience and models with other communities. This initiative can be successfully copied if the enthusiasm and motivation of all team players is in place.

Together we can work towards educating and nurturing our youth in partnership with education and the community.

CAVEAT Recommendations to the Ontario Royal Commission on Learning

• That partnership should be fostered between schools and communities aimed at making our schools safer.
  
  
• That parents should be supported in meeting the physical, psychological and social needs of their children.
  
  
• That youth and parents should be included in decision making at home, at school, at work and in the community.
  
  
• That recognising that building a healthy and safe future is a shared responsibility of parents, teachers, health professionals, community leaders, government and young people.
  
  
• That services such as social work, public health, Alternatives for Youth, and Retention Programs are paramount and must be easily accessible to those individuals in need. Teachers must be informed of the availability of these resources.
  
  
• That investment in children and their development have the support of positive parenting, safe schools and other prevention programs that specifically focus on children and their needs, and be given priority in an attempt to establish a violence-free society. (Ad Hoc Committee on Crime Prevention)

Corrections Math

FACTS: On June 25, 1990 a young Edmonton police officer, Ezio Faraone, was gunned down during a foiled armed robbery of a downtown bank. His killers were two men with long criminal records and both of whom were on early release from previous sentences. One of them, Albert Foulston, had amassed fifty and, incredibly, over that span had been granted parole eight separate times. On each and every occasion he had committed new offenses while on parole, yet the National Parole Board of Canada decided to take a ninth chance and let him out of custody. Even worse, in April of 1991, while on parole, Foulston was arrested for impaired driving but the Parole Board refused to return him to custody. Ten weeks later Ezio Faraone was dead. Foulston's partner, jerry Crews, had been refused parole as being too dangerous but was out of custody on what was known as mandatory supervision and he too was the subject of an unacted on complaint of parole violation before he killed Cst. Faraone. In December, 1991 Crews was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for twenty five years. In fact, that can be reviewed as early as 2005. Foulston was convicted of manslaughter (Crews pulled the trigger) and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. Because of a bizarre method of what is known as sentence calculation, Foulston is eligible for parole in July 1993. In other words right now. Finally, an internal report done by Correctional Services of Canada into how all this could have occurred was edited beyond comprehension supposedly pursuant to the Privacy Act of Canada. All employees of C.S.C., the Parole Board or provincial corrections (with one exception) remain in their jobs. All the laws and policies which permitted this to occur remain the same. Despite protests for reform, nothing has changed as yet.


ISSUES:

1. Should all inmates have the same eligibility for parole no matter how many times they have committed offenses while on past parole? (sections 119 and 120 Conditional Release Act)
   
   
2. When a person on parole is charged with an indictable offense should a return to custody be required by law? (s.135 C.R.A.)
   
   
3. Should the entire process of sentence calculation remain as it is or should it be amended to mandate no further early release until the old portion of a sentence is completed and parole eligibility on new sentence independently met? (s.139 C.R.A)
   
   
4. Should current power to edit information as outlined in the Privacy Act be continued or should the public have the right to information in cases such as this one. (s. 8(2)(m) Privacy Act)
   
   
5. What has your M.P. done personally to address these issues? Write a letter and ask.

Scholastic Liaison

It is common knowledge that many high school students have a negative perception of police officers. For this reason, the Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police East-end division started a school liaison project this January involving ten area high schools.

Beat officers have always been visiting area high schools, but as police have more obvious priorities in protecting the public, visiting schools has never been a priority. When race related problems arose in some high schools last year, the police began a race relations-type project within some of those high schools, which lasted from September to October: a period of only six weeks.

From October, 1993 to January of this year, Division 20 Superintendent Phil Slack attended numerous conferences in Toronto, where police officers from all over North America spoke of school liaison projects that had been implemented in their cities. Such projects are currently in effect in the United States in the state of Michigan, in Chicago and New York (where a high school police task force involves 3800 officers) and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. As a result, Supt. Slack decided to try this concept out in the East-end division's secondary schools.

When the position became available, Constable Rob Mayea welcomed the idea with open arms. Since his original plan was to become a teacher, this new position would give him a chance to interact with students on a regular basis. He says the fact that he is working on his masters degree in social welfare policy has definitely helped him in the development of the Project.

The new position was developed by Constable Mayea along with the input of many people. In January, he met with the principals and vice principals of approximately 25 area schools and posed the question, 'What would you like to see us do with this program?' With their suggestions and those of teachers, students and other police officers, the scholastic liaison officer was created.

Currently the only Scholastic Liaison Officer (SLO) in the East-end division, Constable Mayea says that with this project they wanted 'to take emphasis off race relations and the idea of officers coming to police the schools, and instead make it a proactive preventative type of project. 'It is important to get students to see that I'm doing things other than just arresting people. The whole idea with this project is that students get to know you on a personal basis...see that you're a real person giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions about police.'

The project is working well. Constable Mayea has done numerous presentations in classes ranging from Media English where he explains the difference between the handling of homicide cases in the movies as opposed to in reality, to Auto Shop classes where he discusses Vehicle Safety Standards. Students are also responding well by allowing Constable Mayea to 'hang out' with them during lunch, approaching him with questions about careers or even personal problems, and simply by joking around with him in the hallways.

Youth Challenge: Beginning of the End of Violence

Approximately 700 local high school students spent a day absorbing stories about the effects of violence and various prevention strategies at a CAVEAT sponsored Youth Challenge. 'A day spent discussing social issues pertaining to violence sounded, at first, like it would be pretty interesting. However, little did we know just how fascinating and empowering the day would become.' (Galashan, McKay, Nethercott)

It was the first time CAVEAT, aided by a handful of key supporters from five school boards, joined forces to produce an informative, network-building base against violence, consisting of workshops, guest speakers and entertainment.

There was a diversified schedule of events throughout the day. Joan Sutherland, a grade seven and eight teacher said, ' The more often events like this can be held, the more successfully the message can get across.'

The powerful message was driven home.

Upon registration, each student was given a folder containing the day's itinerary, CAVEAT information, their assigned workshop, and a name tag. After everyone had registered and assembled in the main room, Hamilton Mayor Bob Morrow opened the program by officially declaring October 24-31, 1993 as CAVEAT Youth Week.

Awards were presented to several students for their outstanding contributions to violence prevention in the community.

Serge LeClerc, a thought-provoking keynote speaker, presented an eye-opening perspective to the audience in his speech entitled, 'Choices - the Challenge facing Modern Day Youth.' He addressed the issues of media pressure and manipulation, peer pressure, alcohol abuse, violence and discrimination, victimisation and decision making. 'At one time,' he told the audience, 'I was one of the most violent people in the prison system.' But he found a way out. Over a six year period, he went from a grade-three education to obtaining a degree in Sociology. Serge challenged the students to become 'the most empowered generation in history', and he emphasized, 'Don't be afraid to challenge the adults of this world.'

After the keynote address, students were divided into groups. Some went to their pre-selected workshop chosen from a list which included such subjects as Street Sense and Safety, School Watch, Anger Management, Hassle Free Family Relationships, as well as information on youth gangs, date rape, recovery from drug addiction and the myths of glamour.

With a further message of empowerment, Jamie P. Moore and his cast of puppets from 'Stuffed With Love Puppet Entertainment' attracted students with a lighter energetic performance called 'Everyone is Special and Can Be Empowered to Meet the Challenge.'

The closing ceremonies were overwhelming and stirred a great deal of emotion. This was a result of speeches from Priscilla de Villiers, Donna French and Debbie Mahaffy, the mothers of Nina, Kristen and Leslie. Each of these women expressed her sadness and anger, but showed everyone in the audience her strength and courage. Then Renee Jackson, a graduate of Ancaster High, read a poem she wrote entitled 'Break the Silence, and Jude Johnson, the Hamilton Status of Women's choice for woman artist of the year, 1993, sang her song 'Show Us the Power', which she wrote especially for the event. During Jude's performance, in a rare and memorable moment, each student, one by one, spontaneously arose from his/her seat and formed a circle of solidarity with Priscilla, Donna and Debbie, by joining hands with the stranger next to him/her.

In closing, Priscilla explained how we (Canadians) have allowed the rights of the individual to become more important than the rights of the majority. 'What is needed is a united base to work together to make changes,' she said.

Signs of a unified front were apparent by the end of the day.

Long-time CAVEAT supporter Roy Green, from Radio Station CHML, concluded the emotional final moments acknowledging, 'The people who have suffered the most are providing the guidance to change the system. Take the message with you and let's make a change.'

Sarah Galashan, Leslie McKay and Victoria Nethercott from Ancaster High School voice the opinion of many of their fellow students when they say, 'We look forward to the next CAVEAT Youth Challenge, October 25, 1994 - AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER'



Resource Guide

Resources CAVEAT members have recommended include:

• Peer Mediation Program Guide: Conflict Resolution in Schools
  Fred Schrumpf, Donna Crawford, H. Chu Usadel. Parents Book Store, Toronto.
  'A comprehensive collection of activities and exercises based on communication, co-operation, affirmation and conflict resolutions for K-8.' - Mothering Magazine
  
  
• The Friendly Classroom for a Small Planet: Children's Creative Response to Conflict Program
  P. Prutzman, L. Stern, M.L. Burger, G. Bodenhamer, New Society Publishers: Philadelphia, PA and Gabriola Island, BC. 1988. 131 pages, softcover.
  'The Friendly Classroom for a Small Planet is both a training manual and a resource approach addresses the roots of conflict and violence, offering teachers, group leaders and parents perspective, techniques, and tools developed and refined in a wide varied of setting - from inner city to small town schools over a period of fifteen years.'

The Ripple Effect: Youth taking up CAVEAT's Challenge

A ripple effect was created by the CAVEAT Youth Challenge in October, 1993. Students across the Hamilton-Wentworth region took back to their schools the enthusiasm and excitement that was created by them that day. They formed groups, created organizations and planned events, often despite a lack of administrative support at some of the high schools.

M.M. Robinson High created SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere), Saltfleet is AWARE, Cardinal Newman has CLASS (Cardinals Lobbying Actively for a Safe Society), PAVE stands for Parkside Against Violence Everywhere, SAVAR is the acronym from Orchard Park High (Students Against Violence And Racism), and Bishop Ryan High School developed BRAVE (Bishop Ryan Against Violence Everywhere).

Serge LeClerc, a 'street wise speaker' who has spent twenty-one years behind bars, uses the story of his life to urge students to take control of their own lives and has spoken in every separate high school in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic Board.

Ancaster High School students and parents created a presentation called Supporting Our Teens.

Jessie Smith, Jan Lukas and Daina Mueller of CAVEAT's Education Committee presented numerous workshops and lectures, and have worked with educators at the Ontario Principals' Conference in Toronto, as well as speaking to counsellors and principals in Halton.

Hamilton-Wentworth Collegiate Institute also ran a one week programme of informative sessions revolving around social issues called My Life, My Choices. The intermediate classes attended workshops and lectures.

CAVEAT's education committee is also collecting responses from five local boards of education regarding violence prevention programs. These programs will be collated and a resource book will be produced. The objective of the book will be to share resources and expertise and to foster a network between schools in an attempt to support violence prevention programs in the schools. Numerous awareness days or weeks have been organised at many schools with our without CAVEAT's involvement.

The student initiatives on this page confirm that the future belongs to our youth.

CAVEAT looks forward to the next Youth Challenge in autumn of 1994.

Bishop Ryan Launches BRAVE

BRAVE (Bishop Ryan Against Violence Everywhere) was formed in response to the CAVEAT Youth Challenge of October 1993 . The committee was formed to make the entire school aware of the ongoing violence in today's society and eventually to allow for both staff and students to be educated in a community with zero tolerance for violence.

May 1, 1994 marked a day where BRAVE members attended a walk against violence to kick off Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Hamilton. The school was well represented. Posters made by B.R. Students were displayed on the wall at City Hall, and B.R. Students also participated in a tableau dramatizing the different frames of mind present in a violent situation.

After months of organizing, presenting to staff, designing logos and creating T-shirts, buttons and flyers as well as establishing committees and volunteers to run it, May 4, 1994 was BRAVE Day at the high school. The keynote speaker was Serge LeClerc who challenged the B.R. community to work toward changing their attitudes on violence. As the day came to a close, the committee was extremely pleased to note that the hallways were buzzing with questions and comments regarding BRAVE Day: it had succeeded in raising awareness.

As a result of positive student and staff evaluations, fall session is in the works. The BRAVE committee is student-driven and staff-supported, and we are hopeful that we can continue Serge LeClerc's challenge and make our school community violence-free.

Cardinal Newman has 'CLASS': Anti-violence day a big success

'Students are extremely concerned with the increase of violence in society', said Fred Ciprietti, a teacher at Cardinal Newman. As a proactive move, teachers and students have formed a group called Cardinals Lobbying Actively for a Safe Society (CLASS). We felt that an important first step would involve heightened awareness and education around the many issues associated with violence. The outcome is the hope that a deeper understanding of such issues may lead to a change in attitudes.

With this in mind, our committee decided to organise an anti-violence day at Cardinal Newman and involve the 1500 students and staff in a slate of workshops, small and large group presentations and a paraliturgical service on May 5, 1994.

There were thirty to forty facilitators, including Serge LeClerc and Mrs. Debbie Mahaffy, two well-known anti-violence activists, Jessie Smith of CAVEAT, The Hamilton-Wentworth Police, the Addiction Research Foundation, Alateen members, Victim Services, Public Health and the Suicide Prevention Bureau, representatives from Denis Morris High School and other individuals.

The workshops were preselected by the students and ranged from information on youth gangs and weapons, physical, sexual and substance abuse, teen television images, race relations, managing your anger, self esteem, bullying, violence in sports, killer cards, the Young Offenders Act to workshops in self expression through poster making and writing letters, poetry and essays. Students also signed petitions including one asking that killer trading cards be banned in Canada.

Trevor Buttrum, crime prevention Ambassador

Trevor Buttrum, a student at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Oakville, Ontario, recently attended a major crime prevention conference in the United States.

My name is Trevor Buttrum and I recently attended the 17th annual National Youth Crime Prevention Conference in Miami Florida. It was a great opportunity and a great honour to be selected to attend. I heard the horror stories of how someone's friend got shot in the hallway, or how someone got stabbed or was a victim of a car jacking - the list goes on and on.

I was motivated and driven by the people who attended this conference. Their success stories were amazing. I learned a lot and have a lot to take back to the Oakville Youth Crime Prevention Committee of which I am a member. I feel that it is important to get youth's input on how to win this battle against crime and violence which we are all fighting.

This conference offered many workshops which I found extremely interesting and useful. Topics such as Peer Mediation, Community Service, Using Youth as Resources and Youth Crime Watch were covered. Other highlights included: a live satellite hook-up with a White House press conference at which our efforts in Miami were acknowledged; a question-and-answer period with President Clinton's chief advisor on community safety, Eli Sagal; a community service project in the ghettos of Miami: a luncheon with the Governor of Florida and other motivational speakers such as Drew Brown III and Carl Boyd. A report of our findings will be sent to Mr. Clinton and other top government officials.

I intend to make a difference and be an active soldier in the battle against crime. I wish you all the best in this battle.

CAVEAT Youth Awards

Presented at the 1993 Youth Challenge by Hamilton Tiger Cats Dale Sanderson and Don McPherson, the CAVEAT Youth Awards were given to a number of local students for their contributions to violence prevention during the past year. The nominees attended school in either Hamilton-Wentworth or Burlington, and worked on an anti-violence programme or project within their school or community.

Congratulations to the following recipients:

Tiffany Pearson, formerly a student at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School, is now attending Queen's University. Tiffany volunteered tirelessly with CAVEAT to plan the Youth Challenge and spent many hours of her time collecting signatures on the de Villiers' petition and speaking against violence at forums.

Pauline Rosenbaum, a student at Hillfield-Strathallan College, volunteered to help with the operation of the CAVEAT office for many hours during her summer vacation. She also represented CAVEAT at the National Organisation of Victims Assistance in Rochester, New York, USA, last summer.

Alison Faulknor from Ancaster High School showed a tremendous amount of leadership in initiating anti-violence activities at her school and in her role with the CAVEAT Youth Challenge.

Jason Kronenwald of Ancaster High helped organise the Break Silence Day at his school; The Night Walk a student initiative which demonstrated opposition to violence; and the CAVEAT Youth Challenge. He was also involved in peer mediation at his school.

Tim Cross from Ancaster High also lent his skills to help organise the Break the Silence Day at Ancaster, Night Walk and the CAVEAT Youth Challenge. He, too, was a peer counsellor at his school.

Renee Jackson produced a Break the Silence video, acted as a peer counsellor at Ancaster, did artwork and wrote poetry which addresses violence in society.

Gestny Kristjanson from Lord Elgin High School helped with the plans for a Safety Forum at Elgin and took a most difficult step in intervening to prevent a sexual assault at school.

Blaine Groves of Ancaster High manned petition tables for CAVEAT, diligently promoted victims' rights, and participated in the Break the Silence programme.

Ameley Mansah, an OAC student at Cathedral High School, was involved as a representative for all three Hamilton Boards of Education in the design and development of the Response by Schools to Violence Prevention Project. She also participated in race relations projects.

Diane Brown and Xarissa Thompson, OAC students from Parkside High School, were active members of the Violence Prevention Committee. They co-wrote, directed, managed and performed a play entitled, 'But I Said No,' which dealt with the issues of date rape involving teens.

Natalie McCushker, Christina Helden, Melanie Sykes and Trish Vanderkooy were members of the Night Walk committee.

The Peace Makers of Memorial School: Michelle Pielech accepted an award on behalf of thirty-five grade five to grade eight students from her school who spent their recesses acting as peace makers on the school playground.

A group of students from Ancaster High took the time to learn peer mediation to help ease difficult situations in their school. Included in the group were: Tim Robillard, Aaron Hanna, Katie van Exan, Maryanna Basic, Christine Kecskemeti, O.B. Seamy, Deirdre Broaden, Tori McPetrie, Sandy Gill, Renee Jackson, Victoria Nethercott, Ann Kobayashi and Alison Grady.

Kara McDonald accepted an award for her school friends from grades five to eight at Green Acres School. These winners participated in a ten day workshop session called, 'Break the Cycle.'

Yeo Report Card

'From the death of one, what we may learn may help to lengthen the lives of many.' - motto of the Ontario Coroner

Excerpts from a Speech by Priscilla de Villiers on 'A Report Card of the Responses to the Recommendations From the Inquest Into the Death of Jonathan Yeo,' at a press conference at Queen's Park on April 13, 1994.

On the ninth of August, 1991, my nineteen year-old daughter, Nina, did not return home, and our nightmare began. It later transpired that she had been abducted and murdered by Jonathan Yeo, who was out on bail at the time, accused of a violent sexual assault carried out with two weapons and utterances of death threats.

A series of events, including questions asked of the authorities by my family and the public, led to Dr. James Young, Chief Coroner of Ontario, calling for an inquest into the incident. We wanted to know why a dangerous man had been released on bail. The fact that Jonathan Yeo's death was the result of a self-inflicted gun shot wound during a police chase was also grounds for a Coroner's Inquest.

I asked for standing at the inquest, although I knew I would not fill a legal function. I had a keen interest in the recommendations that could save other lives and did not feel that I could abdicate that responsibility.

The commitment shown by the jury and the professionalism displayed in the conduct of the inquest were all that one could hope for and should go a long way in restoring public confidence in the system. It became clear in the end that Dr. Young had taken all the possible steps necessary to hold an exhaustive and far-reaching investigation of the administration of justice in Ontario.

The recommendations by the jury were spelled out in clear, simple terms, and would not require a major restructuring of justice in this province.

However, there is a public perception that all inquests are a cosmetic exercise and that the recommendations are all too frequently ignored. This view has frequently been expressed to me and is one which I, too, have shared. The Coroner's Act does not oblige the addressed parties to respond to the jury's recommendations once they are submitted by the coroner.

Dr. Young, in his summation, discussed the three steps in solving a problem. He made the point that the inquest had served to identify the problems, and that the jury had suggested 137 possible solutions, but that it was now the obligation of the parties themselves to respond to these recommendations.

My fondest hope was that these recommendations would be addressed as soon as possible, and that we, the public, be informed about their implementation, or the reasons why they could not be implemented. It is essential to have a free and frank understanding of the process if we are to trust in the justice system in this province.

Two years after the inquest began, on April 13,1994, CAVEAT called a press conference in the Queen's Park press gallery to release a report card on the responses to the Recommendations of the Coroner's Jury. The five month Coroner's Inquest resulted in 137 recommendations stressed to both the Federal and Provincial Governments. An average of 75% of the recommendations had been addressed. These numbers represent the gross picture, but do not accurately portray the way in which certain recommendations, if implemented, would proportionally affect the administration of justice. For example, the Victims' Rights Bill, which the NDP had supported twice while in opposition, was rejected by Attorney General, Marion Boyd.

These recommendations would require decisions of such political magnitude that their successful implementation would depend on the support of Premier Bob Rae. They addressed significant shortcomings in our society and while they would require significant expenditure and political will, they could be implemented relatively easily compared to the 'social engineering' approach (eliminating the root causes). The recommendations were addressed to eight different agencies.

Mr. Rae was given a failing grade for rejecting the jury's call for, among other things, establishing a provincial commission to study the accountability on the part of those administering justice in this province for the protection of Ontario residents.

The federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration under the previous government, now the Ministers of Revenue and Immigration, also received a failing grade for their failure to address the problem of lack of protection at our borders. Only the Hamilton-Wentworth Police received a B+ for their timely, comprehensive implementation of simple, common sense practices.

CAVEAT will be revisiting the responses to these recommendations on April 13, 1995. It is foolhardy not to recognize the real anger and fear which exists in our communities.

The tragic deaths leading to this inquest, as in the Stephenson Inquest, the Kerr Inquest, and so many others, were imminently preventable.

If we do not learn from our mistakes, our country will continue to be drained of time and money. The loss of a human being and the resulting emotional destruction which tears apart people and communities can never be measured.

We dare not ignore even the smallest effort which could prevent the loss of life.

Certificate of Excellence

CAVEAT has grown over the past two and a half years through the unconditional generosity of many fine citizens who have provided their expertise to forward and strengthen our position. There is a growing concern: citizens have a right to safety in their streets and are willing to do what they can to help make this right a reality.

An advertising firm from Toronto, SMW, came to US with some very interesting ideas for advertising, one of which was an ad now referred to as 'Wild Animals.'

'Wild Animals' was entered in Marketing magazine's 1994 Marketing Awards Contest by SMW, and received a Certificate of Excellence. 'Wild Animals' was one of 1,832 entries received from across Canada and won its award in the Public Service Category.

The ad was placed in various newspapers when announcing the date of CAVEAT's presentation of the de Villiers' petition to Justice Minister Allan Rock.

On behalf of everyone at CAVEAT congratulations to Michael Paul and his wonderful staff at SMW for winning this award. Thank you one and all for your tremendous help and support.

Newswatch

TORONTO - Ontario is ready to support harsher penalties for the most violent young offenders says Solicitor General David Christopherson.

Youth convicted of first degree murder should receive longer jail sentences than the five-year maximum now permitted under the Young Offenders Act, Mr. Christopherson said in a speech to the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards. And he said sixteen and seventeen year-old youths who commit 'extremely' violent crimes should be tried in adult court. Federal Justice Minister Allan Rock says changes likely won't come until the end of the year, after a parliamentary committee reviews the ten year-old law. - Hamilton Spectator, May 9, 1994


EDMONTON - Ghislain Bellavance has vowed not to follow his former boss' footsteps and resign from his post as the National Parole Board's Prairie vice-chairman.

Michel Dagenais, chairman of The Parole Board, was forced to resign from his post May 6, 1994 amid growing controversy over the actions of paroled convicts who killed and committed other crimes. He will stay on as a Board member.

Mr. Bellavance says he's furious at the Liberal government for pressuring Mr. Dagenais to quit. He added that he and Mr. Dagenais have been set up as scapegoats.

Scott Newark, the lawyer for the Canadian Police Association, said one or two changes at the top of the Parole Board won't make much of a difference. 'Mr. Bellavance is a symptom of a system. There are a lot of Gil Bellavances out there,' Newark said. - Canadian Press, May 9, 1994


TORONTO - In his column, Frank Jones reported about a new book called 'Reward!' written by New York writer, Paulette Cooper. The cover of the book is taken up with the promise 'You may collect $500 to $500,000 helping police solve these true crimes.'

Ms. Cooper got her idea from watching the popular TV shows America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. 'There are a lot of forgotten victims out there,' she said. 'People who are still hurting. But they are old news. The police have put their cases on the back burner' and people forget. So, she thought, what if there were a book that gathered these cases together, a book with photographs of many of the suspects along with details about rewards offered. It could be a new tool in solving some of North America's most stubborn cases. Canadian cases do figure in the book because, as Cooper says, 'Where there's crime, there's no border.' - Toronto Star, May 5, 1994


OTTAWA - Deliberating on a court case from British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada found that judges do not have to demonstrate in their decisions that they know the law and have considered all the evidence.

Nor is the judge required to explain why he or she does not entertain a reasonable doubt as to the accused's guilt. - The Hamilton Spectator (from CP) April 15, 1994


OTTAWA - A conviction of indecent assault was overturned against a Sudbury man after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled there comes a point where 'enough is enough and a mistake by the Crown must necessarily become fatal.' The Crown, at the man's trial, was allowed to recall the girl's mother to clarify a key date after the man's lawyer announced he would be calling an alibi witness to say the man was in hospital at the time his niece was allegedly assaulted. 'In order to preserve the principle against self incrimination...the Crown should not be allowed, except in the narrowest, most exceptional of circumstances, to reopen its case once the defense has starred to answer the case against it,' wrote Chief Justice Antonio Lamer in the 5-4 ruling. The girl, now 18, said she had been sexually assaulted when she was eight years old by her uncle, who was watching her while her parents were away for the weekend. - Canadian Press, May 3, 4, 1994


TORONTO - A rapist ordered deported from Canada has been walking Toronto streets for more than a year because immigration officials haven't acted on his deportation order. Frank Pinnock of Jamaica was sentenced to six years in jail in June, 1985 for raping and robbing a 17-year-old girl he picked up at a bus stop. Immigration spokesman Kevin Sack said that in December of 1987, while Pinnock was still serving his sentence for the rape, he was ordered deported for criminal activity.

After being released from prison, Pinnock was convicted in March, 1992 for trafficking and possession of narcotics, and sentenced to sixteen months, officials said.

Following that term, in February of 1993, Pinnock was ordered to pay a $2,000 cash bail and pledge $2,000 in assets to remain at-large until he was deported. - Canadian Press, May 5, 1994

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