Public Safety MInister Vic Toews

Whisked from Guantanamo Bay to Millhaven Institution, Omar Khadr tries to learn the ropes

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Janet Hamlin

ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY AND COLIN FREEZE

October 1, 2012 – Globe and Mail

Eleven months after Canada pledged to bring him back from Guantanamo Bay, Omar Khadr’s fate is in the hands of prison officials as the convicted terrorist tries to learn the rules in a home he can’t remember.

The pre-dawn flight via American military aircraft on Saturday that brought the 26-year-old to Ontario from the U.S. naval base where he was imprisoned for nine years and 11 months came as a surprise to Mr. Khadr, his lawyers and his family, who learned of it from television news.

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Omar Khadr in Canadian prison after return from Guantanamo Bay

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Janet Hamlin

ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

September 29, 2012 – Globe and Mail

For the first time in 10 years and three months, Omar Khadr’s fate rests outside the hands of politicians and military personnel.

Toronto-born Mr. Khadr left Guantanamo Bay’s detention centre in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday morning via U.S. military aircraft. He set foot on Canadian soil just over three hours later.

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Canada’s prisons brace for shrinking spending and a growing population

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ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

Monday, August 20 – Globe and Mail
Corrections Canada faces years of big budget cuts even as its resources are stretched increasingly thin.

The federal agency must trim $295-million in spending by 2015 as part of the Conservative government’s deficit-reduction program. This is the first time the agency has had to cut its budget, year to year, since 2006.

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Corrections Canada plans electronic anklets for parolees despite flaws

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ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

August `17, 2012 – Globe and Mail

Correctional Service Canada plans to roll out electronic anklets to monitor parolees – even though its own pilot project found the devices did not work as hoped.

The idea is to ensure that offenders follow the conditions of their release. A tiny proportion of parolees breach those conditions or reoffend, although the number has been getting smaller for four years.

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Double-bunking in prisons not a problem for Vic Toews

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Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Thursday, July 12 – Globe and Mail

ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews says he has no problem with the number of federal inmates sharing cells built for one.

And even as he reiterated his commitment to building 2,700 new cells in existing prison facilities, he said those additional units aren’t meant to alleviate the pressures caused by double-bunking – because there’s no need.

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