Mandatory Minimum Sentences

Harper's get tough on crime policies appeal to a lot of people on the surface (unfortunately it seems - even the opposition), but are largely derided amongst those who understand the judicial system and the underlying implications. By removing any judicial flexibility, such policies serve to handcuff the courts such that they are unable to take individual circumstances into account. This policy would also lead to a rapid rise in the prison population such as has been seen in the US, where the explosion in security requirements necessitates the contracting out of penal institutions to private companies. This seems to be a non-issue for Canadians, but it seems like the thin edge of a Draconian wedge.

CBC reality check article

Georgia Straight article on move towards privatization of prisons

No Helicoptors for Darfur

After an agonizingly slow development of a UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, the entire project is in jeopardy because the international community has yet to supply a single helicopter, many of which are necessary to actually deploy any of the troops. After repeated appeals from Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN "no member state has come forward to provide these vital assets."
AFP News posting