Inmate Numbers Soar

The inmate population in Saskatchewan's jails is now approaching twice the original intended capacity of its four adult correctional facilities.

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And with new federal crime legislation likely to go through the House of Commons this fall, some observers such as the provincial ombudsman believe the situation is in danger of becoming much worse.

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Reading Texts May Go Too Far: Dean

The student whose text messages were read by a viceprincipal in Prince Albert could potentially have an argument that his right to privacy under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was violated, says the head of the University of Saskatchewan's college of law.

The student's grandparents are suing the Saskatchewan Rivers school division for negligence and breach of privacy after the vice-principal at Riverside Community School read a message on the student's confiscated cellphone that referred to a stolen vehicle.

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It's business as usual at Saskatoon-based Prairie Plant Systems Inc. (PPS) despite a federal announcement the government will be changing the rules for medical marijuana growers.

Brent Zettl, president and CEO of PPS, said its contract to produce medical marijuana for Health Canada remains in place through the agreement's March 2013 end date. PPS is the only federally licensed producer of the substance in the country.

"We see this as (having) strong potential for the patients to win by giving more consistent long-term accessibility to marijuana-based products that are as safe as they can be," Zettl said Saturday.

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Prosecutor Troubled by Those Saying Shooting Was Justified

The defence believes Kim Joseph Walker should not spend another day behind bars, but the Crown says only a lengthy prison term can convey the message that vigilante justice will not be tolerated.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn will have the final say July 13, when she's expected to sentence the 54-year-old Yorkton man. Gunn heard sentencing submissions Friday - a day after the seven-man, five-woman jury pronounced Walker not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Walker, who had been out on bail, was taken into custody after that verdict.

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Prosecutors are calling for a lengthy prison term for a Saskatchewan father who shot to death his teenage daughter's drug-dealing boyfriend, while Kim Walker's lawyer says he should not spend another day behind bars.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn Gunn heard sentencing submissions Friday in the case -a day after Walker was convicted of manslaughter. Gunn is expected to sentence him July 13.

Walker was on trial for seconddegree murder in the March 17, 2003, shooting death of 24-yearold James Hayward.

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While the defence believes Kim Joseph Walker should not spend another day behind bars, the Crown says only a lengthy prison term can convey the message that vigilante justice will not be tolerated.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn will have the final say July 13, when she's expected to sentence the 54-year-old Yorkton man. Gunn heard sentencing submissions Friday - a day after the seven-man, five-woman jury pronounced Walker not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Walker, who had been out on bail, was taken into custody after that verdict.

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Before he left court in handcuffs following a manslaughter conviction, Kim Joseph Walker hugged his daughter, whose boyfriend he killed, and told her and other family members to "be strong."

"I'll be OK," the 54-year-old husband and father told them after the verdict Thursday evening. "Everything will be alright."

But for the family of the man he gunned down, the trial's outcome was far from right.

"The legal system in Canada is a joke," a clearly agitated Dan Hayward, brother of the victim James Hayward, told reporters. "I'm completely disgusted right now. It just goes to show the gullibility of people. And that you can trespass in a man's house and shoot him five times in front of everybody and it doesn't matter," he said. "I'm serving a life sentence without my brother because of him," he added.

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Manslaughter Conviction Fuels Tension Between Opposing Sides

Before he left court in handcuffs following a manslaughter conviction, Kim Joseph Walker hugged his daughter, whose boyfriend he killed, and told her and other family members to "be strong."

"I'll be OK," the 54-year-old husband and father told them after the verdict Thursday evening. "Everything will be all right."

But for the family of the man he gunned down, the trial's outcome was far from right.

"The legal system in Canada is a joke," a clearly agitated Dan Hayward, brother of the victim James Hayward, told reporters.

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A scene that said much about Prime Minister Stephen Harper unfolded recently in the Supreme Court of Canada.

At a hearing about Insite, the supervised drug-injection site in Vancouver, a lawyer representing the federal government acknowledged the facility had been granted a federal exemption from drug laws under a clause that permits scientific study.

Insite is an experiment, in other words. "And it worked," observed Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

A long list of scientific research papers in prestigious, peer-reviewed medical journals showed Insite had done exactly what it was designed to do. Overdose deaths down. Rates of HIV and hepatitis C infection down. "Lives are being saved, diseases are being prevented by this site, and are we putting too fine a point on it by saying the site has nothing to do with it?" McLachlin asked the federal lawyer.

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Yorkton Man Faces Second Trial in Killing of Daughter's Boyfriend

The mother of a man allegedly killed by Kim Walker said she's "not going to be silent anymore" about her son and will attend every day of Walker's three-week murder retrial, which began here Monday.

"This time, I'm speaking to the media. I'm going to make sure they know the truth. I'm going to be here every day and I'm going to stay strong for James. And I'm not going to be silent anymore," Lorrie Getty told reporters outside court.

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A seven-man, fivewoman jury has been selected to hear the new trial of Kim Walker, the Yorkton father charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 death of his daughter's former boyfriend.

Several hundred potential jurors were called to a Yorkton community centre Monday as proceedings began. Walker is charged with second-degree murder in the March 17, 2003, death of James Hayward, 24, a drug dealer who was dating Walker's 15-year-old daughter.

Crown prosecutor Robin Ritter and defence lawyer Balfour Der both used most of the 12 objections each were allotted as potential jurors were presented to them, but the final jury was selected by early afternoon.

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Thank you for the editorial, Insite's proven benefits ignored in political fray (SP, April 25). The safe injection site operates in Vancouver with the support of local and provincial governments, but is under continual assault by the federal Conservatives.

Insite has kept operating only through repeated victories in the courts - victories based on clear evidence that it saves lives and reduces drug use.

While some people foolishly believe that harsh measures are the only way to deal with the drugs we have made illegal, that approach has been tried in many places and had led only to more drug use, crime, death.

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The Saskatchewan Marijuana Party has gone up in smoke.

The party did not file a 2010 financial statement with the chief electoral officer and has notified Elections Saskatchewan it intends to deregister as a provincial political party.

Brent Nadon, manager of election finances for Elections Saskatchewan, said the party will be required to liquidate its assets and present them to the chief electoral officer along with a final report.

Any assets will be held in trust for two years, although those are likely to be minimal. The Marijuana party's last financial statement showed it had $260 cash in hand in 2009.

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A Saskatoon teenager received a one-year sentence in provincial court Wednesday for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring.

The youth, now 18, cannot be named because he was 17 at the time of the offence last fall.

The youth told Judge Barry Singer that recent news of his impending fatherhood has served as a turning point and he intends to turn away from the criminal lifestyle.

"As soon as I'm done (serving the sentence), I will get out and be positive. I want to change my life around for me and for my unborn child," he said.

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Since all three federal parties have sworn fealty to Canada's system of publicly funded health care, one would have thought that a peer-reviewed study that showed how one Canadian program has decreased mortality by 35 per cent would have no shortage of champions.

But, except for a handful of health experts and harm-reduction strategists, there has been silence along the campaign trails.

The British medical journal, The Lancet, last week published a study by the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS that indicated that since Insite, the Vancouver-based safe injection site, opened in September of 2003, the number of overdose deaths in the immediate area has declined by 35 per cent.

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The Regina Police Service is asking for the public's help in cracking down on marijuana grow operations.

The service has a new portion of its website designed to inform people about grow-ops, it was announced at the monthly board of police commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

"We're not suggesting there's a crisis in our community at all," said Police Chief Troy Hagen. "This really is a proactive initiative. We want to engage the public. Hopefully, through this information, the community will be in a better position to report suspicious activity."

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Four Large Busts Achieved in Late March

Kindersley RCMP created a new unit in January to investigate the drug trade that passes through town and it's already seeing success, the detachment reported Tuesday.

Investigation by the new crime reduction unit -made up of one dedicated constable -led to four big busts during a 10-day period at the end of March.

"It's just something we're trying to address, the fact Kindersley is on a main route between two major cities -Calgary and Saskatoon," said Staff Sgt. Rob Embree. "Over the last couple of years, we've picked up on some trends and we're trying to address some issues."

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What would you do if you were the judge? A man in his 40s (his name is protected under provincial law) is involved in a severe car crash. His spine is badly damaged resulting in painful spasms. A variety of painkillers are prescribed to alleviate the pain, but none are effective. Would you agree to the medical use of marijuana?

Patient X requested insurance coverage for marijuana, but it was refused. Not an unexpected decision as the use of this drug has sparked controversy for many years. But an unusual event occurred in this case.

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Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a potentially multi-milliondollar marijuana business will soon be growing the federal government's coffers.

While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday to the Crown as proceeds of crime.

Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will be paid, and the remaining money will go to the federal government.

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Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a potentially multimillion-dollar marijuana business will soon be growing the federal government's coffers.

While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday to the Crown as proceeds of crime.

Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will be paid and the remaining money will go to the federal government.

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