The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history. George Orwell When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (“TRC”) was established, it was a direct result of a Settlement Agreement between Residential School Survivors, the Assembly of … [Read more...]
About Stephanie Jansen
Solitary Confinement: “Abandon Every Hope, Ye who Enter”
“Abandon every hope, ye who enter” DANTE In 2003, an artist named Jackie Sumell created a project that rebuilt an Angola inmate’s tiny 6x9 foot cell where he spent 41 years in solitary confinement. The cell toured the United States for the sole purpose of raising awareness about solitary … [Read more...]
One Edmonton Youth in Conflict with the Law: A Case Study
We have all been there at one point in time: young, insecure, and impressionable. You would do anything to fit in: wear the right clothes; listen to the proper music; dislike the right people and share the same opinions as all the cool kids. But what if the cool kids were the RCMP acting as … [Read more...]
Unpaid Interns have Little Protection under the Law
Imagine spending years in university, only to graduate and find out that in order to secure a job, you would have to work an undetermined amount of time for free. At the end of the internship, there will be no assurance of employment; instead, you can chalk it up to getting some good experience … [Read more...]
Turning a Loss into a Win
I remember the morning well: my mother had asked me to bring in the mail, and as I was sorting through it, a bright envelope with the sentence, “You Are A Grande Prize Winner” caught my attention. My heart leapt; my family just won an astronomical amount of money! When I showed the envelope to my … [Read more...]
Aboriginal Children and Child Welfare Policies
Although nearly everyone has heard the term, “Residential Schools,” it would appear that few really have a proper comprehension of the cruel realities and shame of Canada’s collective history. With its origins in “civilizing the ‘petits sauvages’” [1] for the purpose of serving as wives and mothers … [Read more...]
Who is a Parent? Not a Simple Question!
If anything could be said about the law, it is slow to change. Our social structure continues to evolve at a faster pace than the law, which is creating difficulties in society and the courts. We are seeing impacts on individuals and couples who are having children in non-traditional ways as the … [Read more...]
