Bill Blair

Justin Ling: Ottawa is reappointing an expert panel—disbanded a year ago because it couldn’t do its work—to study the unconstitutional use of solitary confinement in prisons

Paul Wells: A quasi-public official did something the government refuses to forbid. So sure, get angry. Meanwhile I keep thinking of other things you could be enraged about.

Paul Wells: A preliminary report—which nearly didn’t happen due to government inaction—shows reform has been partial at best, with prisoners still being denied ’meaningful human contact’

Betrayed by politicians, the families forced an inquiry into the shooting. Here is how they convinced federal and provincial governments to stop dithering after months of inaction.

Correctional Service Canada is trying to update its inmate tracking system, while the panel tasked to study solitary confinement is still waiting for any usable information

Paul Wells: How badly do things have to go for a government-appointed panel to shut down because it got no usable data and no help from the minister?

Paul Wells: An unprecedented avalanche of public contempt got the fake inquiry turned into a real one. The question remains, what was Ottawa thinking?

Paul Wells: Everyone was demanding a public inquiry. What we got was something zero people asked for—a toothless, rickety review panel.

Bill Blair has barely left Ottawa all year, his agenda beset by tragedy and a pandemic. Then a national debate on policing revived the former police chief’s resume, which his critics will never forget

When it comes to protecting some of the most vulnerable—prisoners and asylum seekers—Canada is not taking any extraordinary measures