No, Not All Lives Matter At All

As sure as the current government is as corrupt as any banana republic in the past, the officially oppressed show their true human mettle:

The Nunavut Court of Appeal handed down a stiffer jail sentence to a mother convicted twice of serious abuse against her young child — and then stayed that sentence. 

The decision from a three-judge panel was issued on Wednesday. The judges called it an "exceptional" case, and "very sad from everyone's perspective."  

They decided it was better to keep the young mother out of jail, in order to avoid sending her child into foster care. 

The woman was convicted of failing to provide the "necessaries of life" and aggravated assault against her five-year-old son in 2017. 

"[His] body was covered in bruises and bite marks. He suffered severe internal injuries — a lacerated liver and spleen, a kidney contusion, a fractured rib and an obstructed bowel," the appeal court's decision reads. 

"He could not recall the last time he ate," it said. 

It was the second conviction against the woman for assaulting her son.

 

**

Nunavut’s legislature members have voted former housing and Nunavut Arctic College minister Patterk Netser out of cabinet over a post he made on social media.

Premier Joe Savikataaq put a motion forward earlier this week to remove Netser from cabinet.

Savikataaq stripped him of his portfolios on Oct. 8, soon after Netser made a Facebook post that said “All lives matter” and criticized Black women for having abortions.

The vote Friday saw 14 MLAs vote in favour and three against, with one abstention.

Before casting their ballots, some members made statements on the motion.

“It is up to us, everyone in this room, to show our commitment, to stand up against racism and gender violence. Now is that time,” Savikataaq told the assembly.

“Black lives matter. Indigenous lives matter. Women’s rights are human rights.”

Iqaluit-Manirajak MLA Adam Arreak Lightstone, who seconded the motion, thanked Savikataaq for his “swift action” to remove Netser.

“Freedom of expression does not equal freedom from consequence. The fact that the minister is still defending his position leads me to believe that there is no remorse,” Lightstone said.

 

Indeed.

Had Mr. Netser stuck to the accepted platitudes, he might still be working now.