The Back Story

with Gabrielle Giroday

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• Ride Gone Wrong: A taxi story

  01/9/2012 3:32 PM

  Sometimes, as a reporter, a story grabs you by the neck and won’t let go.

  A recent series I did on taxicabs weighed on me for months, after a pretty amazing woman I met came forward to tell her story.

  She was brave and angry and motivated, and told the story of her alleged sexual assault by a driver.

  The man is now before the courts – and the case hit the news because she made the choice to discuss it.

  Her story motivated me to look at other similar allegations.

  I was surprised when I started researching the issue of taxicab sexual assaults, and saw that while there’s been reports of such incidents in jurisdictions across Canada, I could not find a single piece that looked at the issue as a whole. This series looked at the problem from both a victim’s and driver’s perspective, as well as board policies around public notification of assaults.

  When you write for print, your space is limited – so the videos by my colleague Tania Kohut told the story in a way I could not have.

  I hope none of our readers ever have to go to the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) suite at the Health Sciences Centre for an examination, but getting a glimpse inside it is important insight into how sensitively these crimes are dealt with.

  Anyways, I wanted to make sure that the Freep’s approach to the issue was balanced and not one-sided, which was why looking at false allegations also played into the story.

  I have far, far, far, more thoughts than I will write here but I thought I would share two pieces of mail I got in regards to the series.

  The vast majority of feedback was overwhelmingly positive...I think it’s an issue that touches a nerve with people, and hits on things that we feel slightly nervous about confronting in Canadian society.

  One of these letters was from a Manitoba reader, the other from the former cab driver (and still Manitoban) who was acquitted of a sexual assault charge (his insight was part of the series, but not at this length).

  Both letters were amazingly eloquent.

  There were many people who helped out on this, and I am exceedingly grateful to all of them for their time on a very complex issue.

  This is from a woman, who said this incident happened about three years ago:

  "I was at the Festival du voyageur and had planned to take a taxi home. Approx. midnight I got into a cab and told him my address. We were driving when I asked him to make a stop at 7-11 so that I can get his cab money, he became very belligerent and offensive. I told the cab driver I wasn’t trying to rip him off and he could come into the store if he needed to. He drove to a very dark secluded area somewhere off Main Street and told me to get out of the car. I refused and told him to drive to 7-11 and I would walk from there. He wouldn’t go and continued to tell me get out of the car and I continued to refuse. He said he would call the police and I told him to go right ahead. I pulled out my house keys and kept them in my hand in case I needed to protect myself. I guess the cab driver then decided that I was prepared to protect and stand up for myself at all costs and started to drive. I was taken to 7-11 on Mountain Avenue and paid him only what was owed and told him I would be making a complaint. I am not positive what would have happened if I got out of the cab.

  "My advice to women taking cabs alone is to always sit in the back seat and remain in the cab and call the police if ordered to get out. It’s more difficult for the driver to assault you when you are in the back seat and he is in the front seat. If you have the slightest concern don’t get in the cab and wait for another one."

  This is from the former cab driver who was accused and acquitted of sexual assault, but left the profession over the allegations:

  "Driving taxi is a stressful job and sometimes becomes a very dangerous job as well, as stated you never know who your next fare will be and the condition or activities of those individuals you pick up. That job exposed me to bikers, drug dealers, gang members, gangsters, prostitutes and thieves. Yes most people were just normal individual's going about their business and were good passengers. But as mentioned, you have no control over where you get dispatched, and who your next fare will be. I would never drive a taxi again as long as I live and worry about those who do. It's a very dangerous job with no support mechanisms in place to save you in the event of a serious life threatening or life changing situation occurring.

  "I recognize that Winnipeg taxi's now have video camera equipment installed as a safety precaution, but that doesn't change what you get exposed to as a driver or save you in the event of trouble. I would rather starve and be homeless, or end up on welfare, before ever going back to that profession. I am 56 years of age, I have no criminal record and have never had charges prior to or after driving taxi. It's not the type of job I would recommend anyone doing, people can say what they will about it, but an allegation like this can ruin your life.

  "As mentioned, the charges were dropped and I was acquitted, yet two years ago during a routine traffic stop, the officer informed me that that charge was still on record. I inquired about getting this information removed from the system, but was told I had no criminal record and therefore didn't need to apply for a pardon. They also informed me this allegation would stay on record and follow me the rest of my life, which I think is ridiculous. I was never convicted of the charge, yet the history of the allegation is there in the records for them to see and confront me about.

  "I don't like the idea that if I ever get stopped again, that information is provided to the officer who stopped me. This information should not be available as it is embarrassing to say the least, in addition if that officer decides to tell others about it, the stigma that surrounds that type of charge can have a very negative impact on me in the community and ruin my reputation as a professional person. No -One likes someone they think is either a threat or a danger to people in that community."

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• Records checks: necessary evil?

  12/2/2011 3:50 PM

  I received two interesting pieces of mail regarding a recent story I did on wait times for criminal record checks, based on the ones needed for those who work with especially vulnerable people like kids or disabled adults.

  The issue isn’t new to Winnipeg, and has popped up in other parts of Canada (as fingerprint analysis is done through the RCMP, so it’s a federal issue). However, what recently caught my interest in Doug Goodman’s case was the fact this longtime foster parent and plain-spoken man presented himself as taking one for the team.

  (Goodman said in an interview he knows lots of other people eager to foster who have huge issues with the checks. As reporters know... chatting publicly about anything CFS-related takes moxie, because in my experience anything CFS-related is usually placed in a cone of silence, with no help from this province’s restrictive Child and Family Services Act.)

  Anyways, after the piece ran, I received two pieces of mail I thought worth running.

  One is from Chris Burrows, spokeswoman for the Dufferin-area Citizens on Watch program and wife of notorious Point Douglas activist Sel Burrows. Here are her thoughts:

  "It is not just foster parents, now to be a block parent we have to be fingerprinted in case there  are pedophiles who share our names. It has been incredibly hard to get block parents in the 'inner city' because of having to do a police check, with this latest addition I can't see anybody coming forward. Sel and I have been 'block parents' since the '70s except when we have lived outside Winnipeg. We were quite upset by this latest request when we both have perfectly clean criminal records."

  The other is from a woman in British Columbia. (I removed her name from her letter after getting her permission to run it)

  "I am a university student, mom and active volunteer. I legally changed my name (1st & middle names, not last name) in early summer of 2007. In B.C. it was required that you submit fingerprints when doing this, which I did. My record came back clean (of course) and I have a letter from CCIS (Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services) from Ottawa of the RCMP dated November 26th, 2007 stating: "The subject identified below has been processed for Name Change Purposes. The original fingerprint form used to submit the above fingerprints has been used to preform the fingerprint search and has been destroyed."

  I also have a letter dated February 22, 2010, from the Deputy Registrar of the Criminal Records Review Program stating: "No criminal record was found." I had to get this done for my practicum at the college because I would be dealing with vulnerable people as part of my program.

  There is a glitch in the system and I have gone to my federal (MP) Alex Atamanenko to discuss this with him. I did this back in June of 2011. I did this because I went to get another criminal record check done for a volunteer position in the fall of (2010) and the police (wouldn’t) give me my forms back and accused me of being a criminal because my gender and birth date matched a registered sex offender (apparently). I was treated horribly by the RCMP, they were threatening, rude and even called my house after to harass myself and my husband, for what I have no idea. They accused me of lying about who I was. I (didn’t) lie about anything as I stated I had provided my prints and everything came back fine and when I offered to provide my letters (stated above) they refused to accept them. They insisted that I provide my fingerprints yet again, I refused as I has already submitted them more than once and have the documentation proving I did not have a record.

  My MP is concerned about this problem as it is not the 1st complaint he has received from the public. He wrote a letter to Vic Toews MP, Minister of Public Safety raising these issues with the vulnerable sector checks and asked for a response back to himself and me. As of (today’s) date neither of us has heard a word. This has left some major negative impacts on my life and that of my (family) who I am trying to support while I attend University. I cannot get a job or another practicum. I am in my 3rd year of my BA in Psychology and have over $30,000 in student loans owing. I refuse to do another fingerprint check, there is absolutely no reason for another fingerprint check and the public needs to know that there is a serious issue in regards to how they are doing these checks. The program will leave me continuously having to pay to get my fingerprints done as the gender and birth date will always come up that matches mine and the RCMP refuse to look at any of their own documentation showing there was already a check done that came back satisfactory when it (shouldn’t) be needed.

  There needs to be an investigation as there are others like me out there who are wondering why we have to keep paying for the same thing over and over again and wondering if this is a way for the federal government to be collecting data (like fingerprints) on the public without having to answer to anyone."

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• Winnipeg revolution, Cameroon election

  11/15/2011 11:45 AM

  Good news for intellectuals, debaters and general rabble-rousers – dissent in Winnipeg is alive and well.

  I’ve always told people the reason I got involved in journalism wasn’t the writing as much as the interviewing and observing.

  It’s navigating those conflicts between peoples and person that add a crackle to the air and a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

  Anyway, I’m hoping the next two weeks should give plenty of opportunity for robust debate – at three public events I’ll be at on different areas on areas of crime and politics.

  One which I’m especially interested in – has already erupted online, after a Facebook group was started in opposition to a Downtown BIZ-organized panel on downtown safety at the Lo Pub.

  The panel is Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will have reps from the police and Downtown BIZ, plus some people who have expressed anger at some of the parties involved (the panel will also include me in my capacity as a crime reporter for the Freep).

  Here’s a sample of why there’s opposition to the panel:

  "We must interject our opposition to the Winnipeg Police Service and BIZ Patrol’s treatment of those in poverty, of sex trade workers, of the original people of this territory, of newcomers, of street-affected people, of queers, of youths, of People of Colour, because it is certainly not going to be brought up if we aren’t there... It is also encouraged that you call the Lo Pub and let them know how you feel about them offering up their space to the Business Improvement Zone. Please be respectful in your communication. Jack, one of the owners of the Pub, has indicated that he is willing to talk to people about this issue. Please ask for him. Serving staff do not need the added stress of having to deal with decisions that were made without their consent or consideration."

  While I think the opposition mounted to the venue is misplaced (like, how cool is the Lo Pub for hosting public debate which allows us all the chance to air our opinions and insight and learn from each other in a downtown setting, rather than an airless, plastic debate waged through scripted press releases and Twitter?) -- I admire the spirit behind the protest.

  If I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek and slightly cavalier, I’d liken it to writing a story where you "blame the knife" after a crime occurs. Pointless.

  (By the way, um, as a feminist crime reporter who likes to see crime through a post-colonial and social lens and can drive people CRAZY with questions, I can tell you I don’t think the whole panel will be toeing the line, so to speak)

  Regardless, I am pumped to see what transpires over the public dialogues ahead. I respect people who are willing to put in the time and energy to voice their opinions, however controversial – as well as those who are brave enough to deal with public criticism. Believe it or not, we all have this in common. I swear.

  Next comes a public forum on the St. Vital byelection being hosted by the Provincial Council of Women at the Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre on Wednesday Nov. 23, featuring candidates who are gunning for a seat on city council. The election is Saturday Nov. 26.

  And then, on Thursday Nov. 24, the Commonwealth Journalists Association will be hosting its inaugural meeting at the Free Press News Cafe at 6:30 p.m. – entrance is $10 at the door and $5 for students.

  (Part of the meeting will be chatting about a recent elections monitoring trip I did in Cameroon on behalf of the Commonwealth, which was an incredible experience I’d like to see more Canadian journalists experience – very humbling and awesome and something I’ll write further on after the final report into the election findings has been released.

  P.S. Please forgive anything that seems self-promotion-y here. The events should be about the big picture, not moi! Bet we all agree on that, too.

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