CFE Blog

Recently, Twitch streamer Brandon “Atrioc” Ewing was caught accessing deepfake pornography of popular female Twitch streamers, including QTCinderella, Sweet Anita, Pokimane, and Maya Higa.

As thousands continue to suffer extrajudicial, indefinite detention under torturous conditions in Western government-supported “death camps” in northeast Syria, Canadian media outlets elected to foment outrage instead about the Federal Court of Canada decision ordering the governmen

The members of Simon Fraser University’s Research Ethics Board (REB) returned to work after the New Year to an email informing the Chair, Vice-Chair, and two other committee members that their services were no longer required and their appointments would not be renewed. The reason?

So far, this blog series has commented on City of Toronto v. Ontario (2021) and Ward v. Quebec (2021); offered a quantitative and qualitative synopsis of the s.2(b) case law; provided a critique of Irwin Toy and the contextual approach; and addressed the Supreme Court of Canada’s jurisprudence on the open court principle and freedom of the press and media. Even so, when complete the series will still leave much unsaid about s.2(b) and its challenges.

Can we fight racism without chilling expression? The answer must be a resounding yes, but how can we ensure that schools and educators understand their responsibilities to protect their students from censorship and from discrimination both at once? It isn’t easy and it can’t be done in one lesson or even in one course. However, when we avoid discussing race and racism or other forms of oppression out of fear that we are going to be using or permitting the wrong language, or that our motivations will be misunderstood, we become part of the problem.

Much criticism has been aimed at Toronto mayor John Tory and Ontario premier Doug Ford over the unprecedented powers given to Tory and to all future mayors of Toronto by the provincial legislature. Since Toronto has in recent years had such mayoral luminaries as ‘don’t want to be boiled in a pot by cannibals’ Mel Lastman as well as crack-using Rob Ford, one can only wonder what ‘evidence’ was gathered to support giving Toronto mayors additional powers.