The protests in Ottawa are becoming a regular occurrence, so preparations are under way to prevent disruption in the city during Canada Day celebrations.
Tyson ‘Freedom George’ Billings, a prominent figure in the ‘freedom convoy,’ leaves the Ottawa courthouse after being released on June 15, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
The ‘freedom convoy’ provides a way to express the emotional self-interest of Canadians — mostly white men — who feel they are losing their rightful place in Canadian society.
Jubilant sports fans flew the Canadian flag in 2019 after the NBA playoffs. Since then, the ‘freedom convoy’ has used the flag to try to represent their values. Has the symbolism of the flag changed?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
What does it mean to be a settler of colour in Canada? Has the symbolism of the Canadian flag changed since the Ottawa convoy?
Anti-mask protesters hold signs during a demonstration against measures taken by public health authorities to curb the spread of COVID-19 in St. Thomas, Ont., in 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins
Trying to convince people to trust the basic institutions of Canada and each other is not enough. Economic divisions create a trust divide that threatens Canadians’ way of life.
Online hate speech can fuel offline violence.
(Shutterstock)
Regulating online hate speech can have unintended consequences, such as reinforcing right-wing narratives and further marginalizing vulnerable communities.
People are silhouetted as they sit in a bar having a drink during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on March 30, 2022, as cases continued to climb in Ontario and around Canada after most provinces lifted various restrictions and mask mandates.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
As COVID-19 continues to evolve, surprise, disappoint and frustrate us, efforts by politicians to pretend it’s behind us is a dangerous form of gaslighting that will deepen societal divisions.
Police push back protesters during a demonstration in Montréal calling for justice for victims of police brutality.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The large budgets allotted for urban policing must be reconsidered so that communities can explore safer alternatives.
Protesters who think the government is restricting their ‘right to freedom’ misunderstand the way that rights require us to consider how our actions impact others.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne
Our freedom is limited as soon as our speech and behaviour become harmful to other people.
A small group of COVID-19 mandate protesters remain on the street as the group packs up and prepares to head home on Memorial Blvd in Winnipeg, Man. on Feb. 23, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
The “freedom convoy” was a culmination of years of persistent mobilization by far-right networks whose growth intensified as they digitally tapped into COVID-19 related grievances.
People and vehicles fill Wellington Street near Parliament Hill at the beginning of the so-called freedom convoy occupation of Ottawa in late January, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Long-term assessments of the trucker convoy will depend less on questionable interpretations of individual freedom and more on whether the state’s fundamental obligations were seriously threatened.
A vital step in achieving the kind of action and change that CRT proposes is for each of us to be intentional and steadfast in our convictions to dismantle racist and oppressive power structures.
There are indications that more and more Canadians feel the federal government doesn’t represent their views.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The wave of protests across Canada against vaccine mandates are signs of growing tensions that the federal government doesn’t represent the views of many people. It’s time for election reform.
New Zealand has a high concentration of extremist alt-right groups relative to similar countries. The challenge now is to head off hate crime and violence.
The prime minister and police have asked that children be removed from the protest at parliament – but the situation is legally and logistically complex.
Supporters cheer on truck drivers in the “freedom convoy” headed for Ottawa from an overpass in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 28.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Our age of agnosis is increasingly coming into contact in ways beyond historical standards and recorded memory. Empathy, not apathy, is needed now more than ever before.
Giacomo Lichtner, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Political activists on both the left and right have long appropriated the rhetoric and symbolism of Nazism and the Holocaust, a tactic usually based on ignorance and false equivalence.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks across an empty Wellington St. to a news conference on Feb. 22.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Emergencies Act could have been in place for 30 days or more. But 10 days after it was invoked, the government is now confident it can keep Canadians safe with existing laws.
A protester walks with a Canadian flag as police move in to clear downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill a few weeks into the ‘freedom convoy’ occupation of the city.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Canada may no longer be seen to be the safe haven for investment in the eyes of the global business world, given recent protests events and lacklustre institutional responses.