Lawyer Lawrence Greenspon walks with Tamara Lich as they make their way to the courthouse on the first day of Lich’s trial for organizing the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Ongoing criminal proceedings in Canada and the U.S. tied to high-profile uprisings must shed light on how large protests can avoid incurring the full wrath of the state.
Canada needs to look back on its history of establishing the CBC to avoid its media landscape going the route of its neighbour to the south.
(Rod Flores/Unsplash)
A hundred years ago, civic organizations of all stripes came together to demand a new Canadian approach to media policy. Canada has done it before — it must do so again.
Daniel Penny, centre, is walked by New York Police Department detectives out of a Manhattan precinct in May 2023. He was charged with manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely.
(AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
Helping people secure due process in the courts is a noble goal. But the problem with crowdfunding campaigns is that they largely operate as popularity contests.
UCP Leader Danielle Smith makes her victory speech in Calgary on May 29, 2023. Alberta’s United Conservative Party rode a wave of rural support to win a renewed majority in the provincial election — but not before the NDP took a big bite out of its support.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Danielle Smith’s win in the Alberta election can be traced to her decision to moderate her stance on some extreme issues that had helped her win the leadership of the United Conservative Party.
The 2022 parliament protests were unprecedented, but something similar could still happen again. What lessons can be drawn from the recent report into police handling of the event?
Justice Paul Rouleau releases his report on the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act, in Ottawa, on Feb.17, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Emergencies Act inquiry final report found that almost all parties involved fell short of upholding the rule of law during the convoy protests.
Police move in to clear downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill of protesters after weeks of demonstrations on Feb. 19, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Examining how and why we cast blame on others can help us understand the convoy protests and the different ways people reacted to pandemic restrictions.
RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki announced on Feb. 15 that she would be retiring.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Brenda Lucki’s retirement will change the person in charge of the RCMP. But the organization’s deeper structural problems cannot be fixed with a change at the top.
Justice Paul Rouleau, who headed the Public Order Emergency Commission last year, tables his report on Monday about the inquiry’s findings into national security issues and the so-called Freedom Convoy.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Research finds that while some anti-immigration attitudes persist in Canada, no provinces significantly stand out for being more hostile to immigrants.
Despite being French-speaking, CSIS Deputy Director of Operations Michelle Tessier, Director David Vigneault and Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre Executive Director Marie-Hélène Chayer testified in English only before the Rouleau Commission in November 2022 in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The almost complete absence of French at the Public Order Emergency Commission does not come from a subservient reflex on the part of French speakers so much as their fear of being scorned.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears as a witness on the final day of the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings in Ottawa.
on Nov. 25, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Eric Champagne, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Alex Beraskow, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The Ottawa Police Services Board has been operating in secret in the aftermath of the so-called freedom convoy protest. It must cease, regardless of whether the public approves of its decisions.
A protester walks along the sidewalk in front of the Parliament buildings in February 2022 in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
There’s no equivalence between invoking the Emergencies Act and the pre-emptive invocation of the notwithstanding clause, which guts Canadian democracy and nullifies the Charter.
Police move in to clear downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill of protesters after weeks of demonstrations in February 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
Protest is a way to keep potential abuses of the rule of law in check. But what happens if citizens and authorities feel protesters go too far in violating the rule of law?
Danielle Smith celebrates after being chosen as the new leader of the United Conservative Party and next Alberta premier in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Danielle Smith’s win in the UCP leadership race follows the populist playbook. Will her time in office be a brief interlude, or the start of a significant challenge to national unity?
Newly elected Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at the Conservative Party of Canada leadership vote on Sept. 10, 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
By focusing on issues that pertain to ordinary Canadians, Pierre Poilievre could be offering a compelling alternative to Justin Trudeau’s unpopular Liberals now that he’s won the Conservative leadership.
Edmonton demonstrators gather to protest against COVID-19 measures and support the ‘freedom convoy’ in February 2022. Research suggests Alberta separatist sentiments have as much to do with antipathy about the federal government and Justin Trudeau as actually leaving Confederation.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Even though they lack the profile of Québec sovereigntists, Alberta separatists are positioned to exert significant political influence on intergovernmental relations in the years to come.
A conspiracy theory is formed against Stranger Things character Eddie Munson.
(Stranger Things/Netflix)
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.