Blog
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Oct 17
2019
Social Justice Requires Intellectual Freedom - Why the Toronto Public Library Should Refuse to Deplatform Meghan Murphy
Once again, the Toronto Public Library is under attack for upholding intellectual freedom. Some who find Feminist Current’s founder Meghan Murphy’s views offensive are demanding that the TPL abandon its principled commitment to intellectual freedom by withdrawing the space at a branch library it has rented to sponsors of Murphy’s upcoming talk on "Gender Identity: What does It Mean for Society, the Law and Women?"
By James L Turk / Posted Thursday October 17, 2019
Sep 27
2019
New Hotline to Assist Students Approached by CSIS Addresses a Problem Neither New nor Unprecedented
Co-Authored by Nader Hasan
On November 12, 2018, the University of Toronto’s student newspaper, The Varsity, reported that Muslim Student Association executives had been regularly receiving surprise visits from RCMP and CSIS agents regularly since 2016. Since the events of 9/11 in the United States, security and intelligence officials have taken an interest in Muslim Students Associations (MSAs) across universities in both Canada and the United States.
By Anver M. Emon / Posted Friday September 27, 2019
Sep 18
2019
Free to express yourself outside of work? Workplace discipline in the age of social media
Barely a day goes by without reading a new story about employees being punished, fined, fired or shamed for engaging in online conversations about the workplace. Social media is radically transforming the relationship between employees and their employers in a host of ways not the least of which is its capacity to simultaneously augment peoples’ ability to express their voice and employers’ ability to monitor and discipline employees.
By Charles Smith / Posted Wednesday September 18, 2019
Co-written by Daniel J. Paré
Aug 15
2019
Can Public Libraries Maintain Their Commitment to Intellectual Freedom in the Face of Outrage over Unpopular Speakers?
An unprecedented number of public disputes have erupted across Canada in recent years about meeting room bookings and speaker’s events in the country’s public libraries. Most disturbingly, critics have ignored, disparaged, and frequently rebuffed the time-honoured commitments of Canadian public libraries to freedom of expression and unfettered access to library services.
By Alvin M. Schrader / Posted Thursday August 15, 2019
Aug 6
2019
“Urban Data” & “Civic Data Trusts” in the Smart City
On June 24, Sidewalk Labs, a sister company to Google, released its three-volume, 1,500-page Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) containing its draft proposals for a smart-city project in Toronto. This post focuses Sidewalk Labs’ discussion of “Creating a Trusted Process for Responsible Data Use” (Part 3 of a chapter on “Digital Innovation” -- Volume 2, Chapter 5--) (Volume 2, Chapter 5. Part 3 proposes the use of a “civic data trust” to govern the “urban data” generated within the proposed smart city project area.
By Natasha Tusikov / Posted Tuesday August 6, 2019
Jul 10
2019
Does Bailing Out Media Equal Controlling the Press?
You will likely have seen quite a few opinion pieces lately about what’s being called variously the “Canadian” media bailout, the “government” media bailout and the “Liberal” media bailout.
So, yes, there’s a media bailout afoot.
By John Degen / Posted Wednesday July 10, 2019
Jul 2
2019
The Google ‘Smart City’ Plan: Financial Language of Hi-Tech Colonialism
George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English language” is my suggested summer reading for Toronto city councillors and anyone interested in the ‘smart city’ plan that Sidewalk Labs/Google has proposed for Toronto’s waterfront. This is where you can peruse the multi-volume work, but if plowing through googlespeak for 1500 pages doesn’t appeal, you can instead read the informative ‘
By Mariana Valverde / Posted Tuesday July 2, 2019
Jun 27
2019
Censorship Has No Place in the University
Recent events at the University of British Columbia show again the powerful allure of censorship as the way to deal with deeply concerning social issues. In this case, the issue is sexual identity and gender identity.
By James L Turk / Posted Thursday June 27, 2019
Jun 10
2019
Shorts, Tank Tops, Bread and Circuses
Last month, after nearly a decade, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Canada’s largest, updated its policy on student dress.
By Danielle S. McLaughlin / Posted Monday June 10, 2019
May 13
2019
Google’s “Urban Data” Plan: Evading Regulation While Promoting the Appearance of Transparency
If you care about corporations monetizing data generated by people’s desire to communicate, you may have read worrying stories featuring some of the Google octopus of companies, including Sidewalk Labs, whose ‘smart city’ proposals for Toronto’s waterfront have drawn much critical attention in this blog and elsewhere.
By Mariana Valverde / Posted Monday May 13, 2019