by Steven Giallelis Regardless of political opinion, a rising notion has persisted in the minds of many. Among our American neighbours to the South, assertions of “building a wall” continue to spark heated debates around dinner tables and international political debates alike. History of Border Walls and their Revival in the Modern Day: The use…
Category: Human Rights
Restoring the Tree of Life: Facing Hate through Policy
by Myra Lisselle Wein From sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night, Jews commemorate the Sabbath, a day of rest. Yet on the morning of Saturday October 27th, that day of rest was shattered by a massacre in a Pittsburgh congregation; a devastating reminder of the hard truth that anti-Semitism is alive and well. Among…
Racist Algorithms Exist: How Data and AI can Target Communities of Colour
by Mirusha Yogarajah A few months ago, Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony sparked widespread conversation around Facebook, technology, and privacy. It is now clear that Facebook was the enabler of significant privacy breaches aimed at swaying voters in the 2016 American election. Cambridge Analytica could arguably be responsible for the election of Donald Trump. In light…
SPPG Goes to Harvard: An Inaugural Student-Driven Collaboration at the 14th Annual Black Policy Conference
By Anna-Kay Russell and Terhas Ghebretecle It all started with a Google search. After noting the lack of representation and discussions of policy issues affecting Black Canadians in the program at the School of Public Policy and Governance, second-year MPP students Anna-Kay Russell and Terhas Ghebretecle decided to take matters into their own hands. With…
Protesting Gun Violence in America: March for Our Lives & Black Lives Matter
by Rachel Robinson Protests and demonstrations put pressure on authority figures or institutions to fulfill promises or act on long-standing issues such as gun control, but not all social movements are regarded equally. March for Our Lives and Black Lives Matter have received different media coverage in regards to their efforts to reduce violence in…
Takeaways from the 2015 #WelcomeRefugees Initiative
Shaheen Chohan As of December 2017, an estimated 11 million Syrians have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to the civil war that began in 2011. While the vast majority have sought refuge in neighbouring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, an additional estimated one million Syrians have fled to Europe. In comparison, Canada…
