Jasmine Lam At the Canada 150 Conference, Carolyn Tuohy (University of Toronto) moderated a panel on Intergenerational Equity and Social Policy featuring John Myles (University of Toronto), Daniel Béland, (University of Saskatchewan) and Joseph Heath (University of Toronto). Fitting with the conference’s theme of examining transformative policies over the last and next 50 years in…
Category: Justice
The Sixties Scoop and steps toward reconciliation
The term “Sixties Scoop” has been widely referenced in the media for much of 2017, often in passing and without much discussion of the dark history behind it. This term references Canada’s child welfare policies from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, which supported the forceful removal of Indigenous children from their families, and resulted in…
The Highs and Lows of Cannabis Legalization
Jasper Paredes As many Canadians already know, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government plans to fundamentally change the way cannabis is handled and sold in Canada. Their proposed Cannabis Act is expected to become law by July 2018, and aims to establish a strict framework for regulating the production, distribution, selling, and possession of cannabis across Canada….
Locked Up: Behind Ontario’s Solitary Confinement
Srijoni Rahman White lights blaring from above, it was impossible to tell whether it was night or day. In the deafening silence of the room, even his breath seemed to echo across the tiny Plexiglas cell. The isolation, the constant stream of white light above his head was suffocating, crushing his lungs under the weight…
Legalise It – Don’t Criminalise It: The Development of a Canadian Pot Policy
Amelia Bredo In the recent federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada campaigned with the promise to “legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana”. The current framework of criminalisation, the Liberals argued, traps too many non-violent offenders in the criminal justice system, which itself is expensive and supports organised crime, including the trafficking of hard…
Toronto Police: “To Serve and Suspect”
Amelia Bredo On a sunny Saturday afternoon, three teenagers, whose names have been withheld for privacy, waited for a friend outside of Parkdale Collegiate Institute, a high school located in an ethnically and economically diverse neighbourhood in Toronto. As one of the few public areas in the neighbourhood, this was an obvious choice for a meeting…
