Reading Time: 6 minutes We’ve seen social media as a tool for social justice but its relationship with the law is challenging. Given the rapid growth of our interconnected world, few people would deny the role that social media plays – a repository of information, a driver of ideas and innovation, and increasingly a tool of social justice. Devika […]
About John Cooper
How Inmates in Canadian Prisons Suffer
Reading Time: 8 minutes Mental health crises for which there are few resources COVID-19 lockdowns Overuse of solitary confinement A racialized justice system that criminalizes Indigenous Peoples and Black Canadians A lack of preparation for re-entry into society These are the tip-of-the-iceberg issues faced by inmates in Canada’s federal and provincial prisons. And according to advocates for better inmate […]
In Canada and elsewhere, freedom of speech is on the endangered list
Reading Time: 7 minutes Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. These phrases may conjure up Hollywood-style images of noble activists and principled reporters butting heads with those in power – and winning. However, the reality is often far different: surveillance, gag orders, expensive and oppressive lawsuits, and activists and journalists being arrested, imprisoned – and in extreme cases, […]
Where the Monarchy Meets the State: Canada’s Vice-Regal Offices
Reading Time: 9 minutes It is a role that straddles several worlds – political, royal, legal and diplomatic – and combines tact, careful judgment, discretion and wisdom. Welcome to the offices of the governor general of Canada and the provincial lieutenant governors. As a constitutional monarchy, Canada’s Parliament has two well-known components, the House of Commons and the Senate, […]
Law Society of Ontario Targets Systemic Racism in the Legal Profession
Reading Time: 5 minutes An amended Rules of Professional Conduct was just one of 13 recommendations delivered by the Law Society of Ontario in a lengthy report designed to address issues of long-standing systemic discrimination in the legal system. Entitled Working Together for Change: Strategies to address issues of systemic racism in the legal professions, the report was approved […]
Journalists Feel the Chill in a Changing Media World
Reading Time: 5 minutes Journalism students who are mulling over important questions such as “Where will I find a job?” and “Will I be able to cover the legal beat?” as they face a potentially shrinking job market, may have more than just job prospects to worry about. Today, the media world is rapidly shrinking, consolidating, shedding jobs and […]
