Controversy stirred last week after the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) announced an event called, “Mock Refugee Camp on Campus.” While similar events have been held at other Canadian universities, some members of the McGill community saw the event as an insensitive way to portray and trivialize a very[Read More…]
Search Results for author "Albert Park"
Confirmation bias on social media limits conversation
Between Facebook posts, online publications, and Reddit threads, it is overwhelming to begin to imagine the amount of different opinions, ideas, and information a regular internet-user processes in a single day. Consequently, the digital age is heralded for supposedly allowing people to become educated on a broad assortment of topics[Read More…]
Commentary: Give Facebook’s ‘dislike’ button a chance
For many years, Facebook users have clamoured for the addition of a ‘dislike’ button. In a way, their wishes were addressed last month, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his team has been working on a feature akin to a dislike button. Setting aside vague debates about how this[Read More…]
Commentary: What austerity means for the children of Quebec
Every week, I go to Ecole FACE to volunteer at an after school program, taking the students around Montreal to explore the community. As I arrived for my shift last week, I was surprised to find myself greeted by gloomy expressions from the children, shades different from their usual chipper[Read More…]
Commentary: Canada needs to renew responsibility towards refugees
Just last month, the Canadian government fulfilled its commitment that it made in 2013 to bring 1,300 Syrian refugees into the country by the end of 2014. The government has announced a decision to receive 10,000 additional refugees in the next three years. However, as the civil war in Syria[Read More…]
Commentary: Unveiling the fight against religious extremism
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently vowed to appeal the Federal Court’s decision to lift a ban preventing women from wearing the niqab during the Canadian Oath of Citizenship ceremony. In light of the recent terrorist attack at Parliament Hill, Harper has taken an iron pillar stance in the fight against[Read More…]
Commentary: Language requirements necessary for Quebec’s culture and economy
Quebec’s incessant language war found new fuel as McGill and Concordia recently released statements criticizing the province’s strict French language requirement for granting permanent residency, which was introduced in 2013 by the Parti Québécois (PQ). The universities claim that strict rules requiring proficiency in French are making it difficult to[Read More…]
Commentary: Exercising justice at the McGill Fitness Centre
Controversy stirred on campus last week as Soumia Allalou and Raymond Grafton, two McGill Law students, reached out to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) asking for endorsement for the implementation of women-only hours at the McGill Fitness Centre. Despite the fact that this is a common feature in[Read More…]
Why Canada should reinstate the mandatory long-form census
The first week of February saw the defeat of a bill to reinstate Canada’s mandatory long-form census, prompting a sigh of discontent and discouragement from many Canadians. While every opposition Member of Parliament (MP) voted in favour, all but one Conservative MP voted against it, preventing the bill from passing[Read More…]
Commentary: Diffusing anglophone tension in Quebec
Anglophone-francophone relations in Quebec have not been off to a good start in 2015 as the tension and unrest within anglophone communities is reaching a climax. Graham Fraser, the official language commissioner of Canada, recently made a call for the Quebec government to create an Office of Anglophone Affairs, a[Read More…]
