November 11, 2025 | The Montreal Gazette reported on a case involving a Montreal West high school student who was disciplined after posting comments critical of Israel on her private social media account. The student’s family argues that the school violated her right to freedom of expression and plans to file a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal, while the English Montreal School Board maintains that the posts breached its anti-bullying policy.
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Published on: 12 Nov 2025
November 12, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis was featured on Apathy is Boring’s new podcast Democracy, Explained in an episode titled “Know Your Rights.” The discussion focuses on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, what it means in everyday life, and why it matters for young people who want to understand and exercise their rights. The Democracy, Explained series aims to make democratic institutions and principles more accessible, helping listeners better understand how they can participate in and shape democracy in Canada.
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Published on: 12 Nov 2025
October 31, 2025 | Vincent Rigby spoke at Canada's Missing Playbook, a RAUSI webinar series from the Rocky Mountain Conference on Security and Defence. He discussed the absence of a coherent national framework guiding Canada's defence and called for stronger leadership and coordination across the government. Rigby argued that effective national security depends on a clear purpose and the political will to turn commitments into action
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Published on: 5 Nov 2025
October 30, 2025 | Writing in Policy Magazine, MPP '21 Anil Wasif reflected on the opening of the 2025 Max Bell Lecture in Calgary, featuring Globe and Mail columnist Tony Keller. Drawing on Keller's book Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong, Wasif explored how weak governance and competing interests have eroded public trust in Canada's immigration system.
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Published on: 3 Nov 2025
October 21, 2025 | Vincent Rigby discussed on a panel with fellow former national security advisors Jody Thomas and Richard Fadden on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos about the increasingly strained relationship between Canada and India. The panel explored issues of trust following the expulsion of Canada’s last envoy to India and examined broader national security concerns shaping the bilateral relationship.
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Published on: 21 Oct 2025
October 16, 2025 | Vincent Rigby spoke at a McGill roundtable on Arctic sovereignty and security that examined Canada’s northern strategy amid rising geopolitical tensions. He emphasized that national defence cannot be addressed through military means alone, calling for a broader approach grounded in partnership and community well-being. “You can’t have national security without human security,” he said, pointing to the need for sustainable development and trust with Indigenous communities.
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Published on: 20 Oct 2025
October 19, 2025 | In a CBC News story examining Quebec’s debate over secularism, new proposals to ban public prayer have reignited long-standing divisions over the role of religion in public life. Pearl Eliadis explains that what is often called secularism in Quebec reflects laïcité, a stricter model that seeks to exclude religion from the public sphere. She warns that pushing this approach too far risks creating a new form of isolationism rooted in the province’s past.
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Published on: 20 Oct 2025
October 10, 2025 | Professor Vincent Rigby was featured in The Globe and Mail on Canada’s decision to collaborate with the United States on the Golden Dome missile defence initiative. Drawing on his previous experience as Director-General of Policy Planning at the Department of National Defence during the 2005 ballistic missile defence discussions, Rigby recalled that American proposals at the time lacked clarity and detail.
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Published on: 15 Oct 2025
October 12, 2025 | Vincent Rigby was quoted by The Canadian Press in a report on Ottawa’s delayed update to Canada’s national security strategy. The article revealed that many of the assumptions guiding the review were deemed outdated as global conditions shifted and tensions with the United States deepened. Rigby argued that these developments highlight the need for a clear and flexible roadmap to guide policy in a more volatile world.
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Published on: 15 Oct 2025
Pearl Eliadis has been elected as Chair of the Court Challenges Program (CCP) Official Languages Rights Expert Panel. In this capacity, she will lead the work of the Panel, which is responsible for deciding on funding requests from individuals and not-for-profit organizations engaged in test cases of national importance that have the potential to clarify and advance constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights.
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Published on: 1 Oct 2025
September 26, 2025 | Taylor Owen, Max Bell Professor at McGill University and Founding Director of the Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy, has been appointed to the Government of Canada’s AI Strategy Task Force. The Task Force, composed of experts from industry, academia, and civil society, will provide advice to the Government of Canada on its renewed AI strategy. Taylor Owen will contribute his expertise to advancing safe AI systems and strengthening public confidence in their use.
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Published on: 30 Sep 2025
September 21, 2025 | In Policy Magazine, MPP '21 Anil Wasif reflects on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and the turbulent backdrop for this year's general assembly. While commemorations recalled the UN’s history, this year’s high-level week exposes global fractures, from rising authoritarianism to stalled progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Wasif highlights Canada’s re-engagement under Prime Minister Mark Carney, including a foreign policy reset, stronger defence commitments, and recognition of the State of Palestine.
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Published on: 22 Sep 2025
September 18, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis alongside Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, discussed the federal government’s stance on Quebec’s language law on CJAD 800 radio. Eliadis noted that Ottawa has not taken a position on the bill, citing political reasons linked to Canada’s minority government. She explained that clarification is needed, which is why the issue is being brought before the courts.
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Published on: 22 Sep 2025
September 21, 2025 | On The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay, Jennifer Welsh joined to talk about the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level meeting, which begins Monday. With Israel’s bombardment of Gaza expected to dominate members’ concerns, she outlined the mechanics of the gathering, the UN’s role in the current political climate, and Canada’s place on the international stage.
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Published on: 22 Sep 2025
September 18, 2025 | In a piece for Policy Magazine, Kyle Matthews, McConnell Visiting Professors of Practice for the 2025–26 academic year, reflects on the repercussions of the US administration’s withdrawal of funding to the United Nations. Nearly $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid has been withheld, including funds for UN peacekeeping and democracy promotion.
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Published on: 19 Sep 2025
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