Vincent Rigby on Meeting Canada’s NATO Defence Targets | National Post
June 9, 2025 | Vincent Rigby was quoted in the National Post in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will meet NATO’s 2% defence spending target this fiscal year, adding over $9 billion. Rigby, who previously served as national security and intelligence adviser, called the move a significant and welcome shift from earlier governments, emphasizing that it shows Canada is taking its defence commitments seriously.
Michael Black on Canada’s Defence Spending Challenges and NATO’s Future Targets | Policy Magazine
June 11, 2025 | MPP ’25 Michael Black examines in Policy Magazine Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pledge to meet NATO’s 2% defence spending target by 2026 and the upcoming NATO Summit’s proposal to raise it to 5%. He highlights challenges like strained defence industries and production bottlenecks revealed by the Ukraine war, noting Canada’s difficulty replenishing artillery shells. While buying U.S. equipment offers a quick fix, reliance on the U.S. poses political and capacity risks.
Pearl Eliadis on Taking Bill 96 and Bill 21 to the United Nations Human Rights Committee | Montreal Gazette
June 12, 2025 | Reporting on a public forum organized by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, the Montreal Gazette highlights Pearl Eliadis’s warning that if the Supreme Court of Canada does not intervene to limit Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause in laws like Bill 96 and Bill 21, the anglophone community should consider taking their case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Vincent Rigby on Canada’s Accelerated Defence Spending | CDA Institute
June 9, 2025 | In an interview for the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute’s Expert Series, Vincent Rigby reacts to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will accelerate defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by the end of the 2025–26 fiscal year. Rigby unpacks the hurdles ahead—including the recruitment and retention crisis, slow procurement processes, and the complexity of aligning new investments with operational readiness.
Pearl Eliadis on the Role of Human Rights Commissions in Post-Genocide Rwanda | Global Justice Journal
June 2025 | Pearl Eliadis recently authored a journal article published in the Global Justice Journal by Queen’s University Faculty of Law comparing the post-genocide roles of Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), both established under the 1993 Arusha Accords but with markedly different approaches.
Pearl Eliadis on Defending Charter Rights and Challenging the Notwithstanding Clause
June 11, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis will join a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy on June 11 at 7:30 PM for Your Rights, Notwithstanding. This timely and thought-provoking event will explore the history and evolution of the Notwithstanding Clause, how it has been used by Québec in recent years, the risks it poses to Charter-protected rights, and the growing legal and civic efforts to push back against its unche
Norman Hillmer on Canada’s Efforts to Protect Its Sovereignty | Literary Review of Canada
June 2025 | At the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, Norman Hillmer gave a stark warning about the threat a second Trump presidency could pose to Canada. He argued that no other American president has been as openly hostile to Canadian sovereignty, describing Trump as uniquely cruel and dangerous.
Timothy Lane on Canada’s Currency in the Face of U.S. Dollar Turbulence | The Globe and Mail
May 26, 2025 | In a interview with The Globe and Mail, J.W. McConnell Visiting Professor of Practice Timothy Lane warns that Donald Trump’s threat to devalue the U.S. dollar—part of his so-called “Mar-a-Lago Accord”—could severely disrupt the Canadian economy. Writing amid renewed debate over Canada’s currency strategy, Lane defends the Bank of Canada’s decision not to intervene in foreign exchange markets, even during crises like the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill on Rebuilding Immigration Consensus for Nation-Building | The Line
May 23, 2025 | In a opinion piece for The Line, MPP ’25 students Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill argue that Canada’s leaders are overlooking a critical ingredient in their bold nation-building agendas: immigration. Reflecting on the 2025 federal election, the authors note that while both major party leaders championed infrastructure and housing plans, they conspicuously sidestepped a positive vision for immigration.
Jennifer Welsh on Keeping Internally Displaced People on the Humanitarian Agenda | The Conversation
May 20, 2025 | In a co-authored article for The Conversation, with McGill professor Megan Bradley, Max Bell School Director Jennifer Welsh outlines the growing risk that internally displaced people (IDPs) will be overlooked as global humanitarian aid budgets shrink.
Neil Bouwer and Gabriel Blanc on Rethinking Cabinet Process Under Prime Minister Carney
May 22, 2025 | In an op-ed for Policy Magazine, MPP ’25 Gabriel Blanc and Visiting Professor Neil Bouwer highlight why the way decisions are made in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet matters just as much as who is making them. They explain how Carney has brought back a more traditional cabinet structure, with focused committees aimed at setting priorities and managing operations.
Gabriel Blanc on Rethinking Canada's Energy Future and Embracing Renewable Growth | Policy Magazine
May 12, 2025 | In an op-ed for Policy Magazine, MPP '25 Gabriel Blanc critiques Prime Minister Mark Carney’s energy policy, arguing that increasing oil and gas production is a misguided approach to Canada’s abundance agenda. Blanc highlights how the growth of renewable energy technology offers a more sustainable path to economic prosperity, urging Carney to prioritize climate action as an opportunity for leadership in the green economy.
Vincent Rigby on the Need for a Canadian Foreign Human Intelligence Service | The Globe and Mail
May 12, 2025 | Vincent Rigby, Slater Family Professor of Practice, alongside Stephanie Carvin and Thomas Juneau, wrote an opinion piece in The Globe and Mail urging the creation of a Canadian foreign human intelligence service. They argue that while Canada already collects intelligence through agencies like CSIS and the Canadian Armed Forces, the country needs a dedicated service to enhance its strategic autonomy and strengthen national security.
Norman Hillmer on US-Canada Relationship | Rear Vision
March 30, 2025 | Norman Hillmer, Slater Family Visiting Scholar, along with Robert Bothwell and Diane Francis spoke about the US-Canada relationship since the Trump Administration on Rear Vision podcast.
Norman Hillmer on Trump’s 51st-state threats | Toronto Life
March 11, 2025 | Norman Hillmer, a Slater Family Visiting Scholar interviewed by Toronto Life, spoke on Trump’s 51st-state threats. "As a historian of the Canadian–American relationship, I have spent decades studying a dynamic that has been not perfect but largely dependable: two countries, deeply interconnected, running in parallel," said Norman.
