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Media Responsibility in a Democracy

Post Date February 24, 2015

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On Tuesday, February 17th, the topic of conversation for WSIC audience members was Politics and Media Responsibility – hosted in our new venue, the Windup Bird Café. The venue was packed and WSIC attendees were treated to an exciting debate on the issue, all while enjoying delicious food and ambience.

Suzanna Kelley, Editor in Chief of Ontario News Watch, opened up the discussion by contextualizing political journalism as an important cog in the democratic political process; journalists serve the public, as opposed to any political party. …

Canadians need a robust framework to protect whistleblowers

Post Date October 25, 2013

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Category Civic Engagement, Government

On Monday, 21 October, WSIC audience members participated in a powerful debate on information privacy in Canada and discussed the level of protection to be afforded to whistleblowers that expose information to the public. WSIC was proud to host Stephen McCammon, counsel to the Ontario Privacy and Information Commissioner, David W. Hutton, Executive Director of FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform), and Joanna Gualtieri, the founder of FAIR and a whistleblower who suffered years of harassment as a result of exposing waste of public funds …

Why we need Democratic Reform – Blog by Fred

Post Date February 28, 2013

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Category Civic Engagement

On Monday February 25 2013, WSIC ecstatically hosted three distinguished speakers on the topic of democratic reform. Peter Russell (a constitutional scholar), Wayne Smith (executive director of Fair Vote Canada), and Borys Wrzesnewkyi (former MP) touched on different aspects of the realities of our democratic system.

Peter Russell began by extolling the virtues of our parliamentary democracy. Older than our country, the government has been run in this style since 1848. It purports that the state be run by elected officials. He points out, however, that …

Political Media Coverage – Discussion Summary

Post Date August 25, 2012

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Category Civic Engagement

All of us (well, most of us) love a good political contest. Especially during elections. Maybe we don’t welcome the election itself—especially if we feel like we just had one—but once it gets rolling, we’re sucked in. We’re treated to a solid month, sometimes more, of public spats, embarrassing revelations, and hopefully, some real debate.

Then it’s over. And most of us, except for the wonks, tune out.

Why is that? Are Canadians really so disengaged from the workings of Parliament itself—the day-to-day politics, during which policies …

Is Canadian Media Speaking Truth to Power?

Post Date July 24, 2012

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Category Uncategorized

The ability to speak truth to power is key to any healthy democracy. To a large extent, that role gets filled by the media. A strong, independent media helps shape people´s perspectives about politics and gives them the information they need to make evidence-based political decisions.

However, the effectiveness of the media in providing unbiased content is often criticized. There is concern from all levels that the media drives traffic by focusing on the politics rather than the policy, leaving Canadians with more personality-drive sizzle than …

Media Responsibility in a Democracy

Canadians need a robust framework to protect whistleblowers

Why we need Democratic Reform – Blog by Fred

Political Media Coverage – Discussion Summary

Is Canadian Media Speaking Truth to Power?

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