Why Should I Care?

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. …

Healing the Urban/Rural Divide

Post Date November 03, 2014

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Rural Communities, Uncategorized

Ontario is deeply divided between its rural roots and explosive urban growth, with the PC party claiming the majority of rural ridings and the Liberals capturing the majority of urban ridings in the recent June elections. When Tim Hudak stepped down from his PC leadership role, the question of how the PC party would rebrand itself within the urban GTA community became even more pressing – what can be done to reconcile rural/urban values, which are often at odds with each other and …

Giving MPs more freedom

Post Date September 15, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Government

On Monday September 8, WSIC hosted a full house at the Duke of York on the topic of giving MPs more freedom. Our two guest discussion leaders were Michael MacMillan (co-author with Alison Loat of “Tragedy in the Commons”) and Current MP for Wellington-Halton Hills Michael Chong. Michael Chong is currently explaining and promoting his private members bill (the Reform Act).

Michael MacMillan gave us a short description of his Toronto based charity Samara. It is one of the few places doing research into …

Removing Barriers for “At-Risk” Youth

Post Date August 30, 2014

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Government

Too often our municipal leaders overlook or ignore the disadvantaged youth of Ontario, resulting in missed opportunities for these youngsters to forge strong connections to educational and employment opportunities. On Monday, August 18th, WSIC was fortunate to host three guest speakers who were both devoted to fixing these oversights and happy to discuss municipal policies for “at-risk youth” with our WSIC audience. They were: Steven Ambrose, the founder of the Canadian Basketball Academy and Bruiser’s Foundation, Andray Domise, a community organizer and currently running for councillor in Ward …

Sex Workers deserve safe working environments

Post Date July 25, 2014

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Municipalities

On July 21, 2014, WSIC hosted a full house of Torontonians engaged in the topic of proposed prostitution Bill C-36. We were pleased to have two highly qualified speakers leading the discussion: Sonya Barnett, co-founder of SlutWalk, www.afterbedford.com and vocal advocate for women’s rights and sexual freedoms, and Rachel, a board member Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Program.

Our speakers provided the WSIC audience with a comprehensive overview of the recently decided Bedford case, where members of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) determined certain provisions of our Criminal Code …

Police Carding Database Should Go

Post Date July 11, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement

On Monday June 16 WSIC brought to the stage the topic of police carding. We were fortunate to host three guest speakers to lead the discussion – Kwesi Marcel Opoku from the Police Literary Initiative, professor Wilburn Hayden of York University, and defence lawyer and Toronto mayoral candidate Ari Goldkind. Each brought different perspectives, yet all agreed that the policy of carding was detrimental to our community.

Kwesi Marcel Opoku began the evening with a personal anecdote about how his home was raided by police with little …

Public needs clear criteria for senate eligibility

Post Date May 29, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Government

There has been a lot of recent talk on possible changes to the upper house with the outbreak of the senate expense scandal. Almost since its creation over a century ago, politicians have been trying in turn to reform or eliminate it. To date, little about it has changed. WSIC engaged in a discussion on May 26th with two eminent speakers on the topic of senate reform. Noted constitutional scholar Professor Peter Russell, and currently sitting senator the Honourable Art Eggleton lead the discussion.

Dr. Russell …

Know where the Environmental Puck is headed

Post Date May 02, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Economy, Environment, Government

This past Monday, April 28th, our WSIC audience benefitted from Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, and Debbie de Lange, Business Strategy Advisor and professor at Ryerson University provide an outlook on Ontario’s Green Economy, why it’s important, and where it is headed.

Mr. Milller began the evening by addressing the key dominant environmental factors we should be aware of today, and which will affect us going forwards:

(i) Burning of fossil fuels and climate change. Weather events in Toronto have become more severe recently and will …

The complexities of expanding Toronto’s Island Airport

Post Date March 28, 2014

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Economy, Environment, Transportation

On Monday, March 24th, a large WSIC audience participated in an unconventional discussion on the pros and cons of expanding the Toronto Island airport. The event was unusual because only one guest speaker presented the topic, instead of our customary two or three hosts. As a testament to the sensitivity of our topic, only one qualified expert was willing to field questions before a large gathering of concerned citizens on a subject so personal to so many people. Thankfully, our guest speaker did not disappoint. …

Medical professionals must be involved in the Assisted Suicide debate

Post Date February 28, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Government, Healthcare

On Monday, February 24th, a large crowd turned up to hear Dr Kerry Bowman and Dr Gary Rodin discuss the controversial issue of assisted suicide in Canada. They shared their background and experiences in dealing with palliative care patients, as well as general thoughts on the decriminalization of helping patients die. Should we have a right to die at the time of our own choosing? And if so, are we capable of enacting legislation with the necessary framework and regulatory oversight to protect …

Media Responsibility in a Democracy

Healing the Urban/Rural Divide

Giving MPs more freedom

Removing Barriers for “At-Risk” Youth

Sex Workers deserve safe working environments

Police Carding Database Should Go

Public needs clear criteria for senate eligibility

Know where the Environmental Puck is headed

The complexities of expanding Toronto’s Island Airport

Medical professionals must be involved in the Assisted Suicide debate

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