Why Should I Care?

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 …

CETA – Deal needs transparency

Post Date January 26, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Economy, Foreign Affairs

On Monday, January 20th, WSIC hosted an expert panel to engage audience members on the Canada/E.U. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Sharing their views on the subject were Catherine Swift, Chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Stuart Trew, trade campaigner for The Council of Canadians, and Ali Ehsassi, a lawyer specializing in international trade law. Each speaker provided their unique point of view on the decision made by the government to enter into this important trade agreement with Europe.

Catherine began by …

Communities need to be part of Infrastructure Planning

Post Date November 26, 2013

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Government, Municipalities

On Monday, 18 November, WSIC discussed the challenges of infrastructure resiliency in Canada in light of our changing climate. Heavy flooding in Toronto this past July and the recent devastating effects of Hurricane Haiyan in the Philippines have shown Canadians that serious consequences could occur us if we don’t start planning now for the future extreme weather events. Leading our discussion on this matter was Chris Fonseca, city councillor of Mississauga and representing Ward 3, and Abe Khademi, a water resources engineer and …

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 …

Understanding is the first step – Blog post by Terri

Post Date July 26, 2013

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement

On Monday night, WSIC hosted a discussion about Aboriginal Justice at the Duke of York pub. As the event organizer, I admit I was a little apprehensive since this is the first time we’ve come under vitriolic attack for our topic choices. A twitter user labeled us as “racist” for suggesting that aboriginal justice should not be the same kind of justice faced by everyone. Treating a subgroup of people differently was in and of itself racist.

This notion hit me hard and I was very …

Get back to evidence-based policy: let government scientists off the leash

Post Date June 09, 2013

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Category Civic Engagement, Environment, Science

At WSIC’s last event, two speakers persuasively made the point that preventing government scientists from sharing their advice with the public is foolish policy. Professor Jeffrey Hutchings, Professor of Biology at Dalhousie, criticized the Conservatives, but also offered a first-hand account of how such policy affected the Eastern fishery under the Liberals. Around 1992, the Cod fishery was collapsing, and Liberal government permission for fishing was at odds with scientific evidence. Now, it may be fair to have policy that is contrary to science, but …

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 …

Canadians are not being bold – Transportation discussion blog by Fred

Post Date January 29, 2013

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Municipalities, Transportation, Uncategorized

Canadians are not being bold, therefore nothing is getting done. Specifically, the pace of progress related to transit in the GTA is glacial. On Monday January 21 2013, Leslie Woo (VP Policy, Planning and Innovation for Metrolinx) and John Tory (broadcaster and former MPP) held the floor at a packed WSIC event as we engaged with them on the topic of transit in the GTA.

The two speakers come from different backgrounds and so provided complimentary aspects to the discussion. Leslie focused more on implementation and …

Charter Rights – Blog post by Chris E

Post Date September 21, 2012

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Category Civic Engagement, Foreign Affairs, Uncategorized

Monday night’s WSIC crowd was smaller than normal, but it was a vocal one. That’s to be expected when your subject is Omar Khadr.

WSIC doesn’t take sides, but our speakers always do. They argue their cases based on experience and expertise. But in doing so, they also present facts and clear up misconceptions: helping you to make your own decision, even if you disagree.

Our first speaker, Dr. Barbara Falk, used most of her opening remarks to restate the details of the case itself—so lost have …

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 …

Medical professionals must be involved in the Assisted Suicide debate

CETA – Deal needs transparency

Communities need to be part of Infrastructure Planning

Canadians need a robust framework to protect whistleblowers

Understanding is the first step – Blog post by Terri

Get back to evidence-based policy: let government scientists off the leash

Why we need Democratic Reform – Blog by Fred

Canadians are not being bold – Transportation discussion blog by Fred

Charter Rights – Blog post by Chris E

Political Media Coverage – Discussion Summary

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