Advocating for Balance Between Privacy and Security: Dr. Szurlej Speaks to Standing Committee On Public Safety and National Security
Human Rights professor Dr. Christina Szurlej believes Canada’s national security framework needs to balance the right to privacy with other fundamental freedoms.
Szurlej, Endowed Chair in Human Rights at St. Thomas, focused on that message when she spoke to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security regarding the Security of Canada Information Act, which was introduced as part of the Anti-terrorism Act.
“Any restriction of human rights and freedoms entrenched in the Constitution must be proportionate,” Szurlej said. “Only two people have died from terrorism in Canada over the last decade. If the risk is so low, broad restriction of the rights of every Canadian is disproportionate.”
Moot Court Team Earns Bid to Nationals for Second Straight Year
The St. Thomas moot court team finished 22nd of 350 teams from across the United States and nabbing multiple speaker and brief writing awards.
St. Thomas competed at two regional events, in Fitchburg, MA and Boston, MA, where they qualified two teams for the American Moot Court Association nationals at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. During nationals, it was announced St. Thomas students Alex Monteith and Navy Vezina earned third place nationally in the brief writing competition.
Faculty Book Launch – “Mad Men The Death and Redemption of American Democracy”
A book launch celebrating the publication of the book “Mad Men The Death and Redemption of American Democracy” will take place on Friday, November 25 at 2:30 pm. The event is sponsored by the Great Books Department and the Office of Research Services and will take place in the Rotunda (Room 318) in Brian Mulroney Hall. Refreshments will be served.
Mad Men captivated audiences with the story of Don Draper, an advertising executive whose personal and professional successes and failures took viewers on a roller coaster ride through America’s tumultuous 1960s.
Sally Armstrong to Deliver Vigod Memorial Lecture in Human Rights
Sally Armstrong will deliver the Vigod Memorial Lecture in Human Rights at St. Thomas University. The lecture will take place on Thursday, November 17 at 7PM in the Kinsella Auditorium. She will speak about “Why Women’s Rights Are Your Business: The Dollars and Sense of Investing in Women and Girls.” Sally Armstrong is an award-winning author, journalist and human rights activist. She has covered stories in zones of conflict all over the world. From Bosnia and Somalia to Congo and Afghanistan, her eyewitness reports have earned her the Amnesty International Media Award three times over, as well as acclaim all over the world.
Diversity Unities Us: STU Recognized for Inclusive Community
STU student Felomena Deogratsias, BA ’18, is no stranger to racism and discrimination.
There was the time she was told to leave the swimming pool during a school field trip because they thought her dark skin would “dirty the water.” Or the time a stranger yelled at her because she didn’t look “Canadian” enough. Or the time she was told that it was a “historical fact” that black people were more dangerous than white people.
Today, Deogratsias chooses to use her voice to raise awareness and help others understand the danger of discrimination.
Human Rights Speaker Series – Dr. Tom Bateman will speak on “Conflicting Charter Rights: Freedom of Religion and Equality Rights”
Dr. Tom Batemn, Political Science professor at STU, will be the guest speaker in the latest event in the Human Rights Speaker Series. He will speak about “Conflicting Charter Rights: Freedom of Religion and Equality Rights” One of the great challenges faced by liberal democracies is their respect for the associational prerogatives of their citizens. Individual freedom is highly prized but difficulties arise when individuals associate with groups and communities whose guiding principles are considered illiberal by others.
Human Rights Speaker Series with Dr. Karen Robert
The fourth Human Rights Speaker Series hosted by the Atlantic Human Rights Centre, featuring the research of STU faculty whose work relates to the field of human rights.
The next lecture is entitled: Death Comes in a Ford Falcon: Human Rights and Memory in Argentina with Dr. Karen Robert on March 23, 2016 from 11:30-12:50 pm in the Ted Daigle Auditorium.
Dallaire Urges Youth toward Activism, The Aquinian, February 23, 2016
Roméo Dallaire says Canada’s young people are in position to make Canada a more “activist nation” that can help prevent atrocities and dislocation we’re now seeing across the Middle East and Africa.
“I believe that the generation without borders should establish a sort of right of passage from countries like ours that can take a leadership role because we have the capacity to do it,” the humanitarian and retired general told an overflowing audience in Kinsella Auditorium at St. Thomas University Thursday.
“Generation without borders” are people under 25 years of age. Dallaire said social media have made borders irrelevant for communication and the exchange of ideas for millennials. This generation needs to travel the world, join NGOs and help shape Canada’s future foreign policy, he said. Read more…
Roméo Dallaire to Deliver Lodhi Memorial Lecture
There are disturbing parallels between the Rwandan genocide and the current refugee crisis in Syria, says Lieutenant-General, the Honorable Roméo Dallaire, former head of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda. Dallaire will be at St. Thomas University on February 18 to deliver the Lodhi Memorial Lecture entitled “R2P and the Syrian Conflict: Lessons Learned from Rwanda.”
Human Rights Week Presentation, Trivia Night, and Pizza
STU alumna Kathryn Edgett, BA ’11, will be on campus as part of Human Rights Week to give a presentation entitled, “Knowing Your Rights.” The event will be followed by a trivia night and pizza and will take place on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 6 pm in the Great Hall, located on the second floor of George Martin Hall. In her presentation, Edgett will explain your rights under the New Brunswick Human Rights Act at an introductory level.