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Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
The Queen’s University Board of Trustees last week rejected efforts to require divestment of the university’s endowment and investment funds from companies conducting business with or in the State of Israel and declined to implement a negative screening process for future investments. The decision, which adopted a review committee’s assessment, stands as one of the more detailed analysis of the issue at a Canadian university. Some universities have declined to even consider the possibility and others have held open hearings on the issue. But Queen’s agreed to full committee review, sparking consultations and numerous submissions.
The review committee’s report identifies several reasons to reject the divestment proposals including fiduciary obligations that require that the University’s investments be managed prudently with a view to maximizing financial returns, the lack of consensus on the political issues, and the acknowledged ineffectiveness of divestment policies. The report also notably relies on the importance of institutional neutrality in reaching its decision.
When Words Fail: Reflections on the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism
I was pleased to attend the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism in Ottawa yesterday. It is easy to be cynical: the event came at least a year late, even reassuring words of support (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again declared that “no one in Canada should be afraid to call themselves a Zionist. I am a Zionist”) lose their impact when action repeatedly does not align with those words, and the absence of Conservative MPs made the event more political than needed. Further, I remain skeptical that everyone is ready for the hard action of implementing and enforcing antisemitism standards in schools, universities, and workplaces as well as consistently applying the anti-hate laws already on the books.
The National Antisemitism Forum: Why Failing to Act Now Must Not Be An Option
Months of relentless antisemitism seems to have finally sparked a response in a growing number of countries with political initiatives in the United States, Australia, France and Germany aimed at countering Jew hatred not seen in generations. While Canadian leaders have too often mistaken tweets for action, that could change this week as politicians, law enforcement, and community leaders gather in Ottawa for a government initiated National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism.
Given the security risks, organizers have kept many of the details under wraps. Indeed, the fact that an event on combatting antisemitism could draw protesters and raise fears of disruption or physical violence demonstrates why it is so essential. Since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, Jewish events, synagogues, and community centres in Canada have required heightened security as frequent targets of shootings, vandalism, and antisemitic protests.
Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Safeguards With Lost Canada-U.S. Trust
With today’s implementation of tariffs on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, the level of mistrust between our countries has grown, whether urgent calls to “Buy Canadian” or boos and catcalls at the playing of the American national anthem. Should we continue down this path, Mr. Trump will surely seek to exploit more of Canada’s potential vulnerabilities. Last week, I co-wrote an op-ed with Kumanan Wilson on one such vulnerability: our health data, whose protection has yet to attract much attention but which could emerge as an issue.
Why the Trump Trade Threats Will Place Canadian Digital, Cultural, and AI Policy Under Pressure
If the first salvo fired by U.S. President Donald Trump in the form of a threatened 25-per-cent across-the-board tariff on Canadian goods (excluding energy, which would face a 10-per-cent levy) is a preview of future trade disputes, retaliatory tariffs alone will not solve the problem. Canada will need to turn to eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, rely on European and Asian trade deals to engage in new markets, and prepare for the prospect that long-standing Canadian regulations and market restrictions may face increasing pressure for an overhaul.
My Globe and Mail op-ed argues the need for change is particularly true for Canadian digital and cultural policy. Parliamentary prorogation ended efforts at privacy, cybersecurity and AI reforms and U.S. pressure has thrown the future of a series of mandated payments – digital service taxes, streaming payments and news media contributions – into doubt. But the Trump tariff escalation, which now extends to steel and aluminum as well as the prospect of reviving the original tariff plan in a matter of weeks, signals something far bigger that may ultimately render current Canadian digital and cultural policy unrecognizable.
Recent Posts
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 228: Kumanan Wilson on Why Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Privacy Protection in the Trump Era 
When Words Fail: Reflections on the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism 
The National Antisemitism Forum: Why Failing to Act Now Must Not Be An Option 
Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Safeguards With Lost Canada-U.S. Trust
