Latest Past Events

Wrongful Convictions in Canada

Cameron Hall 1585 Yonge Street, Toronto

In this lecture James Lockyer will be talking about his work, the causes of wrongful convictions and how to reduce their numbers in the future.

Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada’s Arctic

Cameron Hall 1585 Yonge Street, Toronto

National best-selling author and professional adventurer Adam Shoalts takes us on the journey of a lifetime: a nearly 4,000 km solo odyssey by canoe across Canada’s Arctic. This harrowing expedition took almost four months to complete and years of preparation. Shoalts will share photos from his journey, which involved weaving through ice floes, facing down snarling bears and galloping musk-ox, and paddling under the midnight sun in a land as old as time. But also why we urgently need to save vast wild places while it’s still possible.

What’s so evil about the Notwithstanding Clause?

Cameron Hall 1585 Yonge Street, Toronto

The Notwithstanding clause is perhaps the most obscure part of Canada’s constitutional history that everyone loves to hate. Ever since 1982 critics have attacked Section 33 as an unfortunate compromise that negates the Charter’s great promise of human rights. When the Quebec government invoked Section 33 to allow them to pass otherwise unconstitutional language laws, many in the rest of Canada were irate. Ever since, each time a government invokes or threatens to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause, the same criticisms re-emerge. In this talk historian Christopher Dummitt explains the origins of the clause, including how pivotal it was to ensuring repatriation, and places it within the long and vital history of responsible and parliamentary government in Canada.