The Department of Sociology and Legal Studies presents Kent Roach, professor of law and an expert in Canadian security policy, as the 2017 James E. Curtis Memorial Lecturer. Professor Roach will critically examine Canada's counter-terrorism laws with a focus on pressures that the Trump election places on Canada.
In its response to two acts of Daesh-inspired terrorism in October 2014, Canada enacted new counter-terrorism laws that gave its intelligence agency unprecedented powers to violate laws and invade rights in order to reduce security threats. It followed Australia in creating a new advocacy of terrorism offence. Its new laws also provided for increased information sharing and increased use of peace bonds, no-fly listings and passport revocations for suspected terrorists. Before these responses, Canada had also enacted new foreign terrorist fighters offences and enhanced citizenship stripping for terrorists. In short, Canada engaged in many of the same dubious practices taken by other countries in response to Daesh-inspired terrorism. A new government elected in October, 2015, however, has promised to repeal the “problematic” aspects of these responses including citizenship stripping and has welcomed refugees from Syria and Iraq. The nature of the Canadian response will be comparatively and critically examined with a focus on its viability given the pressures that the Trump election place on Canada.
About the speaker
Kent Roach, FRSC and Professor of Law, is the Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. His book The 9/11 Effect: Comparative Counter-Terrorism was co-winner of the 2012 Mundell Medal and his book False Security written with Craig Forcese won the 2016 Canadian Law and Society book prize. Professors Roach and Forcese also were awarded the Reg Robson award for their contribution to civil liberties in relation to their work on Bill C-51.
A reception will follow the lecture. All are welcome.