Wednesday, March 1
Location: MacCorry D411 (Sociology Lounge)
Fears over mass surveillance have been growing worldwide over the past decade, so worries about its impact hardly seem new. Recent developments in Canada, though, are raising concerns that our privacy and personal data are even less safe than we once believed. At the same time, Canadian security agencies are pushing for greater spying powers and increased intelligence sharing, arguing that their quest for data is for our own safety. Mass surveillance, though, poses a significant threat to our privacy, to free expression and to those working for a more equal, just society.
From ODAC (operational data analysis centre) to SCISA (Security of Canada Information Sharing Act), from No Fly Lists to Five Eyes, this seminar and discussion explores the current and evolving challenges posed by mass surveillance in Canada, what concerns are on the horizon, and what we can do to ensure that surveillance and national security don’t supersede fundamental freedoms.
About the Speaker:
Tim McSorley is the National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. The ICLMG is a partner on the SSHRC-funded Big Data Surveillance Project. Following studying journalism and political science at Concordia University in Montreal, Tim McSorley has split his time between work in media and social justice – usually combining the two. He has worked as an editor with the Media Coop news portal and The Dominion magazine and freelanced for various news outlets across Canada, focussing primarily on issues of media concentration, free expression and environmental justice. Most recently, he worked as coordinator for the Voices-Voix Coalition, which defends the right to dissent and free expression in Canada, publishing their report Dismantling Democracy: Stifling debate and dissent in Canada.
Everyone welcome!
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada