Hate crimes in Canada are on the rise, as are concerns that the country is polarizing. The pandemic has revealed both new and longstanding global movements of radicalization and violent extremism, often enabled by our digital ecosystem. How concerned should we be here in Canada? And what can be done?
This event is part of the DIGITAL POLICY ROUNDS monthly series, bringing together broadly defined researchers, policy-makers and civil society voices to discuss interdisciplinary topics at the intersection of media, technology and democracy.
It is a partnership with Digital Democracies Institute, the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions, the Leadership Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, and the Centre for Law, Technology and Society.
About the Speakers
Louis Audet Gosselin, Scientific and Strategic Director, Québec Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV)
As Scientific and Strategic Director at the CPRLV, Louis Audet Gosselin manages the team in charge of scientific content, research projects, monitoring of scientific publications and the strategic development of the organization.
Louis holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master’s degree in history from Université Laval, he works since 2016 in the field of research regarding the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism. He has also conducted research on several issues affecting religious dynamics in West Africa, including extremism.
Stephanie Carvin, Associate Professor of International Relations, Carleton University
Stephanie Carvin is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research interests are in the area of national security and international security and international law. Currently, she is teaching in the areas of critical infrastructure protection and national security.
Stephanie holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and published her thesis as Prisoners of America’s Wars: From the Early Republic to Guantanamo (Columbia/Hurst, 2010). Her most recent book is Stand on Guard: Reassessing Threats to Canada’s National Security (University of Toronto Press, 2021) which was nominated for the 2021 Donner Prize. She is the co-author of Intelligence and Policy Making: The Canadian Experience (Stanford University Press 2021) with Thomas Juneau, and Science, Law, Liberalism and the American Way of Warfare: The Quest for Humanity in Conflict (Cambridge, 2015) co-authored with Michael J. Williams. From 2012-2015, she was an analyst with the Government of Canada focusing on national security issues.
Amira Elghawaby, Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Canadian Race Relations Foundation
Amira Elghawaby is a journalist and human rights advocate. She currently serves as the Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns at the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Previously, Amira worked in Canada’s labour movement and additionally spent five years promoting the civil liberties of Canadian Muslims at the National Council of Canadian Muslims between 2012 and 2017. She has supported several national initiatives to counter hate and to promote inclusion, including as founding board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and past board member at the Silk Road Institute. Amira obtained an honours degree in Journalism and Law from Carleton University in 2001.
Madison Reid, Director of Collaborative Public Safety Programs, Government of British Columbia
Madison Reid is the Government of British Columbia’s Director of Collaborative Public Safety Programs. One of these programs includes Shift BC, an initiative aimed at addressing Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) by adopting a public health lens, thereby empowering the high-calibre social services operating in British Columbia to tackle this interdisciplinary issue. Her previous roles include Senior Manager of Innovation at the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Adjunct Professor of the Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, and various program management roles in both the private and public sector. Madison also sits on the Canadian Federal Working Group on Countering Radicalization to Violence (CRV) and IMVE, as well as the British Columbian Provincial Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Working Group and Civil Disobedience Working Group.
After her undergraduate degree (B.A. hons. Social Psychology), she went on to complete an M.Sc. in Nationalism Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where her research focused on the politics of sexual and gender-based violence in ethno-national conflict. Her other academic and professional research interests include anti-racism and anti-hate initiatives, the psychology of propaganda, and approaching the issue of societal polarization through the lens of social conformity. She has presented at various conferences including The Global Counterterrorism Forum as part of the Canadian Delegation, Shift’s Annual Practitioner’s Symposium, EU RAN’s Digital Study Visit to Canada, UNESCO-PREV’s Partnering in Practice: Preventing Social Polarizations Conference and UNESCO-PREV’s Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence Workshop, Public Safety Canada’s Women in Terrorism & Counterterrorism, Harvard University & NATO Global Safety Evaluation Network International Workshop, CPN-PREV’s Violent Extremism Digital Mapping Project and Public Safety Canada’s Intervention Guidelines for Child Returnees Workshop, along others.