This is a 15 February article by Jennifer Wolowic, who co-leads the Strengthening Canadian Democracy Initiative at the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University. Kelly Grounds co-authored this article. She has worked as a junior policy analyst in cybersecurity and as a research assistant on disinformation projects. This article is republished from The Conversation. To turn back the tides of radicalization and hate, Canada needs investments in our democratic culture, improvements in policing and support for grassroots efforts. We can look to international and local examples for practical solutions.

This is a 17 February article by Audra Diptée, Associate Professor of History at Carleton University. This article is republished from The Conversation. Why did it take so long for police and governments to protect Ottawa residents and businesses from volatile protestors? And if the convoy was organized by Black and Indigenous groups, would the response by both the police and government have been more severe?

To help steer the province through the effects of a devastating pandemic, RNAO released a provincial election platform during its annual Queen’s Park Day. Ontario’s nursing crisis: Your health, your health system outlines recommendations it wants all political parties to adopt ahead of the June 2 election. The recommendations cover five key areas that shape people’s ability to be healthy: the environment, social determinants of health, nursing, care delivery and fiscal capacity.

Welcome to my Friday, February 25 blog. This week we share: 1) RNAO held its Queen’s Park Day on Feb 24; 2) RNAO released its 2022 provincial election platform; 3) Black and Indigenous protesters are treated differently than the ‘convoy’ because of Canada’s ongoing racism and 4) finding solutions for Canada’s alt-right radicalization. Scroll down for upcoming RNAO webinars.

This is a February 6 article by Karen Mossman, Professor of Medicine and Vice President, Research, McMaster University and Matthew S Miller, Associate Professor in Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University.

This is a February 9 article by Mélissa Généreux, Associate Professor, Faculty of medicine and health sciences, Université de Sherbrooke; Gabriel Blouin-Genest, Associate professor, School of applied politics, Scientific codirector, CIDIS (Centre interdisciplinaire de développement international en santé), Université de Sherbrooke; and Mathieu Roy, Professeur associé, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke.

RNAO issued the following media release following the Ontario government’s announcement of the lifting of public health measures.

A brief update on the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the Ontario government's announcement that it is easing more public health measures.

Welcome to my Wednesday, February 16 blog. This week we share: 1) Register now: Queen’s Park Day is coming up on Feb 24; 2) Ontario government must maintain key public health measures to address catastrophic surgical backlog, says RNAO; 3) restoring community dialogue and resilience for the next COVID-19 emergency; and 4) a better post-pandemic future means not giving in to COVID-19 now. Scroll down for upcoming RNAO webinars.

The so-called “freedom convoy” has captured worldwide attention. The one-word rallying cry — freedom — is their activist mantra. But what might “freedom” mean to other Canadians? This is an article by Gerald Walton, Professor in Education of Gender, Sexuality and Identity, Lakehead University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.