The Charter of Rights and Freedoms made Canada a constitutional democracy in which unelected courts, not elected legislatures, have the final say about rights and freedoms. Yet Section 33 (the Notwithstanding Clause) was built in to let governments override the courts on certain matters. That clause has been contentious ever since – never more than now when it is increasingly being invoked to deny key democratic freedoms and human rights. Tune in to panel of leading legal experts to explore what’s a stake, what options are possible, and what they would mean for the future of Canada’s democracy.

Panelists: Eric Adams (Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta), Anaïs Bussières McNicoll (Director, Fundamental Freedom Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association), Richard Moon (Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor)

Moderator: James L. Turk (Director, Centre for Free Expression)

This conversation occurred on December 10, 2025 and was co-sponsored by Centre for Constitutional Studies and PEN Canada.

Governments are increasingly requiring age verification for access to certain online content. In the name of protecting children online, systems for age verification create dangerous new forms of surveillance, censorship, and exclusion. Every system requires users to hand over sensitive personal information linking their offline identity to their online activity — valuable data easily leaked, hacked, or misused.

Join Evan Light in his conversation with David Greene, Senior Counsel at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, about the dangers and what should be done.

This conversation occurred on Feb. 10, 2026 and was co-sponsored by Edmonton Public Library, PEN Canada, Toronto Public Library, and Vancouver Public Library.

When prominent Canadian novelist Lawrence Hill learned his award-winning The Book of Negroes had been banned from classrooms by the London District Catholic School Board because of its use of the N-word, he was deeply troubled.

Join Lawrence Hill in his conversation with author and McGill University Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies, Debra Thompson, exploring censorship and the role of literature in society.

This conversation occurred on Feb. 5, 2025 and was co-sponsored by Edmonton Public Library, PEN Canada, The Writers’ Union of Canada, Toronto Public Library, and Vancouver Public Library.

In striving for balance and neutrality, does the Western mainstream media end up spreading misconceptions, myths and mistruths about the wars and conflicts in the Middle East? What are news consumers in the West missing about the war in Gaza, the turmoil in Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere? How can we ensure better coverage of the raging conflicts that are shaping our world today?

Panelists: Hadeel Al-Shalchi (Editor, NPR’s Weekend Edition), Mohamad Bazzi (Director, Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University), Martin Lukacs (Managing Editor, The Breach), Ari Paul (Journalist, FAIR.org)

Moderator: Julian Sher (Journalist, author & CFE Senior Fellow)

This conversation occurred on October 16, 2025 and was co-sponsored by Canadian Association of Journalists and PEN Canada.

Islamophobia, like other forms of religious prejudice, racism and xenophobia, are everyday experiences on Canadian campuses despite efforts to eliminate it. Why does Islamophobia persist? What forms does it most commonly take on campus? What can be done to overcome it? Join a panel deeply engaged in eliminating Islamophobia as they explore these questions.

Panelists: Imam Yasin Dwyer (Executive Director, Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto), Adel Iskandar (Associate Professor of Global Communication, School of Communication and Director, Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies, at Simon Fraser University), Maryam Laoufi (Advisor, Muslim Student Association at Concordia University), Basmah Ramadan (Student Advocacy Coordinator, National Council of Canadian Muslims; former President of the University of Toronto Muslim Students Association). Moderator: Amira Elghawaby (Canada’s former Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia)

This conversation took place on May 5, 2026, and was co-sponsored by BCCLA, Muslim Employee Community Network, and PEN Canada.

The gutting of the Washington Post. Abrupt changes at CBS. Caving to extravagant but frivolous Trump lawsuits. Are some of the richest and most powerful corporate tycoons ruining American journalism — and will more takeovers make things even worse? Is democracy dying in broad daylight? Three frontline journalists look at the dangers and what lies ahead.

Panelists: Joe Davidson, Veteran former Washington Post columnist, Margaret Sullivan, Columnist for The Guardian US, Max Tani, New York-based journalist covering media for Semafor. Moderator: Julian Sher, Journalist and author. Senior Fellow, Centre for Free Expression This conversation took place on March 19, 2026, and was co-sponsored by Canadian Association of Journalists, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, PEN Canada, and World Press Freedom Canada.