Graduate Students

L’Europe et le défi américain | Tour de Table

pinaki.siwach@mail.mcgill.ca — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 17:53:16 +0000

June 18, 2025 | In March 2023, Jennifer Welsh launched Tour de Table, a podcast series that joins leading scholars and policymakers for a bilingual discussion of the political, economic, and security challenges confronting our world and whether and how Canada is prepared to address them.

Vincent Rigby on Trump's Tariffs Wars | Washington Examiner

pinaki.siwach@mail.mcgill.ca — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 15:12:42 +0000

June 17, 2025 | Professor Vincent Rigby, a former Global Affairs Canada and Department of National Defence government official, contended at how Canada must not step away from the U.S. completely regarding trade, economics, defense, and security, despite “diversification strategies” because of Trump. “I mean, we share a continent...we are indivisible in that respect, and so it makes sense for Canada to still work closely with the United States on defense and security issues,” said Rigby.

Vincent Rigby on Strategic Autonomy Amidst G7 Uncertainty | The Globe and Mail

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:44:40 +0000

Vincent Rigby, quotes in The Globe and Mail, sees Carney’s foreign policy as a clear break from traditional diplomacy rooted in values. He argues that Canada is embracing a more pragmatic, hard-headed approach in response to global volatility. While diversification of defence partnerships—such as working with European suppliers—is on the table, Rigby stresses that close coordination with the U.S. remains essential.

Asif Khan on Why the Canada Disability Benefit Falls Short Without Urgent Fixes | Policy Magazine

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 18:01:42 +0000

May 19, 2025 | MPP ’21 Asif Khan in Policy Magazine critically examines the long-awaited rollout of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). While the federal government has promoted the CDB as a landmark anti-poverty initiative, Khan argues it falls drastically short. Capped at just $200 per month, the benefit will only lift a fraction of working-age Canadians with disabilities out of poverty in its first decade.

Jennifer Welsh on Israel-Iran Tensions and What’s at Stake at the G7 Summit | CBC Radio

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 18:48:09 +0000

June 15, 2025 | Jennifer Welsh joined CBC Radio’s The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhyay to analyze how rising tensions between Israel and Iran are shaping the global security landscape—just as G7 leaders gather in Alberta. Speaking alongside former Canadian ambassador Arif Lalani, Welsh described Israel’s latest military strikes as unusually ambitious in scale and timing.

Vincent Rigby on Meeting Canada’s NATO Defence Targets | National Post

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 17:23:55 +0000

June 9, 2025 | Vincent Rigby was quoted in the National Post in response to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will meet NATO’s 2% defence spending target this fiscal year, adding over $9 billion. Rigby, who previously served as national security and intelligence adviser, called the move a significant and welcome shift from earlier governments, emphasizing that it shows Canada is taking its defence commitments seriously. He noted that this is not just about supporting allies—it’s also about protecting Canadian interests and values.

Michael Black on Canada’s Defence Spending Challenges and NATO’s Future Targets | Policy Magazine

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:05:03 +0000

June 11, 2025 | MPP ’25 Michael Black examines in Policy Magazine Prime Minister Mark Carney’s pledge to meet NATO’s 2% defence spending target by 2026 and the upcoming NATO Summit’s proposal to raise it to 5%. He highlights challenges like strained defence industries and production bottlenecks revealed by the Ukraine war, noting Canada’s difficulty replenishing artillery shells. While buying U.S. equipment offers a quick fix, reliance on the U.S. poses political and capacity risks.

Pearl Eliadis on Taking Bill 96 and Bill 21 to the United Nations Human Rights Committee | Montreal Gazette

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:36:58 +0000

June 12, 2025 | Reporting on a public forum organized by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, the Montreal Gazette highlights Pearl Eliadis’s warning that if the Supreme Court of Canada does not intervene to limit Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause in laws like Bill 96 and Bill 21, the anglophone community should consider taking their case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Vincent Rigby on Canada’s Accelerated Defence Spending | CDA Institute

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:23:31 +0000

June 9, 2025 | In an interview for the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute’s Expert Series, Vincent Rigby reacts to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement that Canada will accelerate defence spending to reach 2% of GDP by the end of the 2025–26 fiscal year. Rigby unpacks the hurdles ahead—including the recruitment and retention crisis, slow procurement processes, and the complexity of aligning new investments with operational readiness.

Pearl Eliadis on the Role of Human Rights Commissions in Post-Genocide Rwanda | Global Justice Journal

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:12:07 +0000

June 2025 | Pearl Eliadis recently authored a journal article published in the Global Justice Journal by Queen’s University Faculty of Law comparing the post-genocide roles of Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), both established under the 1993 Arusha Accords but with markedly different approaches. The NURC was closely controlled by the government and focused on promoting national unity through civic education and social programs.

Pearl Eliadis on Defending Charter Rights and Challenging the Notwithstanding Clause

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:26:41 +0000

June 11, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis will join a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy on June 11 at 7:30 PM for Your Rights, Notwithstanding. This timely and thought-provoking event will explore the history and evolution of the Notwithstanding Clause, how it has been used by Québec in recent years, the risks it poses to Charter-protected rights, and the growing legal and civic efforts to push back against its unchecked use.

Norman Hillmer on Canada’s Efforts to Protect Its Sovereignty | Literary Review of Canada

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 14:35:17 +0000

June 2025 | At the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, Norman Hillmer gave a stark warning about the threat a second Trump presidency could pose to Canada. He argued that no other American president has been as openly hostile to Canadian sovereignty, describing Trump as uniquely cruel and dangerous. Hillmer reflected on Canada’s long history of trying to assert its independence from the United States—through resisting annexation in earlier centuries, and negotiating free trade on its own terms in the 1980s. While many U.S.

Timothy Lane on Canada’s Currency in the Face of U.S. Dollar Turbulence | The Globe and Mail

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Tue, 27 May 2025 18:58:24 +0000

May 26, 2025 | In a interview with The Globe and Mail, J.W. McConnell Visiting Professor of Practice Timothy Lane warns that Donald Trump’s threat to devalue the U.S. dollar—part of his so-called “Mar-a-Lago Accord”—could severely disrupt the Canadian economy. Writing amid renewed debate over Canada’s currency strategy, Lane defends the Bank of Canada’s decision not to intervene in foreign exchange markets, even during crises like the 2008 recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill on Rebuilding Immigration Consensus for Nation-Building | The Line

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:30:41 +0000

May 23, 2025 | In a opinion piece for The Line, MPP ’25 students Gabriel Blanc, Cyrus Nagra, and Kiran Gill argue that Canada’s leaders are overlooking a critical ingredient in their bold nation-building agendas: immigration. Reflecting on the 2025 federal election, the authors note that while both major party leaders championed infrastructure and housing plans, they conspicuously sidestepped a positive vision for immigration.

Jennifer Welsh on Keeping Internally Displaced People on the Humanitarian Agenda | The Conversation

isabela.sullivan@mcgill.ca — Mon, 26 May 2025 22:05:06 +0000

May 20, 2025 | In a co-authored article for The Conversation, with 51�Թ��professor Megan Bradley, Max Bell School Director Jennifer Welsh outlines the growing risk that internally displaced people (IDPs) will be overlooked as global humanitarian aid budgets shrink. Despite outnumbering refugees, IDPs often receive less attention and support—an imbalance Welsh argues must urgently be addressed. Although IDPs outnumber refugees nearly two to one, they often receive less attention and support, especially as the UN system reels from severe funding cuts.