The Australian government granted Australia’s media regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), new powers Monday to combat disinformation and misinformation on digital platforms like Facebook and YouTube. ACMA is a regulatory government body that oversees communication and media services in Australia. As a part of their mission, the Australian Government asked ACMA to [...]
New Zealand police Wednesday stormed parliament grounds in riot gear reclaiming the space where anti-vaccine mandate protesters had camped for 23 days. Hundreds of police began moving across parliament grounds early Wednesday morning, breaking up the protester’s camp, dressed in riot gear and equipped with pepper spray. The police towed vehicles obstructing roads as they pushed [...]
Uganda’s Parliamentary Health Committee stated Tuesday that it is considering proposed legislation that will impose fines on those who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and possibly jail terms for those who fail to pay. A statement released on the parliament’s website states that the “Parliament’s Committee on Health has started the consideration of the [...]
The House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament approved Monday in a 185-151 vote the declaration of a public order emergency as proclaimed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week in response to the “Freedom Convoy” protests. Under the Emergencies Act (“the Act”), the federal government wields exceptional power to limit the rights and freedoms [...]
Ian Profiri is JURIST’s Chief Correspondent for Canada. He files this dispatch from Calgary. To say that it’s been a busy week in the Canadian legal world is an understatement. For the first time in its history, the Emergencies Act was invoked by the Prime Minister, recognizing that policing efforts to date in the capital [...]
Amnesty International Monday released a report attributing the “human rights catastrophe in 2021” to unequal vaccination distribution by pharmaceutical companies. The report revealed that major companies that produced the vaccinations used aggressive strategies to profit from the pandemic. Amnesty International issued a target for vaccination rollout to lower-income countries. However, it was found that Pfizer, Moderna, and [...]
Law students from the University of Ottawa are filing dispatches for JURIST on the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Canada’s capital that has paralyzed the city for over a week and has now spread elsewhere across the country. Here, 2L Brad Henderson assesses the problematic impact of the protest wave on recent provincial and federal public [...]
Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the Canadian province of Ontario Friday following substantial economic losses stemming from the so-called Freedom Convoy’s anti-vaccine mandate protests. in Ottawa and other locations, including the Ambassador Bridge linking Canada and the United States. Ford warned that there would be “severe” consequences for those partaking in [...]
Ian Profiri is JURIST’s Chief Correspondent for Canada. He files this dispatch from Calgary. The Coutts Blockade remains, despite the government of Alberta loosening restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, blockade protestors are saying they will remain until all restrictions are gone, and Justin Trudeau is no longer Prime Minister of Canada. “We’re [...]
Ian Profiri is JURIST’s Staff Correspondent for Canada. He files this dispatch from Calgary. Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart released a statement Friday evening clarifying his and his city’s position on the copycat “Freedom Convoy” protests that materialized in major cities across Canada this past weekend in the wake of ongoing protests in Ottawa. “As the [...]
