Please join us for the Spring 2023 Joint University of Waterloo–St. Jerome’s University Legal Studies Seminar, taking place on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 12:00 Noon, EDT. We welcome Dr. Tia Dafnos to speak online on Zoom, on the topic of  "Policing in the Time of Reconciliation". 

Please register here in advance.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Tia Dafnos is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of New Brunswick on Wolastoqey territory.  Her research interests revolve around critical policing and (anti-)security studies; racism and colonialism; and resistance and social movements.

ABOUT THE LECTURE

One of the outcomes of the 2003–2006 Ipperwash Inquiry was an explicit recognition that protests and direct actions involving Indigenous peoples are distinct from other forms of political dissent because they arise from the colonial relationship with Canada.  Among Commissioner Linden’s recommendations was that police forces must account for this distinctiveness in their responses.  In part, this would include adoption of a negotiation-based approach and recognition of section 35 Aboriginal and treaty rights alongside the Charter rights associated with dissent.  This talk will examine how this ‘recognition’ of the colonial relationship has translated into policing strategies in Canada over the last two decades.  Articulated within a discourse of reconciliation, these practices have arguably intensified the surveillance of Indigenous communities and movements.    

ABOUT THE SERIES 
The Joint Legal Studies Seminar Series features biannual seminars showcasing a range of legal studies scholarship. The series is hosted by the Departments of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University.  

For more information please contact Honor Brabazon (honor.brabazon@uwaterloo.ca), Allison Chenier (achenier@uwaterloo.ca), or Andrea Quinlan (andrea.quinlan@uwaterloo.ca) with any questions.