Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
@emmettmacfarlane.com
Professor of political science. Author. Dad.
Constitutional law, rights, governing institutions, and Canadian politics.
Books: Legislating under the Charter; Constitutional Pariah; Governing from the Bench
Constitutional law, rights, governing institutions, and Canadian politics.
Books: Legislating under the Charter; Constitutional Pariah; Governing from the Bench
Pinned
Rights and Parliamentary Systems in Canada and Beyond - University of Toronto Press
utppublishing.com
You can now order my latest edited book, "Rights and Parliamentary Systems in Canada and Beyond." Check out the amazing table of contents here: utppublishing.com/doi/book/10....
Caught my first AI case of this batch of marking... sigh.
December 1, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Caught my first AI case of this batch of marking... sigh.
Meaningful demand sucks because it's not "AI", it's increasingly complex search-and-summarize-algorithms that spit out garbage, based on scanning and plagiarizing the fucking Internet, which is filled with garbage.
So glad our governments and universities are leaning into this stupid bubble.
So glad our governments and universities are leaning into this stupid bubble.
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
Investors expect AI use to soar. That’s not happening
Recent surveys point to flatlining business adoption
econ.st
December 1, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Meaningful demand sucks because it's not "AI", it's increasingly complex search-and-summarize-algorithms that spit out garbage, based on scanning and plagiarizing the fucking Internet, which is filled with garbage.
So glad our governments and universities are leaning into this stupid bubble.
So glad our governments and universities are leaning into this stupid bubble.
Room in the same tent? Shouldn't you be asking what it means now that the UCP is fundamentally a separatist party? Smith encouraged the leopards and they ate her face.
December 1, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Room in the same tent? Shouldn't you be asking what it means now that the UCP is fundamentally a separatist party? Smith encouraged the leopards and they ate her face.
Again, the word you're all looking for is fascism.
The news has entirely failed to grasp the unprecedented scope of the ICE and DHS budgets. Nothing like it in modern history. A galaxy of public/private surveillance and caging institutions for $100,000,000,000s unleashed on a public that will be forever changed. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
www.brennancenter.org
December 1, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Again, the word you're all looking for is fascism.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
November 30, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Absolute debasement of academic standards
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
*student submits opinion in psych class
*gets bad grade
*instructor says she can make whatever arguments she wants but must draw on empirical sources
*student & Turning Point says her religious freedom & first amendment rights violated
*professor suspended
CNN writes that "concerns are emerging" that the Trump regime's illegal murders might be illegal. The state of American journalism in the face of fascism is fucking pathetic. www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/p...
Analysis: Trump’s threats bring war with Venezuela closer as contradictions and legal fears mount | CNN Politics
Intensifying US threats against Venezuela are raising expectations of imminent military action as President Donald Trump heaps pressure on the Caracas regime and flexes power in the Western Hemisphere...
www.cnn.com
December 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM
CNN writes that "concerns are emerging" that the Trump regime's illegal murders might be illegal. The state of American journalism in the face of fascism is fucking pathetic. www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/p...
My university has already eliminated approximately five percent of its workforce, with more cuts to come, in case you think the Doug Ford-created university budget crisis isn't real.
December 1, 2025 at 1:03 PM
My university has already eliminated approximately five percent of its workforce, with more cuts to come, in case you think the Doug Ford-created university budget crisis isn't real.
Send this piece of shit home.
US Ambassador to Canada: But let me tell you, I go around the country and people will say, “Pete, you just don’t understand why we’re so mad about the 51st state.” And it’s kind of like, “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t.
December 1, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Send this piece of shit home.
The word you're looking for is fascism.
The Trump administration openly says that it will use its domestic spying capabilities to target people who oppose ICE’s actions. And ICE has been bulking up on the latest surveillance technology. bit.ly/3Kq348R
ICE Wants to Go After Dissenters as well as Immigrants
The Trump administration is being open about its plans to violate Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights.
www.brennancenter.org
November 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
The word you're looking for is fascism.
Aaaaand it's time for end of term grading to begin. Aiming to have most of it done this week.
a man wearing a blue jays jersey stands on the field
ALT: a man wearing a blue jays jersey stands on the field
media.tenor.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Aaaaand it's time for end of term grading to begin. Aiming to have most of it done this week.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
This is a huge part of why so many people think we're in the middle of a widespread "anti-woke backlash": Small movements opposed to social progress are collected into trend stories by conservative media. Far larger movements that want more diversity are ignored or cast as threats.
"Woke is ruining D&D". Meanwhile Dimension 20, one of the wokest real play shows around, just sold out Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl for live shows and brings armies of new players to RPGs.
November 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
This is a huge part of why so many people think we're in the middle of a widespread "anti-woke backlash": Small movements opposed to social progress are collected into trend stories by conservative media. Far larger movements that want more diversity are ignored or cast as threats.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop
"All of this falls apart if humans don't adopt the tech. This is why you've seen Meta cram its lame chatbots into WhatsApp and Instagram. This is why Notepad and Paint now have useless Copilot buttons on Windows. This is why Google Gemini wants to "help you" read and reply to your emails."
Analysis: OpenAI is a loss-making machine, how can it survive?
Don't call it a bubble! Loss-making monster OpenAI is on the hook for $1.4 trillion (with a T) in compute commitments. How can this go on?
www.windowscentral.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Imagine if they just subsidized newspapers and magazines the way they’re subsidizing this slop
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
News media has to do better with headlines that present false and unverified public health claims.
November 29, 2025 at 11:48 PM
News media has to do better with headlines that present false and unverified public health claims.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Also worth reading for the accurate description of how the parliamentary committee process is dysfunctional. Serious reform needed if there’s to be any hope of fact-based policy-making in Ottawa.
Another great mythbusting piece by MAiD in Canada - see especially share.google/PRcfdLMAE6hx...
Misinformation at Parliament: What Happened on October 28th
Veterans and people with mental illness deserve better advocacy
share.google
November 30, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Also worth reading for the accurate description of how the parliamentary committee process is dysfunctional. Serious reform needed if there’s to be any hope of fact-based policy-making in Ottawa.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Pulled together some of my thoughts on AB - CAN agreement here. Simply put, this agreement is likely to deepen divides in the country, not heal them.
open.substack.com/pub/stewartp...
open.substack.com/pub/stewartp...
MOU Problems
While intended to heal the rift in Canadian unity, the agreement between federal and Alberta provincial governments risks leaving the country even more divided
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Pulled together some of my thoughts on AB - CAN agreement here. Simply put, this agreement is likely to deepen divides in the country, not heal them.
open.substack.com/pub/stewartp...
open.substack.com/pub/stewartp...
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Last point, then back to Saturday things for a while: if your take is "Carney signed this without actually intending to get a pipeline built" you are validating the mistrust that populist Albertans and their allies hold.
If that is true, they are right to mistrust this agreement, and "Canada".
If that is true, they are right to mistrust this agreement, and "Canada".
November 29, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Last point, then back to Saturday things for a while: if your take is "Carney signed this without actually intending to get a pipeline built" you are validating the mistrust that populist Albertans and their allies hold.
If that is true, they are right to mistrust this agreement, and "Canada".
If that is true, they are right to mistrust this agreement, and "Canada".
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
This gets at the fundamentally flawed approach of the federal government: they are trying to find a policy solution to an identity problem.
It is part of the polarized, populist identity to be opposed to an Ottawa and Liberal Canada are not them. No policy will change that, as TMX revealed.
It is part of the polarized, populist identity to be opposed to an Ottawa and Liberal Canada are not them. No policy will change that, as TMX revealed.
Danielle Smith gets booed at UCP convention after mentioning working with Canada
November 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
This gets at the fundamentally flawed approach of the federal government: they are trying to find a policy solution to an identity problem.
It is part of the polarized, populist identity to be opposed to an Ottawa and Liberal Canada are not them. No policy will change that, as TMX revealed.
It is part of the polarized, populist identity to be opposed to an Ottawa and Liberal Canada are not them. No policy will change that, as TMX revealed.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Very interesting discussion in this piece, but any mechanism to 'regulate' the truth will inevitably be turned against the truth - the loonies will take advantage of recalls, the wrong person in charge of government will call facts 'fake news'. Indeed, this is precisely what we see in the US.
I wrote about a novel approach to tackling misinformation currently being discussed in Wales--and which some say Canada should try, too. What if we made a rule so politicians couldn't lie? www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Is it time to make it illegal for politicians to lie to us?
That’s the question currently on the table in Wales, which has just released a draft of the “globally pioneering” sanctions for politicians.
www.thestar.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Very interesting discussion in this piece, but any mechanism to 'regulate' the truth will inevitably be turned against the truth - the loonies will take advantage of recalls, the wrong person in charge of government will call facts 'fake news'. Indeed, this is precisely what we see in the US.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
This point is disturbing: Guilbeault "was also deeply troubled by the ease with which the PMO was casting aside its moral obligation to May. What was the Liberals’ word worth?"
Mark Carney seems to have forgotten the first rule of central banking: Your word, your credibility, is all.
Mark Carney seems to have forgotten the first rule of central banking: Your word, your credibility, is all.
Good work by @althiaraj.bsky.social on the inside story of Guilbeault's resignation, from his being frozen out by PMO, given false assurances, and being made to wear the government walking back on pledges he made to Elizabeth May to secure her support. No kidding it was untenable for him to stay.
Althia Raj: Mark Carney lost the minister who was the green conscience of his government. Here’s how it happened
The inside story of Steven Guilbeault's resignation from cabinet over Ottawa's energy deal with Alberta.
www.thestar.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:23 AM
This point is disturbing: Guilbeault "was also deeply troubled by the ease with which the PMO was casting aside its moral obligation to May. What was the Liberals’ word worth?"
Mark Carney seems to have forgotten the first rule of central banking: Your word, your credibility, is all.
Mark Carney seems to have forgotten the first rule of central banking: Your word, your credibility, is all.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Announcing this not just on a Friday, but on the most holiday weekend of all Fridays, def shows how proud Northwestern’s admins must feel for caving in to bad faith attacks like this.
And, in the process, leaving all universities that still have a spine in more vulnerable positions than before.
And, in the process, leaving all universities that still have a spine in more vulnerable positions than before.
BREAKING: Northwestern University has agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $75 million, over the course of three years as part of an agreement with the federal government to restore funding and end investigations into the university
Full statement from NU below:
Full statement from NU below:
November 29, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Announcing this not just on a Friday, but on the most holiday weekend of all Fridays, def shows how proud Northwestern’s admins must feel for caving in to bad faith attacks like this.
And, in the process, leaving all universities that still have a spine in more vulnerable positions than before.
And, in the process, leaving all universities that still have a spine in more vulnerable positions than before.
It turns out unreasonable extremists are both extreme and unreasonable.
Danielle Smith has been saying for months that an agreement on oil would "take the wind out of the sails" of a resurgent independence movement. What if that was not correct? www.thestar.com/politics/fed...
Danielle Smith’s oil deal with Mark Carney was supposed to quiet Alberta’s separatists. Too bad they didn’t get the message
Separatists swiftly criticized the lack of immediate action on a pipeline and the agreement from Alberta to increase its industrial price on carbon.
www.thestar.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:04 AM
It turns out unreasonable extremists are both extreme and unreasonable.
I think it's fantastic, overall. It's basically Star Trek but with more comedy. There are actually some *great* episodes featuring moral dilemmas and social issues. It's more faithful to Star Trek than any of the recent Star Trek-branded series. And it gets better each season.
I still haven’t seen Orville. How worth is it watching?
November 29, 2025 at 12:03 AM
I think it's fantastic, overall. It's basically Star Trek but with more comedy. There are actually some *great* episodes featuring moral dilemmas and social issues. It's more faithful to Star Trek than any of the recent Star Trek-branded series. And it gets better each season.
I have successfully got the 9 year-old sucked into Star Trek: TNG. When she was younger, she declared it 'boring'.
But the gateway drug turned out to be Orville, which she loved, and which I explained was heavily based on Star Trek, and so we are now off to the races!
But the gateway drug turned out to be Orville, which she loved, and which I explained was heavily based on Star Trek, and so we are now off to the races!
November 28, 2025 at 11:49 PM
I have successfully got the 9 year-old sucked into Star Trek: TNG. When she was younger, she declared it 'boring'.
But the gateway drug turned out to be Orville, which she loved, and which I explained was heavily based on Star Trek, and so we are now off to the races!
But the gateway drug turned out to be Orville, which she loved, and which I explained was heavily based on Star Trek, and so we are now off to the races!
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
CPAC says it's at 'breaking point' after CRTC postpones wholesale rate decision nationalnewswatch.com/2025/11/28/c...
CPAC says it's at 'breaking point' after CRTC postpones wholesale…
National Newswatch: Canada's most comprehensive site for political news and views.
nationalnewswatch.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
CPAC says it's at 'breaking point' after CRTC postpones wholesale rate decision nationalnewswatch.com/2025/11/28/c...