Democracy and Access to Justice

Justice is a core element of a healthy democracy. However, during the pandemic Canada has been confronted with critical questions about how individual notions of justice interact with collective democratic principles. Where is the line between democratic participation and harmful discourse? How does partisanship politicize our protected rights and rule of law? What tools does the government have to help resolve these conflicts and how do they relate to our civil liberties? For Canada, the lack of healthy discourse on these questions has fuelled democratic backsliding, the deterioration of norms protecting civic participation, political accountability and transparent elections. With this reversion, Canada has also seen the rise of online toxicity in our digital public square as a barrier for inclusive civic engagement, particularly for women and people of colour. This project will develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between justice and democratic backsliding in Canada by exploring innovative justice solutions to address barriers to meaningful civic participation, including toxic online discourse, and present broad recommendations about how to address democratic challenges.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jennifer Orange

Student:

Partner:

The Samara Centre for Democracy

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public administration

University:

Toronto Metropolitan University

Program: