Pandemic Injustice

Preface by the Series Editor

Shaheen Shariff

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of a global COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020, brought the world as we knew it to a screeching halt (WHO, 2021b). Concerns about transmitting the novel coronavirus have pushed governments to respond in innovative and unprecedented ways. They halted international and local travel, implemented lockdowns, and mandated physical distancing and isolation—all of which have compounded complex, pre-existing societal and economic issues. As the virus was spreading, COVID was often described as the “great equalizer” (Galasso, 2020; Mein, 2020), implying that it would affect all individuals the same, without differentiation between gender, race, age, or socioeconomic status. This, of course, was not the case.

According to the WHO, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on members of society who occupy the most vulnerable social groups (WHO, 2021a). In healthcare, government mismanagement and lack of permanent staff, caregivers, and resources have compromised the lives of immunosuppressed people and those needing urgent care. The elderly, along with Black people and people living in low-income neighborhoods, experienced disproportionately high rates of infection and death (Rocha et al., 2020; Statistics Canada, 2021). Border closures trapped international students in countries where they were temporarily studying, which resulted in suspended work permits, expired visas, and minimal access to healthcare or insurance. These challenges are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impacts of the pandemic—and all of this takes place within the backdrop of a pre-COVID world that was increasingly violent, hostile, anti-immigrant, and racist (Shariff, 2020). For example, police brutality has targeted visible racial minorities, especially Black people, as society was reminded of with the murder of George Floyd. The repeal of Roe v. Wade has removed rights of bodily autonomy from women, girls, and other people who seek out safe, legal abortions. Moreover, the number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies has grown in recent years (ACLU, 2022). These are only some of the many problems in North America that disproportionately impact people from marginalized and vulnerable communities.

This edited collection, which is the second volume in the Confronting Systemic Omissions and Impacts in Educational Policy series and the first volume focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, sheds light on how the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing legal and policy issues, and it stresses the importance of understanding, analyzing, and critiquing law and policy decisions during times of crisis. The collection offers multi-disciplinary scholarly insights, legal and policy analysis, and educational guidelines to address unprecedented sociolegal and psychological impacts on society that have evolved since the onset of the pandemic. Further, these chapters add to the ongoing dialogue about how North American society can improve by examining dilemmas and highlighting opportunities for positive change. Thus, this collection aims to give a different perspective on how we can move forward and create more justice in a post-COVID society. As Principal Investigator and Project Director of iMPACTS,¹ I gladly present this rich compilation of chapters written by academic colleagues and students.

Chapter One, written by Kimia Towfigh, identifies strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) legislation that intends to censor, intimidate, and silence defendants as a threat to procedural fairness, freedom of speech, and democratic process. Drawing on Supreme Court of Canada decisions 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association and Bent v. Platnick, in which the Court interpreted and applied Ontario’s anti-SLAPP legislation, Towfigh provides a comparative overview of anti-SLAPP mechanisms in British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario. In addition, Towfigh calls attention to how SLAPP plaintiffs and other stakeholders, like government representatives, have applied provisions from the COVID-19 pandemic to stifle objectors and protests. Censorship tactics are not only used in the legal sector, as the pandemic has worsened delays in the Canadian justice system and briefly shut down courthouse operations across the country. These cases serve as a significant reminder that published assertions still need to be adequately supported, regardless of expectations of anonymity and despite the widespread shift of public dialogue online. The process of finding the truth is becoming more and more endangered when incorrect information is spread through online sources and social media platforms. As a result, Towfigh’s chapter promotes responsible journalism, communication, and fact-checking, especially when questioning the character of identifiable individuals.

Chapter Two focuses on the legal strategies used to advance public health and safety while protecting civil liberties. Specifically, Iradele Plante’s chapter consists of three parts that explore how state powers have grown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first section, using Michel Foucault’s “plague town” archetype as a guide, Plante examines how the destruction left behind by a pandemic can be used as a political tool to strengthen state powers. As such, she draws from Foucauldian philosophy since the study of power relations is strikingly similar to legislative discourse. Plante also explores how Foucault’s ideology maps onto the Canadian reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second section of this chapter examines how the scope, intent, and delegation of power align with the Foucauldian plague town. The last section of the chapter looks at how democratic safeguards can increase well-being while limiting the encroachment on civil freedoms. Overall, Plante’s chapter serves as a tool that could help policymakers and legal professionals better understand how authority can be transferred in emergency situations, as well as how to prevent abuse and minimize the potential for abuse.

Chapter Three explores the widespread concern of how government-mandated lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to increased rates of domestic violence. Safia Amiry examines how and why a pandemic can exacerbate domestic violence as she considers questions such as: Which demographic groups are more at risk? What policies have been implemented? What strategies have been taken by governments and non-government institutions to address domestic violence? In reflecting on these questions, Amiry recognizes what work has been done to address domestic violence and what is still lacking. This chapter examines the advancement and shortcomings of these policies and approaches by applying critical feminist theory to investigate the power dynamics of domestic violence and consider which factors exacerbate these problems. The final section of Amiry’s chapter examines how domestic violence during the pandemic may have short-term and long-term policy effects. This chapter can help educate policymakers on the implications of rising rates of domestic violence both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chapter Four investigates the novel phenomenon of zoombombing, which refers to unwelcome and uninvited intruders who join a virtual meeting on Zoom and perpetuate online harm by verbally shouting, making racist comments, showing graphic pornography, and/or sexually assailing audience members. Amanda Couture-Carron, Michele Pich, and Nawal Ammar examine how zoombombing could fall under the purview of current university policies that address harassment and/or cyberbullying. As such, they explore the similarities and differences between zoombombing, harassment, and cyberbullying. The authors also investigate whether zoombombing is a distinct phenomenon that requires its own focus and analysis within legal and policy frames. Such an understanding is important as it helps university administrators and policymakers identify whether their institutions could respond to zoombombing by using the same reliefs, laws, statutes, and services they have applied to respond to existing instances of harassment and cyberbullying. The authors conclude that zoombombing cannot be categorized as either harassment or cyberbullying since doing so would ignore important differences that make zoombombing and its effects distinct from other forms of online harm.

Chapter Five investigates how international students have been marginalized by policies in international education before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Shannon Hutcheson focuses on the pandemic context of international higher education by examining various policies and actions taken by universities as well as the Canadian and U.S. governments, and she exposes how neoliberalism and policies have affected international students’ experiences at universities abroad. To do so, Hutcheson analyzes social commentary, media articles, and academic literature to expose some of the concerns that international students have with higher education. Acknowledging the pandemic’s novelty as well as a variety of policy challenges that have arisen and worsened by the pandemic, Hutcheson ends the chapter by suggesting crucial recommendations on how institutional change must occur for there to be equitable education.

Chapter Six focuses on the educational issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on students, teachers, and families in Ontario, Canada. Laurie Higgins and William T. Smale take their readers back to the beginning of the pandemic when governments were considering various methods of teaching. They examine how the pandemic-related uncertainty that permeated schools created anxiety for educators as they became responsible for a variety of issues ranging from health considerations to educational practices. Higgins and Smale also consider how online learning may impact students differently, especially students with disabilities. Moreover, they reflect on how the roles of educators and parents shifted during the pandemic as these groups had to adapt to different educational scenarios, such as learning from home or going back to school. This chapter also discusses how the pandemic has affected pedagogical practices and methods, thereby offering a critical analysis of what happened during this time of crisis in schools and the Ontario educational community.