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....
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
narrator: 50 years ago...
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
November 25, 2025 at 2:11 AM
narrator: 50 years ago...
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
me: [nods] in 1945
narrator: in 1975...
me: what
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
when its definitely not a hostage situation
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
when its definitely not a hostage situation
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
I'm not proposing a ceiling, or speaking to other professions. But 200K puts an individual in the top 5% of income, and we're seeing hiring freezes and program cancellations, when salaries are 90% of starved operating budgets. The Ontario professoriate needs a little perspective, IMO.
November 25, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I'm not proposing a ceiling, or speaking to other professions. But 200K puts an individual in the top 5% of income, and we're seeing hiring freezes and program cancellations, when salaries are 90% of starved operating budgets. The Ontario professoriate needs a little perspective, IMO.
CEO pay is so absurd, and CEOs so generally shitty, that we would probably have *better results* with lower CEO pay.
Maybe we should try an experiment with CEOs and their pay.
November 25, 2025 at 3:40 PM
CEO pay is so absurd, and CEOs so generally shitty, that we would probably have *better results* with lower CEO pay.
I think literally every one working as a regular prof at a Canadian university - except perhaps a fraction of one percent lured from abroad - would happily be in their exact same jobs at 20% lower salary.
Isn’t the impetus of paying large salaries to attract top flight talent? Would this not be seen as a good thing? I don’t mean to sound trite, I’m genuinely curious about your take on this.
November 25, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I think literally every one working as a regular prof at a Canadian university - except perhaps a fraction of one percent lured from abroad - would happily be in their exact same jobs at 20% lower salary.
Nope. 100K is now the *starting* salaries at most Ontario universities. The average salary of a tenured prof is well over $150K. In my department of 18, at least a third make over 200K. It's ludicrous.
I assume these averages are means that are bumped way up by a few big earners in business and med/eng/law schools, though. Like, your average liberal arts assoc. prof isn’t making much more than 100k at best, I bet.
November 25, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Nope. 100K is now the *starting* salaries at most Ontario universities. The average salary of a tenured prof is well over $150K. In my department of 18, at least a third make over 200K. It's ludicrous.
Utterly, patently ridiculous. We have such great jobs - flexibility, self-management (an employer, no boss), and generally following our interests. Yes, we're specialized, yes we sacrificed income in our 20s to earn PhDs, but good lord is paying profs over 200K ever excessive.
Canadian University salary data is out: Queen's has now passed Toronto in having the highest average professorial salary - $198,875.
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Utterly, patently ridiculous. We have such great jobs - flexibility, self-management (an employer, no boss), and generally following our interests. Yes, we're specialized, yes we sacrificed income in our 20s to earn PhDs, but good lord is paying profs over 200K ever excessive.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
The UCP: you should be able to fire your MLA, here’s a handy-dandy recall process.
Citizens in 9 Alberta ridings: ok
The UCP: NOT LIKE THAT!
Citizens in 9 Alberta ridings: ok
The UCP: NOT LIKE THAT!
November 25, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The UCP: you should be able to fire your MLA, here’s a handy-dandy recall process.
Citizens in 9 Alberta ridings: ok
The UCP: NOT LIKE THAT!
Citizens in 9 Alberta ridings: ok
The UCP: NOT LIKE THAT!
I think he would benefit enormously from the right poli sci advisor.
It is nuts because he does not just have an economics degree, Carney's resume should back up that he has the capacity for long term economic planning. Like, does he need a poli-sci adviser to tell him that a Prime Minister does not, and should not, need to govern like this?
November 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I think he would benefit enormously from the right poli sci advisor.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Used to work great for keyword search to get results representing a mix of top cited and most recent scholarship in legit academic journals/books. Now about half the results are unpublished theses, partial documents and questionable sources. And citational info for the good sources is often wrong.
November 25, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Used to work great for keyword search to get results representing a mix of top cited and most recent scholarship in legit academic journals/books. Now about half the results are unpublished theses, partial documents and questionable sources. And citational info for the good sources is often wrong.
Interesting divergence between the tight party numbers between the CPC & LPC and the chasm between the leaders.
📊Preferred PM tracker, Nanos Research (Oct.31-Nov.21, 2025):
🔴53% Mark Carney (+4)
🔵26% Pierre Poilievre (-1)
(Comparison with previous 4-week sample)
338canada.com/20251121-nan...
🔴53% Mark Carney (+4)
🔵26% Pierre Poilievre (-1)
(Comparison with previous 4-week sample)
338canada.com/20251121-nan...
338Canada | Nanos Research federal poll, November 2025
338canada.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Interesting divergence between the tight party numbers between the CPC & LPC and the chasm between the leaders.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
And it's not just in areas like federalism - Carney's got pathetically short-term vision on the economy and growth, the very things he's supposed to expert in.
Carney’s approach here is very much in keeping with an observation Paul Wells made back in the summer, that he’s focused on short-term deliverables, not long-term governance challenges.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
So the PM intended to inform B.C.'s premier once the negotiations with Alberta have been finalized?
Nation-building promised, sausage-making delivered.
Regardless of whether this pipeline will ever be built, the process itself is profoundly damaging.
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Nation-building promised, sausage-making delivered.
Regardless of whether this pipeline will ever be built, the process itself is profoundly damaging.
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
And it's not just in areas like federalism - Carney's got pathetically short-term vision on the economy and growth, the very things he's supposed to expert in.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Carney’s approach here is very much in keeping with an observation Paul Wells made back in the summer, that he’s focused on short-term deliverables, not long-term governance challenges.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
So the PM intended to inform B.C.'s premier once the negotiations with Alberta have been finalized?
Nation-building promised, sausage-making delivered.
Regardless of whether this pipeline will ever be built, the process itself is profoundly damaging.
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Nation-building promised, sausage-making delivered.
Regardless of whether this pipeline will ever be built, the process itself is profoundly damaging.
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Carney and Smith to unveil energy deal in Calgary Thursday, source says
B.C. Premier says he spoke with Carney about concerns over potential oil pipeline
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Carney’s approach here is very much in keeping with an observation Paul Wells made back in the summer, that he’s focused on short-term deliverables, not long-term governance challenges.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
The problem is, neglecting and failing to improve governance will leave Canada with weaker foundations.
We're just cozying up to all the assholes, eh?
Canada to announce uranium export deal with India in further sign of warming relations
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Canada to announce uranium export deal with India in further sign of warming relations
Deal could run for 10 years and may be part of broader nuclear co-operation effort
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 AM
We're just cozying up to all the assholes, eh?
Gee, who could've predicted...
NEW: Months after many supervised injection sites were shut down, Toronto is reporting an increase in “visible substance use on the street" and “open use of substances in public spaces.” #ToPoli #ONpoli
globalnews.ca/news/1154127...
globalnews.ca/news/1154127...
Toronto reports more visible drug use after supervised injection sites closed down - Toronto | Globalnews.ca
The City of Toronto is reporting an increase in visible drug use in the wake of the Ford government's decision to pull funding for several safe-injection sites earlier this year.
globalnews.ca
November 25, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Gee, who could've predicted...
Among all the problems with substance and process identified in this story on Quebec's constitution bill, not mentioned is the blatantly unconstitutional element of purporting to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, which I remind you all, a province can't do.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Why Quebec’s proposed constitution has legal experts, civil rights groups sounding the alarm | CBC News
The legislation tabled last month has been the subject of growing consternation among legal experts and civil liberties groups, who warn it would centralize power, weaken judicial oversight and infrin...
www.cbc.ca
November 24, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Among all the problems with substance and process identified in this story on Quebec's constitution bill, not mentioned is the blatantly unconstitutional element of purporting to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, which I remind you all, a province can't do.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Just the most loser shit imaginable. Imagine actually doing this anywhere, much less *at a party with other humans*
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Just the most loser shit imaginable. Imagine actually doing this anywhere, much less *at a party with other humans*
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
“This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:07 PM
“This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are—a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Just don’t call it a bubble
November 24, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Just don’t call it a bubble
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
This is who Carney outsourced his innovation policy development to.
Shopify rocked by sales fraud scandal that led to ultimatums and firings - The Logic
Shopify salespeople were inflating the value of the deals they were closing. When management found out, they told staff to own up or face the consequences.
thelogic.co
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
This is who Carney outsourced his innovation policy development to.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
Most accounts on Twitter turn out to be Russian MAGA bots. Here’s why Bluesky has an intellectual diversity problem
November 23, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Most accounts on Twitter turn out to be Russian MAGA bots. Here’s why Bluesky has an intellectual diversity problem
The descent into dystopian nightmare continues unabated.
The FBI Wants AI Surveillance Drones With Facial Recognition by @noahhurowitz.bsky.social
theintercept.com/2025/11/21/f...
theintercept.com/2025/11/21/f...
The FBI Wants AI Surveillance Drones With Facial Recognition
An FBI procurement document inquires about AI surveillance on drones, raising concerns about a crackdown on protests.
theintercept.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:28 PM
The descent into dystopian nightmare continues unabated.
Reposted by Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦
This is a stunning story. I've been tracking the "greenhushing" narrative for a while now: this is the idea that strict regulations on fake climate claims spooks companies into total silence; therefore we shouldn't regulate them.
@meyer.bsky.social asked for examples and the Carney gov't failed:
@meyer.bsky.social asked for examples and the Carney gov't failed:
November 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
This is a stunning story. I've been tracking the "greenhushing" narrative for a while now: this is the idea that strict regulations on fake climate claims spooks companies into total silence; therefore we shouldn't regulate them.
@meyer.bsky.social asked for examples and the Carney gov't failed:
@meyer.bsky.social asked for examples and the Carney gov't failed: