TfD Weekly - 13th May 2026
TfD's first film club screening, Flock Safety in Canada, and more
Welcome to TfD Weekly
TfD Weekly is the newsletter of Technologists for Democracy (TfD), a Toronto-based civic tech organisation working at the intersection of technology, privacy, and democratic accountability. Each week we recap what's happening at Civic Tech Toronto, share updates on our campaigns, and keep an eye on legislation that affects Canadians' digital rights.
Our active campaigns:
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Civic Tech Toronto Recap: Meetup #542
This week, Civic Tech Toronto hosted Ann Chen for Meetup #542. Ann's talk, "Using Open Data to Find Drop-in Programs in Toronto (Without Opening 10 Tabs)," walked attendees through how open data can be used to surface city programs that are otherwise scattered across a maze of municipal websites.
Civic Tech Toronto meets every Tuesday. Subscribe for future events
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TfD Film Club: The End of the Internet
We've started a TfD film club! Our first-ever session will be a screening of The End of the Internet at Revue Cinema on Friday the 29th of May.
This event is more immersive than simply going to the movies. We've got an installation at the cinema to check out before you watch the film, and this includes research footage from the documentary. The director Dylan Reibling will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening too. You can sign up for the event here.
While the programming around the event is free, watching the film will require a ticket that can be purchased here.
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Waymo in Canada
We're continuing to develop our position on Waymo's planned entry into Canada. The letter and petition will be going out soon. If you have thoughts you'd like included, reply to this email and let us know.
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Flock Safety is Coming to Canada
Musician and content creator Benn Jordan's video series on Flock Safety highlights a lot of issues that will be of increasing importance to Canadians. Jordan reveals how the company's AI-powered licence plate readers have been deployed across the United States, and what that has meant for residents' privacy.
Cities that adopted Flock's technology are now facing serious questions about how that data is being used, and some have already ended their relationships with the company.
This is important to Canadians because of Flock's plans to enter Canada. The half-hour video gives you some insight into what's going on, and the type of issues that Flock's presence in Canada can raise.
Watch: Benn Jordan on Flock Safety
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Until next time,
The TfD Team