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This Week's Round-Up: November 17, 2025 |
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Remote employees are being tracked and punished by invisible systems. Some workers are refusing to play along
BY MIHIKA AGARWAL
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Tessa knew she was being watched. After ten minutes of keyboard or mouse inactivity, a timer would appear on her transcription software, asking her to select a reason for the pause. A medical transcriptionist in Atlantic Canada, Tessa works remotely, spending her days alone with doctors’ voices and diagnostic codes. Fusion, the platform she uses, logged her inactivity in detail, and Microsoft Teams displayed an “Away” status just five minutes after her last keystroke. Her employer had set a target: transcribe at least eighty minutes of audio dictation per shift. Falling short could raise questions. |
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Semafor Flagship delivers clear insights on international affairs, climate, technology, culture, and more. Subscribe today for a smarter tomorrow.
This is a message from our friends at Semafor. |
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THIS WEEK: Canada is at a critical turning point in how it responds to gender-based violence. The Walrus Talks Ending Gender-Based Violence brings together activists, advocates, and experts to examine pressing policy gaps and cultural shifts that can reduce and prevent gender-based violence. This timely event will highlight lived experience, evidence-based solutions, and the need for coordinated, cross-sector action.
Join us in Ottawa for this urgent discussion. |
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A MESSAGE FROM THE WALRUS LAB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOUNT PLEASANT GROUP |
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Navigating Life’s Hardest Conversations |
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In this two-part episode of Sorry For Your Loss, hosts Denise Donlon and John Monahan explore some of life’s most tender and difficult conversations about what to say and how to listen when someone you love is dying. Featuring insights from Dr. Nadine Persaud and Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller, they share practical guidance, personal stories, and compassionate advice on supporting loved ones, navigating fears, and being fully present in life’s final moments. |
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Check out the latest episode of What Happened Next |
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In this episode of What Happened Next, host Nathan Whitlock is joined by author, social justice activist, and Anglican priest Maggie Helwig. Her most recent book is Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community, published by Coach House Books earlier this year.
Maggie and Nathan talk about the City of Toronto forcibly removing the encampment that she writes about in the book less than a day after it won the Toronto Book Award, about her long, unplanned, and ongoing break from publishing works of fiction and poetry, and about her next book, a selection of sermons written and delivered at St. Stephen-in-the-Fields. |
| Listen Now |
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No Size Fits All
Monika Warzecha hits the nail on the head in “Terrible Apparel” (December 2024) with her critique of the fashion industry. But she forgot one important issue: sizing. Declining quality control means it feels like there is no universal agreement on sizing. I am small in some clothes but medium to large in others. I don’t know how anyone buys clothing online. You have to try everything on to get an idea of the fit. It is an irritating constant in the fashion world.
Jane McCall
Ladner, BC
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Pause for Thought
I could relate to much of Susan Glickman’s “Menopause Is a Pretty Damn Fine Stage of Life.” However, her claim that hormone replacement therapy, among other things, can have “worse consequences than the problems they are designed to solve” is sadly reminiscent of the outdated medical advice given to millions of women. There is new information that hormone replacement therapy is not only safe but beneficial far beyond reducing the impact of hot flashes. I urge Glickman to write about her personal experience with menopause but leave the medical guidance to the experts.
Sian Roberts
Toronto, ON
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You bring more voices to Canada’s conversation |
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There was a time when every story we covered needed a so-called “Canadian angle”—one that rooted the characters and consequences within this country’s borders. But we know Canada isn’t defined by its boundaries. And there’s no single Canadian perspective.
With your support, we’re bringing an array of voices to the page—those of underrepresented groups, diaspora communities, and more. Because in a time of overwhelming change, we need to know who Canada is.
If you believe in Canada’s need for trusted journalism, please donate to The Walrus today. |
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— Samia Madwar
Senior Editor |
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