The Tribune
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 2026 | VOL. 45 | ISSUE 19
SPORTS
McGill varsity sports roundup PG. 15
Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
OFF THE BOARD
A lesson from the neighbourhood cat
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FEATURE
The politics of protection
PG. 11
PGS. 8-9
NEWS
McGill’s contract with GardaWorld ends in April 2027, with the option to extend the contract for up to a maximum of two additional 12-month periods. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)
Montreal protests GardaWorld’s complicity in ICE immigration crackdown
Police at GardaWorld headquarters target protestors with tear gas and pepper spray PG. 2
Canada’s AI strategy risks further propagating anti-Black racism EDITORIAL
The Tribune Editorial Board
I
n September 2025, Minister of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon created the federal AI Strategy Task Force to provide recommendations on the role of AI in Canadian economic and social life. The Task Force conducted an extensive consultation of over 11,300 industry leaders, academic researchers, and civil society stakeholders to inform the government’s AI strategy, with particular emphasis on ethical research, transparent regulation, sovereign infrastructure, AI literacy, and security safeguards. Yet, its composition and policy vision contain a critical failure: By excluding meaningful Black representation and refusing to directly confront how AI systems reproduce anti-Black racism, the Task Force has condoned and enabled racial harm across the infrastructures that AI is being built to govern.
On paper, the Task Force presented itself as a conglomerate of expert opinion and guidance, a time-limited advisory body assembled to generate ‘actionable’ recommendations on Canada’s AI development, governance, and usage. Beneath this consultative framing, however, is a structural absence of racial equity. 60 Black Canadian scholars have publicly cited underrepresentation on the Task Force. No sector is dedicated to equity in AI, and when the issue of equity does appear, it typically refers to equity of access rather than ensuring that these AI tools function equitably. In an open letter to Minister Solomon, over 40 groups and more than 100 individuals expressed concern regarding the AI strategy’s potential to automate anti-Black racism into decision-making tools used by the government, public sector, and private industry alike. By downplaying regulatory safeguards, the strategy prioritizes commercialization and global competitiveness, reflecting a preference for economic PG. 5 advancement over harm prevention.
Racial representation is missing from the world’s most beloved rom-coms ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A look at how Black people are represented in classic late ‘90s and early 2000s rom-coms
Julia Lok Contributor
W
hen people think about popular, treasured romantic comedies, a few titles immediately come to mind: 10 Things I Hate About You, When Harry Met Sally, Love Actually, and 13 Going on 30. These films continue to dominate conversations about classic love stories and remain some of the most beloved in the industry. They make us laugh while giving insight into relationships, which transform into life lessons. But what do they—and most romcoms—have in common? They primarily centre white leads and white storylines as the face of love, reinforcing the idea that they are
the standard for romantic narratives. Some films completely lack diverse racial representation, and when there is representation, Black characters are confined to supporting roles, often reinforcing stereotypes. In North America alone, over the last 31 years, the rom-com genre has brought in $11.7 billion USD. This widespread popularity emphasizes the influence of their message—who is represented and who is not—leaving a majority of viewers underrepresented. In 2024, white actors occupied 74.7 per cent of top roles in films, while Black actors only made up 10.7 per cent of these leading roles. This is even more striking considering that a study conducted in 2025 found that the majority of PG. 7 movie-goers are BIPOC.