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Shame on Hootsuite for abandoning Canadian values in taking ICE contract

16 4
27.01.2026

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 18.Leah Millis/Reuters

Dana Cramer is a PhD candidate at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the founder, president and CEO of the Young Digital Leaders of Canada and co-ordinator of the United Nations-recognized Canada Youth Internet Governance Forum.

My grandfather tried to enlist during the Second World War but was turned away due to his diabetes. Undeterred, he became an army chauffeur. After the war, he and my grandmother took in their Japanese-Canadian relatives who were shuttered from neighbourhoods with well-resourced schools because of lingering prejudice.

The quiet courage of persevering in small ways and standing up against injustice were my grandparents’ Canadian values.

It is in this backdrop of values that I have been shocked by the recent reporting that Hootsuite has taken US$95,000 in contracts to conduct social-media sentiment analysis for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And Hootsuite is seeking more business with ICE.

Explainer: What to know about ICE, the U.S. federal immigration agency

I have been deeply reflecting on what Canadian values are, and........

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