For the past two years, Reem Zaia has dedicated her legal scholarship to terrorism and national security-related studies in Canada. For example, as a former LL.M. student at the University of Toronto, she drafted a thesis on the Security of Canada Information Sharing Act under the supervision of Dr. Kent Roach. For the most part, she studied anti-terrorism legislation in Canada, its application in the courtroom, and the constitutionality of information-exchange in Canada. Today, a great deal of her scholarship focuses on the history of terrorism prosecutions in Canada, counter-radicalization methodologies and the rehabilitation of inmates convicted for terrorism offences.
Outside of academia, and as a fellow of the Philippe Kirsch Institute (PKI), Zaia has fostered interdisciplinary dialogue on counter-extremism in Canada and abroad by hosting a specialized conference in Toronto for experts and students in the field. She continues to work with the PKI on a pro bono basis as a fellow.
In the future, two of her long-term writing projects will focus on interdisciplinary approaches to understanding radicalization and the Toronto-18. Reem plans to continue developing scholarship in the areas above, contribute to academic conferences and eventually to legislative development as a witness at Parliamentary Committees. The TSAS network is the perfect forum for me to foster these interests while bridging the gap between her scholarship and the policy sector.