Hart House Inter-Varsity 2025

1. Round 1This house supports widespread social and legal norms against artistic interpolation.Practise this motion
2. Round 2From behind a veil of ignorance, this house would choose to be born into old money rather than as someone who will become new money in their twenties.Practise this motion
3. Round 3This house believes that the National Hockey League should prioritize expansion into large markets without an established fan base (e.g., Houston, Atlanta) rather than smaller markets with many fans (e.g., Quebec City, Halifax).Practise this motion
4. Round 4This house supports replacing all corporate, capital gains, and property taxes with a Harberger tax on all scarce non-liquid tradable assets (e.g., land and buildings, exclusive rights like intellectual property).Practise this motion
5. Round 5This house regrets the increased consolidation of healthcare services into IDNs.Practise this motion
6. QuarterfinalsThis house regrets the demonization of materialism in dating.Practise this motion
7. SemifinalsThis house believes that commercial wild-capture marine fishing does more harm than good for the wellbeing of nonhuman animals.Practise this motion
8. Grand FinalThis house believes that moral realism is true.Practise this motion
9. Novice SemifinalsThis house supports involuntary interventions for suspected cult members.Practise this motion
10. Novice FinalsThis house regrets the narrative that the parent-child relationship is uniquely meaningful and important.Practise this motion

1. Round 1THBT the feminist movement should actively advocate for antinatalismPractise this motion
2. Round 2THW pursue a career as a professional sports playerPractise this motion
3. Round 3THS the imposition of a tax on excess unrealized gains for individuals and corporations in the United StatesPractise this motion
4. Round 4THBT states should allocate the majority of settlement funds towards direct benefits for current and historic victims of the opioid epidemic (e.g. housing vouchers, paying medical expenses, naloxone distribution) rather than towards preventative structural change (e.g. funding medical research, producing anti-stigma marketing campaigns, building out healthcare infrastructure)Practise this motion
5. Round 5THBT social media platforms should be nationalisedPractise this motion
6. QuarterfinalsTHBT the Canadian government should prioritise the widescale construction of public housing over stimulating the private market (i.e. by lifting rent caps, cutting development taxes)Practise this motion
7. SemifinalsTHBT the U.S should pay Panama significant per-capita subsidies for detaining and repatriating migrants within the Darién GapPractise this motion
8. Grand FinalTHS the widespread and accessible availability of iForgorPractise this motion
9. Novice SemifinalsTHBT TikTok has done more harm than good to the music industryPractise this motion
10. Novice FinalsTHP a world where babies are reassigned to different families at birthPractise this motion

Open the Hart House IV 2024 prep page

1. Round 1THW heavily discourage people from going to colleges/universitiesPractise this motion
2. Round 2THBT Ukraine should suspend electionsPractise this motion
3. Round 3For nations that have gone through collective trauma (ex: genocide, colonization, civil war, etc), THP narratives that emphasize cultural elements removed from the trauma (ex: regional festivities, shared language, emphasis on looking to the future, etc) over narratives that memorialize the trauma (ex: memorials, minority quota policies, etc)Practise this motion
4. Round 4THS the feminist movement's use of religious figures in their advocacy for women's rights e.g. Kali in Hinduism, Mary Magdalene in Christianity etc.Practise this motion
5. Round 5THW replace the ICC with permanent regional courts to prosecute crimes against humanityPractise this motion
6. QuarterfinalsTHBT the public accusation that the Indian government was responsible for Nijjar's assassination was not in the interest of CanadaPractise this motion
7. SemifinalsTHS aggressive deconsolidation of the US private sector (e.g., breaking up dominant firms like Amazon and Monsanto, preventing future horizontal and vertical mergers, subsidizing competitors to existing monopolies, etc.)Practise this motion
8. Grand FinalTHBT newly established developing nations should strive to establish Jante as a cultural foundation in their nationsPractise this motion
9. Novice SemifinalsTHR the prevalence of marriage-based matchmaking shows (Love is Blind, Indian Matchmaking, Married at First Sight, The Ultimatum).Practise this motion
10. Novice FinalsTH, as Jenny, would take the deal.Practise this motion

Open the Hart House IV 2023 prep page

1. Round 0THW ban zoosPractise this motion
2. Round 1THS Joe Biden not running for re-election in 2024Practise this motion
3. Round 2THO the rise of ‘Publish or Perish’ culturePractise this motion
4. Round 3THR the decline of the Catholic Church's art patronagePractise this motion
5. Round 4THS a universal right of territories to secede from parent nations by referendumPractise this motion
6. Round 5THR the belief that forgiveness is a virtuePractise this motion
7. QuarterfinalsTHS the implementation of a financial transaction taxPractise this motion
8. Novice SemifinalsTHR the narrative of intergenerational meritocracyPractise this motion
9. SemifinalsTHP a world in which religious beliefs are not codified in a scripture or doctrinePractise this motion
10. Grand FinalTHP a world where Augmented Eternity is widely accessiblePractise this motion
11. Novice FinalsTH, as a contestant on a reality show, would attempt to portray themself as a villain as opposed to a heroPractise this motion

Open the Hart House IV 2022 prep page

1. Round 1THP media funding models that rely on primarily advertising to models that rely primarily on subscriptions.Practise this motion
2. Round 2TH prefers a world where supreme court justices remain anonymous to the publicPractise this motion
3. Round 3THBT Canada and the United States should nationalize their oil industries.Practise this motion
4. Round 4THR the pre-dominance of youth within social movements (i.e tailoring social media presence to teenage and young adult consumers, the presence of young leaders)Practise this motion
5. Round 5THS the Chinese government's efforts to disparage and exclude the influence and visibility of prominent, highly successful entrepreneurs.Practise this motion
6. Novice Semi FinalsTHR the decision of many public health authorities to optimize for anticipated public reactions (vs. strictly truth) in their messaging during the pandemic (e.g. emphasizing no evidence masks are effective in March 2020 to discourge hoarding; adjusting vaccine guidance to encourage take up etc.)Practise this motion
7. QuarterfinalsTHR the decision of many public health authorities to optimize for anticipated public reactions (vs. strictly truth) in their messaging during the pandemic. (e.g. emphasizing no evidence masks are effective in March 2020 to discourge hoarding; adjusting vaccine guidance to encourage take up etc.)Practise this motion
8. SemifinalsTHR the decline of class as the primary organizing political identity in liberal democracies.Practise this motion
9. ESL FinalTHS the use of artificial intelligence within conflicts (i.e AI-led drones, AI-led ground troops)Practise this motion
10. Novice FinalTHW require colleges to roughly approximate the economic breakdown of society in the composition of their student body (e.g. admit an equal number of candidates from each wealth quartile)Practise this motion
11. Grand FinalTHBT the United States should have maintained a prominent military presence in Afghanistan long-term.Practise this motion

Open the Hart House IV 2021 prep page

1. Round 1THR the rise of OnlyFans in the pornography marketPractise this motion
2. Round 2THBT Supreme Courts should abide by a textualist model of interpretationPractise this motion
3. Round 3THS the phenomenon of green card marriagesPractise this motion
4. Round 4THBT organized religious groups should formally recognize scripture that contradicts primary religious textsPractise this motion
5. Round 5THW prohibit cities from offering tax credits and other incentives to attract large companiesPractise this motion
6. Novice Semi FinalsTHW abolish sex-based segregation in sports in favour of ability-based segregationPractise this motion
7. QuarterfinalsTHBT the Argentinian government should have rejected the 2018 IMF bailout and sought to negotiate further concessions, even at the risk of not receiving a bailoutPractise this motion
8. Novice FinalTHP a world in which parents follow an authoritarian parenting model rather than an egalitarian parenting modelPractise this motion
9. SemifinalsAssuming feasibility, THW nationalize all high-cost research equipment and create a national pool of this equipment where all researchers must apply to a centralized agency for accessPractise this motion
10. Grand FinalTHBT it is in the interest of countries that experienced Japanese colonial occupation (e.g., South Korea, China, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam) to boycott the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo if far-right paraphernalia (e.g., displays of the Rising Sun flag) are permitted.Practise this motion

Open the Hart House IV 2020 prep page