April 15, 2024

The Government of Alberta has proposed a new bill that would require provincial approval for any new, amended, or renewed agreement between the federal government and a provincial entity, including AB’s postsecondary institutions. Bill 18, also known as the Provincial Priorities Act, is reportedly designed to ensure federal funding is aligned with provincial priorities. “We know the federal government, on certain issues, has a diametrically opposed view to what it is we want to do,” said AB Premier Danielle Smith. While AB’s Advanced Education ministry stated that the bill would not impact academic freedom in the province, Global News reports that several AB universities are “concerned” about this bill and its potential impact on aspects of their work such as research funding, job skills programming, and workforce development. AB intends to consult with affected parties over the summer and implement the legislation next year.

At a recent diplomatic meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal made several bilateral commitments to strengthen relations and address issues like climate change. As part of this meeting, the two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding to create the Franco-Canadian International Research Network (IRN) on hydrogen. The network will bring together universities from both countries to improve low-carbon-emission hydrogen production technologies. Canada and France will also co-operate on addressing forest fires through efforts that include firefighter training initiatives. “Canada and France will work together to create good jobs, take climate action, and build a better future for all those who call our countries home,” said Trudeau.

Niagara College has launched a new fundraising campaign called Together that aims to raise $50M to support a wide variety of projects and initiatives. The campaign focuses on six pillars: solving the skilled trades crisis, solving the healthcare crisis, empowering students to achieve their dreams, advancing a more equitable and diverse college, graduating tomorrow’s global citizens, and closing Canada’s productivity gap. “Niagara College is uniquely positioned to address these challenges, but we can’t do it alone,” said Niagara President Sean Kennedy. “We’re calling on our community to join us in embracing this historic opportunity to build a successful Niagara.”

University Affairs has published a series of reports on the provincial and territorial budgets that highlight the key takeaways for the postsecondary sector in each region. For each province and the Yukon, writer Hannah Liddle outlines the overall investments into postsecondary education, as well as the targeted funding that the governments allocated to projects and program expansions at universities. Where available, Liddle has also highlighted any notable reactions to the budget by local university leaders, student and faculty union representatives, and other stakeholders.

Queen University’s Smith School of Business has become the Official National Business Education Partner to the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Through this partnership, Queen’s will provide committee staff, leadership, and sports members with enhanced access to professional development and training opportunities with the goal of sparking meaningful change for an improved sport system. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the Canadian Paralympic Committee to help expand business education opportunities for the Paralympic community,” said Queen’s Smith School of Business Dean Wanda Costen. “This new partnership is one important way that Smith is strengthening its dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

In a recent opinion piece for Times Higher Education, Meron Wondemaghen (University of Hull) outlines ongoing issues within the landscape of social sciences publishing and argues that it is due for an overhaul. The author writes that the overproduction of research, problems with article review backlogs, and a lack of editorial decision-making transparency undermines the timeliness and impact of social science publications. Wondemaghen calls for a systematic review of existing social sciences studies in order to identify research gaps, influential studies, and future publishing priorities. “My hope is that this will usher in a genuine era of impact, built on timely dissemination, replicable research and oversight of editors that ensures that acceptance and rejection decisions are meritocratic and rubric-based,” concludes Wondemaghen.

Longstanding partners Portage College and the City of Cold Lake have announced two new sets of programming to serve their region’s needs. Under a new Memorandum of Understanding, Portage will provide micro-credential training to Cold Lake municipal staff and officials into 2027. Staff and officials will be able to enrol in one complimentary course per year. The partners have also purchased an Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Structures (AME-S) curriculum and intend to co-develop an aircraft maintenance school in the region. “We understand the regional, provincial, and national demand for AME-S training and are eager to begin working on building a high-quality program in collaboration with the City,” said Portage VP of Academic and Research Dr Donna Feledichuk.

Western University graduate teaching assistants hit the picket lines last week, citing concerns over their salaries and the cost of living. According to Global News, Western entered negotiations with the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Local 610–which represents approximately 2,000 teaching assistants at Western–in October 2023 and has yet to reach an agreement. The union is on strike until a tentative agreement can be reached, with members stepping away from their proctoring and marking duties as Western enters the undergraduate exam period. Western has issued a statement indicating that the school will remain open and that exams will continue as normal, adding that it is “committed to achieving a mutually agreeable contract.”

Collège de Rosemont has partnered with the Fondation de Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) to provide data management students with hands-on work experience. Students who are part of the Techniques de recherche et de gestion de données program will be able to take three courses in which they conduct a data management and research project using the dataset of BAnQ newsletter subscribers. The students will design questionnaires, collect and analyze data, and present their findings to BAnQ.

Rather than needing to follow up with a towing company, drivers who owe parking ticket fees to the University of Regina may discover a yellow device attached to their windshield. The device—called a barnacle—attaches to the windshield using suction to block the driver’s view and prevent them from using the vehicle. CBC reports that previously, vehicles would be towed and students would be prevented from registering for their next semester if they owed outstanding parking tickets. In this new system, drivers who pay their tickets are provided with a code to unlock the barnacle, which can then be delivered to a designated drop box.