December 15, 2023

École de technologie supérieure has partnered with the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada and the City of Montreal to create a new space for entrepreneurial innovation in Montreal’s business district. Espace Ax-C will be located in the currently-under-construction Place Victoria Tower. Starting in 2025, Ax-C will provide a place to help sustainable startups grow. “By structuring and developing collaborations between incubators, accelerators and partners from Quebec and around the world, we will together propel local talents and startups even further to meet the need for innovation and advanced technology that Montreal, Quebec and Canada face,” said ETS CEO François Gagnon.

The Government of Ontario is investing $62.9M to help young people prepare for careers in the skilled trades. $41.8M will support the launch of around 100 pre-apprenticeship training projects that will help young people gain first-hand experiences working in the trades. The other $21.1M of this funding will go toward the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, which provides high school students with opportunities to explore the trades through cooperative education courses. “This investment in youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programming is significant as it will help postsecondary institutions create a stronger talent pipeline in sectors that need skilled workers now and in the future,” said Fanshawe College Executive Director of Business Development & Strategic Support Candace M Miller.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) recently announced a $65.2M investment into 59 applied research projects led by Canadian colleges. Recipients of this funding include Holland College, which received $2.25M to support bioscience and data analytics research, Lakeland College, which received $2.25M for research on commercial crop and livestock species in Alberta; and Loyalist College, which received $2.1M to lead research in health equity.

The University of Calgary has partnered with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health to become the world’s first United Nations University hub focused on water. The partnership will work to develop the understanding, solutions, and workforce needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change and help to address water, environmental, and health challenges. The hub will have four research areas: understanding changes in aquatic ecosystems, infectious diseases in a changing climate, environmental predictions for water sustainability, and resilience in Indigenous communities.

The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has released its Freedom of Speech on Campus Annual Report for 2023 to the Government of Ontario. Since 2019, HEQCO has been tasked with providing an annual report on the free speech policies of the province’s postsecondary institutions. The 2023 report concludes that the “ongoing implementation of the free speech initiative across Ontario colleges and universities continues to meet government objectives.” Additional findings from HEQCO indicate that, throughout the 2022-23 reporting cycle, no institution reported updates to its free speech policy; ON’s postsecondary institutions hosted a substantial number of events aimed at fostering dialogue; and, in total, ten formal free-speech related complaints were registered across the various institutions, which were subsequently resolved internally.

The Government of Québec has announced that out-of-province students will pay a minimum of $12K in tuition starting in Fall 2024, instead of the earlier proposed amount of $17K. This amendment will not apply to international students and Bishop’s University students will be partially exempt from this tuition increase. La Presse reports that QC is additionally considering reducing tuition fees for French, Belgian, and Swiss students in order to attract more French-speakers to the province. QC added that the province’s three English-language universities must ensure that 80% of their out-of-province students can demonstrate a level-five oral profiency upon graduation; this requirement will come into effect for new students in Fall 2025.

The University of Alberta Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) recently conducted a study of its members that found that 40% of respondents are considering leaving their program due to financial difficulties. Almost two-thirds of respondents reported an annual household income under $30K, which places them below Statistics Canada’s low-income threshold for a two-person household. UAlberta master’s student Zak Kaal said that those completing graduate school do not have time to pursue an additional source of income and that the cost of grocery and rent makes continuing in graduate studies risky. Kaal also noted that the stress associated with the cost of living makes it difficult to focus on studying and research.

Students living in a downtown McMaster University residence are continuing to express frustration over their living conditions, including the building’s water. CBC reports that McMaster sent students a list of precautionary guidelines when using water, which included boiling water, not swallowing the water used for bathing, and using bottled or boiled water to wash dishes. The City of Hamilton said that the residence building is not breaking any city bylaws, and Hamilton Water noted that the test for “chlorine residual” met requirements. McMaster has provided all floors with bottled drinking water, completed a chlorine process, and implemented a schedule for flushing the water supply system. McMaster has reportedly offered students one-on-one appointments to meet with staff to provide feedback, but the CUPE 3906 Tenant Working Solidarity Group is urging the university to meet with residents as a group.

Matthew Ponsford of Nature reports that Russia’s recent short occupation of the Chernobyl exclusion zone may have several long-term impacts on scientific research in the region. Ponsford explains how the zone has served as an internationally important natural laboratory that offers the unique opportunity to understand radiation impacts and study the development ofundisturbed ecosystems. When Russian troops invaded the region, they damaged many of the research labs and facilities, irreversibly harming research efforts. When Ukraine regained control of the exclusion zone in March 2022, research teams slowly began to return to their work, but Ponsford explains that the war has had a substantive negative impact on the region, with fewer people and less money available to support research.

In recognition of its pollinator protection efforts, Dalhousie University has been officially designated a Bee Campus by Bee City Canada. Dal was lauded for its ongoing construction of pollinator habitats, plans to implement pollinator habitat signage, commitment to educate students about bee life, and initiatives celebrating Biodiversity Day. As an official member of the Bee Campus network, Dal will attend Bee Campus meetings to share best practices and discuss opportunities for collaboration on environmental sustainability efforts. “Through this initiative, we aim to unite research and artistic expression with ecological advocacy, embodying our dedication to a diverse, inclusive, and environmentally conscious campus culture,” said Dal student pollinator researcher Emily McLean.