Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • National

CIHR is investing $19.3M into nine research teams to support research on ongoing, new, and emerging threats to lung health. The teams are led by researchers from postsecondary institutions including Dalhousie University, McGill University, McMaster University, Queen’s University, the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Waterloo. “As wildfires become more common in Canada due to climate change, it is more important than ever to address the health effects caused by exposure to wildfire smoke,” said Government of Canada Minister of Health Mark Holland. “These research teams’ initiatives will protect people’s lungs against poor air quality and other threats, including cancer, vaping, asthma, and inflammation.”

CIHR (1), CIHR (2)

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • BC

Camosun College will be constructing new on-campus student housing, thanks to a $151.7M investment from the Government of British Columbia. The housing project—which will be Camosun’s first student housing facility—will include a six-storey building with 423 beds in single, studio, and quad units. Camosun plans to construct the building with mass timber and to target LEED Platinum Standards. “On-campus housing brings various social, academic and personal benefits, including greater retention rates, while freeing up rental spaces in the surrounding communities,” said Camosun President Lane Trotter. The building is expected to be complete by Fall 2027.

BC, Island Social Trends, Times Colonist

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • QC

The Québec Superior Court has ruled against Concordia University’s request to suspend the Government of Québec’s tuition increases for out-of-province and international students. According to Justice Éric Dufour’s ruling, Concordia successfully proved that it would suffer serious or irreparable harm from the increases but did not demonstrate a clear violation of rights. Dufour also found that the tuition increase’s impact on the university did not outweigh the potential impact of the tuition raise suspension on the public interest. “This request is only one step in the process, and we look forward to our arguments being heard on the merits,” stated Concordia spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci. McGill University, which is also suing the provincial government over the tuition hike, reportedly asked to postpone its request for a stay of proceedings.

CBC, Montréal Gazette

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • ON

The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance—a collaboration between Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario, the Government of Ontario, and the University of Guelph—will use a $7.2M provincial investment to support 44 agriculture-focused research and innovation projects. The funds will support projects focused on plant and animal health, production systems, environmental sustainability, and productivity and growth. “With this investment, we will continue to train the next generation of agri-food leaders while supporting a safe and healthy food supply for Ontarians,” said UoGuelph Vice President (Research and Innovation) Rene Van Acker.

ON, UoGuelph

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • MB

Canadian Mennonite University received pre-accreditation from the Canadian Association for Social Work Education for a Bachelor of Social Work program that will be launching in September. The accreditation will enable CMU to offer a degree that will allow graduates to practice in any location in Canada. CMU VP Academic Jonathan Dueck and CMU social work department chair Alex Sawatsky explained that the program will recognize the importance of faith, as well as the harms caused by religion. The program will also focus on serving Indigenous people; its creation was guided by elders and leaders from the Indigenous community. “We want to help students think about what reconciliation means,” said Sawatsky.

Winnipeg Free Press, CMU

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • National

Some members of the community have recently pushed back against the approach university administrators took with the pro-Palestinian protesters. The Windsor Star reports that the University of Windsor recently received criticism regarding the agreement that it reached with pro-Palestinian protesters. In response, UWindsor is reportedly developing an agreement with members of its Jewish community and is creating a toolkit to combat antisemitism. University of Manitoba Law Professor Bryan Schwartz and B’nai Brith Canada Director of Research and Advocacy Richard Robertson penned an article for the Winnipeg Free Press criticizing how universities such as McGill University responded to pro-Palestinian encampments and protests on their campus. They call for a cross-sector effort to “combat the scourge of antisemitism in Canada” and encourage institutions to take actions such as recognizing antisemitism as a distinct form of bias and hatred.

CBC (UWindsor), Windsor Star (UWindsor), Winnipeg Free Press (Schwartz, Robertson)

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • NB

The Government of New Brunswick is funding a new program through the Carpenter Millwright College of New Brunswick that will help build more homes in Fredericton. The $276K investment will support 15 students in the one-year program, which consists of 20 weeks of classroom study and 32 weeks of on-the-job training. The students will have the opportunity to work alongside three Red Seal carpenters and construct five homes for Habitat for Humanity. “Any time you have a demand, you’ve got to find the resources to meet that demand,” said NB Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Greg Turner. “We had the land, we had the lumber, and we had everything. We need the people to put them together.” The City of Fredericton is providing plots of land for the homes.

CBC

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • ON

Jonathan Malloy, Bell Chair in Canadian Parliamentary Democracy at Carleton University, wrote an article in the Globe and Mail that criticizes the Government of Ontario’s funding policies. Malloy compares the strategies being used by ON to those used by Dollarama, in which the focus is placed on driving costs per unit down instead of offering a unique or exclusive final “product.” ON has “throttled revenue at both ends” by freezing provincial funding and tuition, argues Malloy, which in turn has pushed colleges and universities to accept more students at the lowest cost possible, opt for cheaper but less effective learning approaches, and optimize alternative revenue sources such as international student enrolment. Malloy concludes by asserting that ON already has an alternative to the “Dollarama model” available to it that was outlined in the 2023 blue-ribbon report.

Globe and Mail

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • BC, ON

Some Canadian faculty members are facing backlash for online comments made in the wake of an assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump. National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak criticized the public comments made on social media by faculty members from the University of British Columbia, University of Guelph, and University of Ottawa. Sarkonak writes that academics “are supposed to represent the best of Canada’s thinking class” and argues that these “off-colour” comments will be taken as “a cue to students that such behaviour is normal and broadcastable.” UoGuelph issued a statement indicating that it is aware of and takes seriously the comments made by a faculty member; CBC reports that Guelph Police are also reportedly investigating threats of harm that have since been made against the faculty member.

UoGuelph, CBC (UoGuelph), National Post

Top Ten News

Jul 19, 2024 • ON

University of Toronto Press has purchased legal publisher Irwin Law as part of an effort to broaden and deepen its legal content offerings. U of T will be combining Irwin’s legal materials—which are geared towards professionals, students, and general audiences—with UTP’s legal offerings. “Irwin Law has built a strong reputation for care and dedication to authors and published works – we look forward to furthering the long-standing impact by increasing access to Irwin books and catalogues,” said UTP VP of Publishing Antonia Pop. “It is an exciting step forward. Combining Irwin’s lists with the strength of UTP’s existing legal offerings sets the stage for future growth in a critical area of increasing relevance.”

Law Times News