May 10, 2024

The University of Saskatchewan has received a $25M boost from the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan to advance agricultural research. This funding will provide continued support for 15 strategic research chairs at USask’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources who are researching crop genetic improvement, livestock development, food and bioproducts development, and soils and the environment. “Providing stable funding to attract and retain leading scientists in key strategic areas increases the competitiveness and resilience of Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector and our provincial economy along with it,” said SK Agriculture Minister David Marit.

On campuses across Canada, negotiations are continuing between administrators and encampment organizers. At McGill University, the Montreal Gazette, reports that police and security have seized supplies that were brought to protesters. City News states that talks are continuing between the university and encampment. Western University’s equity, diversity, and inclusion office has offered to meet with the students that organized a 12-hour encampment last week. At the University of Toronto, protest organizers allege that the university is “ignoring their demands;” the organizers are now refusing to participate in talks unless their focus changes. U of T stated that it is looking to resolve key issues around health and safety before moving to “substantive discussions.” University of British Columbia President Benoit-Antoine Bacon recently issued a statement indicating that the university would welcome a “respectful and robust discussion” about investments. Bacon added that UBCs endowment fund does not directly own any stocks that are the target of divestment demands.

The Government of Ontario is investing $5M into mental health and addiction services for postsecondary students in underserved communities. Institutions will be able to use this funding to hire nurse practitioners, social workers, psychotherapists, traditional counsellors, and healers so that they can fill any gaps in their mental health services. This investment covers eight unique projects between postsecondary institutions and community-based non-profit organizations, including Algoma University, Algonquin College, College Boréal, Niagara College, Nipissing University in partnership with Canadore College, Iohahiio Akwesasne Education and Training Institute in partnership with St Lawrence College, the Shingwauk Teaching Lodge in partnership with the Shingwauk Anishinaabe Student Association, and Six Nations Polytechnic.

CP24 and the Vancouver Sun report that some Jewish students and faculty feel unsafe on campus and feel that they need to hide their identity. Six students from Alberta, Ontario, and Québec recently spoke to Liberal MPs about increasing antisemitism on their campuses, raising concerns about students feeling afraid to wear kippot on campus, dehumanizing chants, and the failure of school administrators to respond to safety concerns. Miriam Nisonen Oliver, incoming president of student group Hillel at the University of Toronto, told the Vancouver Sun that she is scared that the university and police will not respond to antisemitic actions.

St Thomas University and MFC Training have launched a Bachelor of Arts (Aviation Stream) program. Students in this program will complete one full year of academic coursework at STU before starting flight training and ground school courses at MFC. They will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, a Commercial Pilot Licence, Multi-engine class rating, and Group 1 instrument rating. “The addition of a university degree to professional flight training will enhance career opportunities for graduates in addition to serving a desire among students to access a more traditional and full university experience,” said STU President Dr Nauman Farooqi.

Several postsecondary institutions have announced new sustainability initiatives. McGill University and the Université de Sherbrooke celebrated the opening of a new greenhouse, which stems from the Eastern Canadian Plant Phenotyping Platform initiative. The greenhouse will support research into sustainable solutions to agricultural issues such as adaptation of production to climate change. Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne has partnered with BIXI Montreal to install a self-service electric bike station on campus in an effort to incorporate sustainable mobility solutions. York University’s YU Eats has partnered with the Humane Society International and Health Canada, signing two pledges that advance food sustainability: the Food Guide-Friendly Pledge and the Forward Food Pledge. Royal Roads University has embarked on its first Climate Risk Assessment to adapt to future climate hazards.

British Columbia Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender has called upon postsecondary institutions in the province to protect student protesters. Her statement comes in response to the pro-Palestinian encampments that were set up at the University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and Vancouver Island University last week. Govender said that there is no place in BC for the incitement of hate toward any group, antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, or Islamophobia. “So long as those limits are not violated, universities, colleges and public institutions should stand up for and protect the rights of students, faculty and staff to make their voices heard on campus, including through peaceful encampments,” said Govender.

This week, the Montréal Climate Partnership launched the Climate Data Hub for Greater Montréal, a single federated point of access to emissions-related data held by government offices, private companies, and academic researchers. The Climate Data Hub is led by Concordia University alongside partners in industry, government, and postsecondary, including the École de Technologie Supérieure. The hub aims to aggregate and share data and convert these insights into action. “We don’t just want to pool data for the sake of it,” said Climate Data Hub lead Jean-Noé Landry. “We want purposeful data sharing that enables us to take decisions and spur actions that we haven’t been able or willing to take previously.”

In an opinion piece for The Conversation, Christopher Stuart Taylor (University of Waterloo) discusses why the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts of Canadian universities struggle to meaningfully address racism. Taylor writes that DEI initiatives in Canada root back to the official multiculturalism policy of 1971, which the author argues was created to ensure English and French communities got along, while ensuring Black and Indigenous people conformed to the status quo. The author adds that Canada continues to grapple with reconciling its settler colonial historical past and that “DEI, like multiculturalism before, was never designed to directly tackle that history.” Taylor concludes that universities can only meaningfully address racism once they have recognized the historical underpinnings of Canadian DEI.

Assiniboine Community College, Cambrian College, Lambton College, Niagara College, and the Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2) coalition were recently recognized by the World Federation for Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) for their contributions to skills, economic, and social development. ACC and Cambrian were recognized for their efforts in Indigenous education, while Lambton and Niagara were noted for their work in applied research and innovation. C2R2 received an award for strategic leadership.