May 9, 2024

Saskatchewan Polytechnic has received $7.5M from business leaders Leslie and Irene Dubé to support the construction of the new Joseph A Remai Saskatoon Campus.Sask Polytech will rename its nursing school the Leslie and Irene Dubé School of Nursing to recognize this contribution and will allot part of the gift to endow student awards for psychiatric nursing students. “The Leslie and Irene Dubé School of Nursing is a fitting legacy for a couple whose generosity will enable our students to meet the growing healthcare needs of our province for years to come,” said Sask Polytech President Dr Larry Rosia.

At the Montréal Climate Summit, eight postsecondary institutions agreed to work together to accelerate climate action and strengthen the city’s resilience. Together, the institutions have agreed to adopt a common methodology to measure indirect emissions; carry out joint analyses of climate risks and vulnerabilities; develop adaptation plans specific to their respective institutions; and share progress, methods, and analysis with one another. The institutions involved are Concordia University, École de Technologie Supérieure, HEC Montréal, the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, McGill University, Polytechnique Montréal, the Université de Montréal, and the Université du Québec à Montréal.

India’s envoy to Ottawa—High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma—has asserted that Canada will need to restore its reputation as a good place to study for Indian students. Speaking to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Verma lamented the issues with exploitation in Canada and pointed out cases where several international students had died in Canada. “When [Indian students] are duped by unethical … educational outlets, that creates quite a sensation in India,” stated Verma. Verma discussed how he has encouraged Indian students to share the challenges they face in Canada and how they overcame these challenges, adding that the videos created by these students have gone viral on social media, reaching many Indian parents.

A recent article for the Brampton Guardian discusses the views of Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown on the Government of Canada’s recent measures to address “diploma mills.” During a recent news conference in Brampton, Brown said that the city had between 70 and 80 “not-reputable academic institutions,” adding that a lack of a commitment to academic integrity “cast a pall over that academic sector in the country.” Brown—along with Liberal MP Shafqat Ali and Progressive Conservative MPP Charmaine Williams—expressed optimism that the new federal initiatives will have a positive impact and “restore integrity to the sector.”

McGill University has officially reopened its free dental clinic after undergoing major renovations and announced that a continuing partnership with the Welcome Hall Mission—where the clinic is located—will allow the clinic to run full time. The renovations to the Jim Lund Dental Clinic will enable the clinic to serve twice as many patients in need of free dental care. While the clinic has existed for over a decade, the Welcome Hall Mission decided to expand the service to five days a week to address the recent increase in need. McGill dentists, students, and professors will provide clients with services with a goal of supporting oral health through education and preventative care.

A research project led by Dr Lynn Martin (Lakehead University), Dr John Hirdes (University of Waterloo), and Dr Dawn Guthrie (Wilfrid Laurier University) focused on improving palliative care services for underserved populations will receive $2.38M over four years in federal funding. This project seeks to better understand what services underserved populations receive to identify the gaps and barriers these individuals face accessing palliative care. It will also develop resources for individuals, caregivers, and providers that are tailored to different underserved populations. Advisory committees composed of people with lived and living experience and the organizations that represent them will provide guidance for the project.

Cégep de l’Outaouais has officially inaugurated its new centre focused on the environmental health and biodiversity. The Centre de recherche en santé environmentale et biodiversité de l’Outaouais (SEBO) will help organizations and government bodies to tackle challenges pertaining to the environment by facilitating research, innovation, and collaboration. SEBO will specifically provide support in the areas of environmental health, biodiversity conservation, and green biotechnologies. Alongside this inauguration, three new partners announced their support for the SEBO and its activities: the Choquette-Legault Foundation, the Government of Québec, and the Cégep de l’Outaouais Foundation.

This National Nursing Week, the University of Regina and the British Columbia Institute of Technology have each touched on the importance of Indigenizing nursing and nursing education. BCIT highlighted its ongoing work to Indigenize the Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum, including how the program ensures that students learn to be advocates for Indigenous patients. URegina Faculty of Nursing Dean Cheryl Pollard spoke to Global News about the need to recruit and retain more Indigenous nurses in Saskatchewan in order to strengthen community connections and ensure better care for Indigenous people. Pollard emphasized that it is imperative to ensure that Indigenous students know that there are multitudes of opportunities within the province.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has launched an investigation after HEC Montréal reportedly laid off several security and maintenance staff, including some of whom were involved in recent a unionization request. The day before HEC laid off 17 security and maintenance staff, CUPE had reportedly filed a request for unionization with the Tribunal administratif du travail on behalf of approximately 60 HEC Montréal employees. CUPE stated that it is investigating the matter to determine if HEC “attempted to interfere with the employees’ legal and legitimate right to organize.” According to Le Journal de Montréal, HEC asserted that the layoffs are not related to the unionization requests, but rather were part of a larger restructuring strategy. HEC added that they were informed of unionization efforts only after dismissing the employees in question.

Camosun College issued a statement after its library was affected by a cybersecurity incident targeting BC Libraries Cooperative. BC Libraries Cooperative–which hosts the Evergreen Integrated Library System used by Camosun—explained that their system was targeted by a hacker who demanded a ransom, threatening to release user data if the ransom was not paid. A Camosun release noted that the breach was minor and that it “did not pose a serious risk to privacy,” but warned that the emails accessed through the breach could be used to generate phishing or spam messages.