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Quebec, student leaders agree to talk

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

A breakthrough may be in the making between the Quebec government and the province’s striking students after Premier Jean Charest hired Dan Gagnier, one of his closest advisers, as his new chief of staff to resolve the escalating crisis.

Canadian innovations get to market faster

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

A stronger emphasis on development by governments and research-funding organizations may be helping Canadian entrepreneurs get their innovations to market faster. But experts say a stubborn innovation gap remains, particularly in life sciences.

Quebec student groups must respect election spending rules, watchdog warns

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

Quebec’s striking student groups have been warned to respect provincial election laws if they want to make good on their promise to help defeat Jean Charest’s Liberal government.

Laurier faculty to send funds to striking Quebec students

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

The faculty association at Wilfrid Laurier University has pledged its support to striking students in Quebec.

Quebec protests could spread: Expert

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

The Quebec student protests have the potential to spread as they gain support around the world, according to a Queen's University expert on protest movements.

The language of protest

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

While Quebec's French students take to the streets, most anglos are quietly going about their studies. Here's why.

Key Charest aide suddenly replaced

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

Premier's office denies chief of staff's departure is linked to student unrest.

Editorial: Our Not-So-Friendly Northern Neighbor

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

For a change, Americans should take note of what is happening across the quiet northern border.

Quebec unrest gets noticed around the world, in a variety of ways

2012-05-25T07:00:00Z

The world is becoming increasingly aware of the social tumult rattling Quebec, which has begun to affect the province's interactions with outsiders in a variety of ways.

Bill 78 not getting much support

2012-05-24T07:00:00Z

The Quebec government’s controversial new law, Bill 78, has been widely criticized by constitutional experts, civil libertarians and the Liberal government’s political opponents.

Analysis: What should Charest do next?

2012-05-24T07:00:00Z

Negotiations have not worked. Playing the tough guy has not yielded much.

N.S. students back Quebec peers

2012-05-24T07:00:00Z

King’s College group says it shares opposition to costs.

Quebec student struggle poses a challenge for NDP

2012-05-24T07:00:00Z

The NDP is professing strict neutrality in the ongoing battle over tuition fees in Quebec, even as party MPs and staffers participate in demonstrations in Montreal and clearly express their support for the striking students.

Negotiations between students, Quebec may resume soon

2012-05-24T07:00:00Z

The start of negotiations to end Quebec’s drawn-out tuition conflict, which began in mid-February, appeared close Wednesday, with both Education Minister Michelle Courchesne and student leaders saying they want to talk.

High-impact learning at a modest cost

2012-05-24T16:22:06Z

Elsewhere on our site, Rosanna Tamburri reports on five community service-learning projects at Canadian universities that were recently honoured by the Montreal-based McConnell Foundation. According to the foundation, the purpose of these new awards is to “celebrate the most innovative CSL initiatives while encouraging postsecondary institutions and communities to continue the promising work that has begun.” CSL is a teaching model that, by combining volunteer service with academic work, aims to instil in students a sense of civic engagement while also offering something of benefit to the community.

What struck me about the awards – and in no way is this meant to demean the fine work of the McConnell Foundation – was their modest cash amount: $7,500 each. Yet, if that money essentially helps to keep these projects running, it represents an incredible return on investment.

There has been a push in recent years by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, the Council of Ontario Universities and others to promote innovation in undergraduate education (see here and here). A key ingredient to learning success, as popularized by the National Survey of Student Engagement, is students’ engagement in their learning activities through active, collaborative and enriching learning experiences, particularly those involving the community. CSL initiatives offer this in spades.

As an example, let’s take a look at one of the projects honoured with an inaugural CSL award: the Université de la Rue (University of the Street) at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The project brings together students, professors and community groups who work to foster better relations and understanding between street kids and other marginalized citizens, and the community in which they live.

Another example is the EcoJustice Environmental Law Clinic, a partnership between the University of Ottawa and EcoJustice, a non-governmental organization formerly known as the Sierra Legal Defence Fund. The clinic trains students in environmental litigation, who then work alongside law professors and environmental lawyers to represent community and advocacy groups, First Nations communities and others who likely wouldn’t be able to afford legal help.

CSL initiatives aren’t new to Canada (I first wrote about them in 2004, with a follow-up article in 2009), but they still suffer from a relatively low profile. The McConnell Foundation gave them a huge boost in early 2005 by providing nearly $10 million to support 10 CSL projects at Canadian universities. According to our reporter Ms. Tamburri, the purpose of the funding was to help a select group of CSL programs get established and grow; it wasn’t intended to provide ongoing operational support. This is the last year the foundation will provide direct support for such initiatives.

CSL projects require a lot of time and resources to coordinate activities among students, faculty and community organizations. The movement needs champions for its continued growth. There is the Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning to help spread the word, but what the movement really needs is a long-term funding commitment from governments or corporate/private sponsors. Students will benefit, universities will benefit, and so will the community groups they work with. It’s a win-win-win proposition.

Anatomy of a conflict after 100 days of student protests

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

A timeline of the Quebec student strike against tuition hikes, which marks its 100th day Tuesday with a day- time rally starting at 2 p.m. at Quartier des Spectacles.

Protesters explain why they march

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Interspersed with the tens of thousands of students protesting Tuesday were many demonstrators whose school days were far behind them — parents, grandparents, Communists, politicians and citizens upset over the direction their government is taking.

Courchesne reaches out to leaders but not CLASSE

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Education Minister Michelle Courchesne says she is willing to negotiate with student leaders.

Montreal police use controversial new laws to quell protest

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Montreal police brought the hammer down on student demonstrators Tuesday night, enforcing a controversial law that brought tens of thousands into the streets in a protest earlier in the day that drew international support.

Editorial: Quebec student protest has lost credibility

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

The fact that representatives of the student protest movement reacted to Charest’s comments with great anger says a lot about how this protest in Quebec has moved past acceptable.

You don’t need a a university degree for a successful life

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Jack Jedwab is concerned that Quebecers are far less likely than other Canadians to think that "a university degree is essential toward succeeding in today’s society".

Quebec opposition says emergency law is a flop

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Premier Jean Charest pleads for social peace.

Just watch us: 100 days in, protesters declare their right to march

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

A sea of students, their numbers swollen by trade unionists, teachers and other supporters, flooded through the streets of Montreal in a massive turnout marking the 100th day of a protest movement that is growing broader and bolder.

UBC graduates record number of aboriginal MDs

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Faculty's aim is to attract them in hopes that they will return to rural areas of B.C. to practise medicine.

Bill 78 contravenes charter, lawyer says

2012-05-23T07:00:00Z

Court challenge; Police haven't had to enforce laws yet.

Opinion: An online opportunity for Canadian universities

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

Open courses are a logical extension of every university’s core commitment to preserve and disseminate knowledge as widely as possible.

Massive public support for Charest’s emergency law

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

Jean Charest’s decision to opt for the heavy artillery to tamp down striking student protesters has earned him some sharp criticism, but the public seems very much in his corner.

Column: Quebec’s tuition protesters are the Greeks of Canada

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

Actually, I feel much sorrier for the Greeks than I do for the protesting students.

U of Winnipeg rejects copyright deal as 'money grab'

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

The University of Winnipeg is opting out of a national copyright deal the U of W says would be a waste of $200,000 a year.

We won't let Bill 78 stop us: CLASSE

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

Quebec's most militant student group against tuition hikes vowed Monday to hold protests all summer long in defiance of Bill 78, the law that places limits on public demonstrations.

Entertainers offer support for Quebec student strike

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

Support for Quebec's student strike went international this weekend, as red squares popped up on the red carpet at Cannes and the stage of Saturday Night Live.

Amid student unrest, Quebec turns up heat with corruption probe

2012-05-22T07:00:00Z

The explosive issue of corruption in Quebec returns to centre stage Tuesday as a long-anticipated public inquiry gets under way into the shadowy workings of the province’s construction industry.

Opinion: A university degree’s value in Quebec

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

An equally important – if not more important – issue also challenging the future of higher education in this province is the value that Quebecers attribute to a university degree.

Medical college plan gets go-ahead at USask

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

Many worried about the process.

Charest launches legislation to crack down on student protests

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

Just hours after the Quebec government responded to student groups with an offer to resume negotiations, it unveiled legislation Thursday night that would crack down on protesters – and especially the student groups that endorse demonstrations.

Heavy fines target Quebec students in bill

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

Emergency legislation tabled by the Quebec government to stamp out a turbulent student crisis contains provisions for heavy fines for students and their federations.

Hamilton’s home to Canada’s first male midwife

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

Otis Kryzanauskas will be wearing red Adidas instead of the traditional red heels at McMaster University’s graduation ceremony Friday, when he makes history by becoming the first man in Canada to get a midwifery degree.

Opinion: Quebec’s student farce

2012-05-18T07:00:00Z

It’s about time. Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s announcement that he will use legislation to end the province’s 14-week tuition strike is the right approach, and long overdue.

Students file injunctions after UQAM attack

2012-05-17T07:00:00Z

Tired of waiting for the Charest government to decisively bring an end to the increasingly violent and intimidating outbursts from protesters, at least two students have turned to the police and courts on their own in an effort to save their academic year.

Ontario students face long waits for mental health help, warns new report

2012-05-17T07:00:00Z

Ontario students with mental and emotional troubles wait an average of seven days to see a campus counselor - and some wait months, warns a new report that calls for more front-line help to tackle what has been hailed as a mental health crisis across Canada’s ivory tower.

Charest suspends classes in response to student strikes

2012-05-17T07:00:00Z

The Charest government, abandoning any hope of negotiating a settlement with striking students, announced it is suspending classes in colleges and universities where students are still on strike.

Emergency Quebec student law suspends semester

2012-05-17T07:00:00Z

Special law addresses 'access to education'.

Quebec gets ready to play hardball with student protesters

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

The Quebec government is preparing a new hard line to try to end a months-long student strike, signalling that a riot squad’s attempt to open a college Tuesday is only the start of the use of force to get students back to school.

Can Jean Charest survive the student strike?

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Although a senior cabinet minister has become a casualty, and the conflict between the Quebec Liberal government and student protesters remains unresolved, Premier Jean Charest may yet emerge as the winner in this dispute, some observers say.

Scientists exaggerating risks of cuts to federal research programs: Goodyear

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Concern about cuts to two federal science programs, which are being described as a "disaster" by senior researchers, has been overblown, says the minister in charge of the Harper government's research policy.

Tuition protests exceed threshold of tolerance

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

What had seemed a possible turning point in Quebec's three-month student protests, a new hardline approach, quickly returned to the status quo with the announcement that classes at the CEGEP in Ste-Thérèse, northwest of Montreal, would be cancelled until Friday at the earliest.

New Alberta education minister outlines his top priorities

2012-05-16T07:00:00Z

Alberta's new education minister, Jeff Johnson, is a 45yearold father of three children with a strong background in business. Johnson recently ran a Xerox agency and worked closely with about 30 school boards and 10 post-secondary institutions.

Five community service-learning projects honoured for their work

2012-05-16T09:00:00Z

It’s not every law student that has the opportunity to work on a potentially precedent-setting case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. But that’s what a group of law students at the University of Ottawa did last year, in a case involving clean-up costs of several contaminated sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. The students were participants in the EcoJustice Environmental Law Clinic, a partnership between the university and EcoJustice, a non-governmental organization formerly known as the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.

Since the clinic was founded in 2007, it has trained about 25 students a year in environmental litigation. The participants work alongside law professors and environmental lawyers representing community and advocacy groups, First Nations communities and individuals who likely wouldn’t be able to afford legal help. The work is provided free of charge.

On May 11, the clinic was recognized for its contributions as one of the recipients of the inaugural Community Service-Learning Awards provided by the Montreal-based J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. The prizes were awarded at the annual gathering of the Canadian Alliance for Community-Service Learning held at the University of Saskatchewan.

“Getting a stamp of approval from McConnell means a lot,” said Will Amos, director of the EcoJustice clinic and a part-time law professor at U of Ottawa. The award is a “validation” of the clinic’s work, he said, and a recognition of the growing acceptance for community service-learning at universities. “It’s an important new force for learning,” he said.

Since 2004, the McConnell Foundation has provided $9.4 million to 10 universities to help them develop and expand community-service learning, or CSL, initiatives. Many other institutions have launched CSL programs with the support of other donors. CSL combines volunteer service with academic learning.

The purpose of the McConnell funding was to help a select group of CSL programs get established and grow; it wasn’t intended to provide ongoing operational support. This is the last year the foundation will provide direct support for such initiatives. To mark the transition, the foundation introduced an annual CSL awards program. The purpose of the awards is to “celebrate the most innovative CSL initiatives while encouraging postsecondary institutions and communities to continue the promising work that has begun,” it said. Each year up to four awards valued at $7,500 each will go to projects that are jointly supported by community organizations and postsecondary institutions.

This year five projects were selected, two of them based at Université du Québec à Trois Rivières, which will share an award. The other recipients are U of Ottawa, Lakehead University and the University of British Columbia.

UQTR was chosen for its l’Université de la Rue and l’Écol’Hotel K programs. The first project brings together students, professors and community groups who work to foster better relations and understanding between street kids and other marginalized citizens, and the community in which they live. Lyne Douville, program director and professor at UQTR, called the project one that is “close to my heart” and said she hopes the award will spur other universities to take on similar initiatives.

UQTR’s l’Écol’Hotel K is Canada’s first eco-hotel and school. The ecologically built and managed hotel also functions as a training ground for students in various disciplines such as accounting.

UBC’s College of Health Disciplines places health professional students within aboriginal communities to allow them to gain first-hand knowledge of aboriginal culture, traditions and lifestyle. The students learn alongside aboriginal youth at summer camps run by First Nations elders and cultural leaders. The students, in turn, run talks on nutrition, sexual health and other health-related topics.

Lakehead University’s Food Security Research Network works to enhance and expand local food production, marketing and distribution systems in northern Ontario, particularly in remote areas faced with high food costs.

The McConnell Foundation said it plans to support the CSL awards for the next few years while it tries to find other donors to take up the cause.

Repoliticizing science

2012-05-16T09:00:00Z

Is science amoral and apolitical, or should it be the subject of political and social debates? The former vision is what appears to guide science in Canada. Canadian and Québec science policies have been adopted with no parliamentary debate, as if self-evident, a situation that has to change, according to a group called the Association science et bien commun.

Founded in July 2011 by a group of Quebec researchers and students, the association’s mission is to encourage the involvement of citizens – researchers and non-researchers alike – in the collective writing of the broad strokes of a science policy that reflects their values and concerns. Their Internet project “La science que nous voulons” (the science we want) is intended to gather ideas and opinions from the public. The group took advantage of a recent session at the Acfas conference in Montreal to discuss the project’s main issues and to show a video of some of the contributions already gathered.

How should citizens be involved?

The idea of democratizing science is hardly a new one. But it’s important to know exactly what is meant by it. According to Mélissa Lieutenant-Gosselin, a doctoral candidate in the department of information and communication at Université Laval, there are two main visions of citizen involvement in science.

The first involves the transfer of knowledge developed by scientists to the public, through popularization or mechanisms for access to scientific information. That’s no small task, according to a spokesperson from the Association des communicateurs scientifiques du Québec. “Researchers don’t have the reflex of communicating regularly beyond their own circles,” he says. “It’s often at the bottom of their to-do list.”

For Jean-Marc Fontan, a sociology researcher at Université du Québec à Montréal, this attitude reveals a failure to understand the nature of research. “My research is the result of life in society, which I bring my expertise to,” he says. “It is never a purely individual construction.”

The second vision of public involvement in science is much less unilateral and revolves around citizen contributions to science, i.e., their involvement in debates about the direction of research, applications or ethical issues. This vision of citizen science is actually a “repoliticization” of science, which would become part of the democratic process. Public debate, the creation of decision-making or advisory bodies that include citizens, the presence of citizens in laboratories – there is no shortage of ideas among proponents of democratizing science.

Utopia or nightmare?

Presented by its advocates as the normal democratization of scientific activity that has a major impact on people’s day-to-day lives, many researchers see this openness as a nightmare, fearing that they would lose their autonomy and be told what to do by citizens who have their own convictions and interests. “There is the risk that this openness would be exploited by policymakers and even by businesses,” says Jean Bernatchez, political scientist and education researcher at Université du Québec à Rimouski.

Florence Piron, associate professor in the department of information and communication at Université Laval, believes that this fear is anchored in a vision of an amoral and apolitical science that comes straight out of the 17th century. At that time, the idea was to place science out of reach of centuries-old religious powers, which often looked askance at certain scientific initiatives. According to Dr. Piron, it’s an outdated vision to which she opposes an ethic of “fellow citizenship” in which the researcher, who is also a citizen, would get involved in debates about the direction of scientific ethics.

So the question is raised: Has the time come for citizen science?

Opinion: Surrendering to the students is not an option for Jean Charest

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

Why are young Quebecers more determined this year than in the past?

Column: Educated for unemployment

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

Margaret Wente hates to say this, but if your degree is in sociology, psych, art history or much else on the soft side, you are a dime a dozen.

Police brace for showdown with Quebec student protesters at Montreal campus

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

A confrontation appeared possible Tuesday morning between student protesters blocking the entrance to a college north of Montreal and the Quebec provincial police’s riot squad.

Education minister's exit leaves Charest holding the bag

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

The surprising resignation of Quebec’s education minister has dealt a major blow to Premier Jean Charest’s efforts to end a bitter months-long battle with students over tuition fee hikes.

A leg-up when it comes to covering crisis

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

For the student journalists covering the upheaval surrounding the tuition crisis, the last 13 weeks have been less of a sheltered learning experience and more of a trial by fire.

Michelle Courchesne sworn in as new Quebec education minister

2012-05-15T07:00:00Z

As the 14th week of a school boycott that student leaders are calling a strike began Monday, Education Minister Line Beauchamp announced she was making “the ultimate compromise,” in a bid to end Quebec’s drawn-out tuition dispute.

Opinion: Charest has failed Quebec's universities

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

In a badly managed attempt to appease the student protest, the Quebec government threw the universities under the bus.

Column: The battle for democracy

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

The students have reason to be angry. And yes, Quebec does need economic change. But not the kind they’re demanding.

Classes resume in Gatineau amidst Quebec protests

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

Students from CEGEP de l'Outaouais in Gatineau resume classes this morning as protests to a proposed tuition hike enter their 14th week.

Opinion: How free is academic freedom?

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

Canada desperately needs a broad and vigorous public discussion about why academic freedom is important, what might threaten it and how it should be protected.

Opinion: Balsillie hasn’t impinged on academic freedom, integrity

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

Over the course of more than five decades, the University of Waterloo has earned a reputation as a first-class research and academic institution that enshrines academic freedom and integrity.

Federal cuts called a 'disaster' for Canadian science

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

The microfungus collection and herbarium at the University of Alberta has been nurturing fungi for more than 50 years. And since 1990 it has been considered a “unique” national resource worthy of federal money. No more. Funding for the collection, and dozens of other “major” and “unique” science facilities and resources across Canada, has been hit by federal cuts in what is being described as a “disaster” for Canadian science.

Scientists fear budget cuts fallout

2012-05-14T07:00:00Z

Arctic research stations put at risk by loss of federal funding.

Commentary: A victory for free speech at the University of Calgary

2012-05-11T07:00:00Z

This week, in the case of Pridgen v. University of Calgary, the Alberta Court of Appeal affirmed that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the free speech rights of university students on campus.

Back to square one on tuition protest

2012-05-11T07:00:00Z

Thirteen weeks of striking, dozens of demonstrations, repeated métro mayhem, 22 hours of negotiations, millions of dollars worth of policing, winter semesters that will be taught during the heat of August ... and still Quebec students are no closer to ending their tuition fee protest than when their boycott began in February.

Canada places third in new international ranking of higher-ed systems

2012-05-11T08:00:00Z

While there are any number of well-regarded global rankings of universities and colleges, these don't reveal anything about national systems of higher education and the environment which different countries provide for their institutions and students. Given the significance of higher education in economic growth and development, it’s important for governments to be able to benchmark their systems. More transparency and clarity is needed to encourage knowledge-sharing, collaboration and development of opportunities for students in all countries.

Today sees the first publication of a new ranking of national HE systems, based on research at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne into data from 48 countries. The ranking is organised by Universitas 21, an international research network of 24 universities and colleges whose membership works together to encourage international mobility and engagement between staff and students (the network has two Canadian members, the University of British Columbia and McGill University).

The ranking is based on 20 different measures that the researchers believe are critical to what makes a “good” HE system, grouped under four umbrella headings:

resources (investment by government and private sector)
output (research and its impact, as well as the production of an educated workforce which meets labour market needs)
connectivity (international networks and collaboration which protects a system against insularity) and
environment (government policy and regulation, diversity and participation opportunities).

Population size is accounted for in the calculations.

Canada is placed third globally in the ranking, behind only the U.S. and Sweden, and above international competitors for overseas students such as the U.K. and Australia. Its position is based primarily on being ranked first for resources – a reflection of the level of investment into the system – and third for outputs. Canada’s position may have been higher but for lower ratings for environment (29th, a reflection of a relative lack of diversity in terms of types of HE institutions and the composition of the student population) and connectivity (17th, meaning relatively less international collaboration and involvement of overseas students in research).

Source: Universitas 21.

Generally, there is a strong relationship between resources and output – illustrating the importance of funding support. Of the top eight countries in output, only the U.K. and Australia are not in the top eight for resources. There is some evidence of groupings of neighbouring countries. The four Nordic countries are all in the top seven; four east Asian countries (Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Korea) are clustered together at ranks 18 to 22; Eastern European countries (Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia) are together in the middle range; and the Latin American countries (Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico) also cluster together. While many countries don’t feel they can be a world leader, they do want to remain competitive with their neighbours.

Government funding of higher education as a percentage of GDP is highest in Finland, Norway and Denmark, but when private expenditures are added in, funding is highest in the U.S., Korea, Canada and Chile. Investment in research and development is highest in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. The U.S. dominates the total output of research journal articles, but Sweden is the biggest producer of articles per capita. The nations whose research has the greatest impact are Switzerland, the Netherlands, the U.S., the U.K. and Denmark. While the U.S. and U.K. have the world’s top institutions in rankings, the depth of world-class higher education institutions per capita is best in Switzerland, Sweden, Israel and Denmark.

The highest participation rates in higher education are in Korea, Finland, Greece, the U.S., Canada and Slovenia. The countries with the largest proportion of workers with a higher-level education are Russia, Canada, Israel, the U.S., Ukraine, Taiwan and Australia. Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Norway and Japan have the highest ratio of researchers in the economy.

Source: Universitas 21.

International students form the highest proportions of total student numbers in Australia, Singapore, Austria, the U.K. and Switzerland. International research collaboration is most prominent in Indonesia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Belgium and Austria. China, India, Japan and the U.S. rank in the bottom 25 percent of countries for international research collaboration. In all but eight countries at least 50 percent of students were female, the lowest being in India and Korea.

We hope the Universitas 21 Ranking will be recognised as an important reference point for governments and everyone involved in HE, as a means of ensuring recognition of the value of HE to economic development and the international standing of a country’s institutions.

Ross Williams is a professor at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne.

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Court sides with two Calgary university students in Facebook free-speech case

2012-05-10T07:00:00Z

Alberta’s highest court is siding with two University of Calgary students who say their Charter rights were violated when the school punished them for criticizing a professor on Facebook.

Tuition agreement with Quebec doomed to fail, student votes indicate

2012-05-10T07:00:00Z

Voting results on Quebec's tentative agreement on increasing university tuition stand at 3,200 for - and 83,250 against, results likely to prolong the three-month crisis.

PBO gets few answers on budgetary effects

2012-05-10T07:00:00Z

The parliamentary budget officer is getting stonewalled by the Harper government on the implications of budget cuts on federal departments and public services.

Opinion: In Quebec, a premier surrenders to mob rule

2012-05-10T07:00:00Z

Even capitulation, Jean Charest found, was not enough.

The stars align at Canada’s recent university mission to Brazil

2012-05-09T09:00:00Z

Reflecting the growing interest in Brazil – Canada’s third-largest trading partner in the Americas –30 presidents of Canadian universities recently participated in a delegation to that country organized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. The aim was to promote Canadian excellence in research, highlight Canada’s academic “brand” and encourage the formation of strong linkages between Canadian and Brazilian postsecondary institutions. Underscoring the importance of this venture was the fact that it was led by the Governor General of Canada, and former university president, David Johnston.

Brazil is a logical target for a venture of this scope. With a population of nearly 200 million, it boasts a potentially huge market of Canada-bound undergraduate and graduate students. Further, it possesses what is widely acknowledged to be the most sophisticated innovation system in Latin America, with home-grown technology – much of it developed in public-sector research labs – driving commercial success in a variety of sectors from aerospace to alternative energy, ocean technologies and pharmaceuticals. Its GDP now exceeds that of the United Kingdom.

During their weeklong visit, the leaders of Canada’s universities attended the Conference of the Americas on International Education in Rio de Janeiro, participated in the Canada-Brazil Innovation Forum in São Paulo and visited one of Brazil’s leading technological universities, along with federal research centres, before heading to Brasília for talks with government leaders and representatives of agencies that fund innovation and student mobility.

Still, critics will argue that this visit came too late, following on the heels of similar delegations to Brazil from a number of competitor countries – among them the U.K, Germany and France – as well as high-level delegations from Brazil to key partner countries such as the U.S. But there are sometimes strategic advantages associated with delayed timing. By hanging back, sometimes one can learn from others’ mistakes and arrive with the right message and the right kind of incentives to partnership.

This is eminently true in the Canadian case. On April 27, at the Canada-Brazil Innovation Forum in São Paulo, the co-chairs of the joint committee established by the two countries to operationalize their Science, Technology and Innovation Framework Agreement, ratified in 2010, presented a draft joint action plan. This document lays out a clear pathway for the establishment and growth of collaboration in research and training between Canada and Brazil for years to come. In this regard, Canada is now ahead of the game in its relationship with Brazil – few other countries can boast of a concrete set of objectives driving current and future activity.

In the area of research, for example, the action plan sets in motion the establishment of a research fund managed by International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada. The fund, seeded with an initial contribution of $4.5 million from the federal government to be matched by Brazil, is designed to promote research collaboration between universities and industry in the two countries. The focus initially will be in four areas: ocean technologies, clean technology/ green energy, life sciences, and information and communications technologies. These are all key fields of complementary strength where Canada and Brazil together could make a serious mark internationally.

However, to take full advantage of the partnerships and alliances made as part of the April mission, Canadian universities will need to ensure that their researchers have the tools and networking opportunities required to succeed. In addition, they will need to advocate strongly with our main research funding councils – the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Foundation for Innovation – to develop specific programming targeted at Brazilian and Canadian initiatives.

The action plan also calls for better integration with respect to student mobility between Canada and Brazil. On a planet where both ideas and talent are increasingly mobile, collaboration on this front can help fill each country’s widening skills gap while providing students with the international experience they increasingly require to be successful in their chosen careers.

Already AUCC and its sister organization, the Canadian Bureau of International Education, have begun work with their Canadian university members to attract at least 12,000 of the 100,000 Brazilian students who study abroad through Brazil’s ambitious Science Without Borders program. It is not every day when such large numbers of potential international applicants are prepared to arrive fully funded. The trick will be to communicate effectively with prospective students that Canada’s doors are open and that this country possesses a broad array of top-quality educational programs taught by world-class faculty.

As part of this effort, Canadian universities need to think as well about reciprocity; that is, how to ensure that Canadian students are positioned to participate in study-abroad activities in Brazil. One way to achieve this is through greater emphasis on internships, particularly with companies. Such a strategy could prove highly beneficial both for students seeking applied experience and for Brazilian companies currently experiencing serious shortages of highly skilled labour.

The action plan also calls for active engagement in R&D activities and events that reduce the unfamiliarity that still plagues the Canada-Brazil relationship. To be sure, Canadian and Brazilian researchers have been meeting and collaborating for years. What is required at this point, however, is the kind of consistent presence and networking required to consolidate and build new collaborative R&D ventures in the full range of disciplinary endeavours.

The opportunity is two-fold. On the one hand, institutions in Canada need to work with partners in Brazil to ensure that students, researchers and whole research areas are represented at major conferences through the inclusion of specific Canada-Brazil panels and sessions. Already, discussion is under way to ensure just such a presence at Rio+20, a UN conference on sustainable development to be held this June.

On the other hand, universities need to work with partners to establish and oversee dedicated seminars and events, particularly in areas of complementary strength. Such an event recently occurred as part of the Canada 3.0 digital future conference held in April in Stratford, Ontario. Realizing an objective announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff last August, the conference included an international workshop to showcase presentations by Brazilian leaders in business, government and academia. This will now be followed by a dedicated Brazil-Canada 3.0 meeting to be held in São Paulo this fall. By bringing together key stakeholders in the digital media sector in both countries, organizers hope to develop the kind of ongoing partnerships that will lead to cutting-edge research and development, and ultimately commercialization.

It is timely that the kind of networking activity that was central to the university presidents’ Brazil foray should coincide directly with a similar federal initiative. Indeed, there seems to be an “aligning of the stars” of university ambition with pragmatic planning, as proposed by the Canada-Brazil joint committee. This will almost certainly yield the kinds of solid bilateral partnerships envisioned by stakeholders all round.

W. E. (Ted) Hewitt, a leading Canadian authority on Brazil, is currently a visiting public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. and professor of sociology at Western University.

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Legislation will formalize NSAC merger with Dalhousie

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

The province introduced legislation on Tuesday to formalize the planned merger of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College and Dalhousie University.

U of Regina unveils balanced budget

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

Despite a $4 million funding gap left by the province, the University of Regina has passed a balanced 2012-13 budget confirming tuition increases for most programs.

Opinion: University quality was forgotten in Quebec’s drama

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

The issue of quality – where Quebec has a serious long-term challenge – was forgotten in the political drama that is still playing itself out in Quebec, says Jeffrey Simpson.

Quebec students rejecting tuition-fee deal

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

For the second consecutive day, student associations voted almost unanimously against a tentative agreement with the government and supported further strike action.

Opinion: Given little, Quebec universities achieve a lot

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

Quebec universities' consistently high performance flies in the face of their consistently egregious underfunding, says McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum.

Quebec’s large labour unions supporting student strike

2012-05-09T07:00:00Z

Striking students who have rejected a proposal to end the tuition crisis don't need to worry about losing the backing of their biggest supporters – Quebec's large labour unions.

Research using animals is a sensitive issue

2012-05-09T09:00:00Z

Earlier this year, university-based animal research roared into the news. It began in January with Canadian Transportation Agency telling Air Canada it could not refuse to transport non-human primates for research purposes until it went through a full hearing. Then, after two research macaques monkeys were euthanized at the University of Toronto after a seven-year study, some students claimed the animals had been in pain and could have been saved. Separately, the B.C. Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals launched an investigation into Parkinson’s research on macaques at the University of British Columbia, after allegations from activists that the animals were being treated cruelly and were not being overseen by the school’s animal care committee – claims that were quickly disproved.

Ever since British scientists did public animal experiments more than 100 years ago, people have raised ethical concerns about using creatures for research. And the farther up the food chain the animals go – especially using dogs or non-human primates – the more public scrutiny. “It’s a sensitive issue. So I think it’s healthy that we have this debate,” said Martin Paré, an associate professor in the department of biomedical and molecular sciences at Queen’s University who does research involving animals.

According to the Canadian Council on Animal Care, in 2010 about 3.3 million animals were used in this country in university research labs, in observation studies in the wild and for teaching. The largest group of animals, surprisingly to many, is fish, at about 1.4 million, a number that has doubled since the early 1990s. That includes conservation work with wild stocks and fish farming studies, but mainly it’s medical research done on zebra fish, which breed voraciously with external transparent eggs and share many physiological similarities with humans.

Medical research labs also love mice, with 1.1 million studied at Canadian schools. That’s up from about 760,000 in 2002, the year before the mouse genome was first released. Researchers can now knock out a gene and work from extremely focused hypotheses with this animal. “It’s a very exciting time in medical research,” said Helen Burt, associate vice-president of research and international at UBC. “We’re moving towards an era of personalized medicine thanks to genetic animal research.”

While schools may prefer not to highlight their work with non-human primates, there are still 4,600 of them housed at Canadian universities. Research with these animals decreased during the 1990s, hitting a low of 875 in 1998, but has been on the rise. Primates are used to help better understand how diseases and treatments affect their brains, which are very similar to ours (for instance, Dr. Paré studies monkeys and how their brains react to Ritalin). Strict drug-approval rules have led to a rise in regulatory testing with these creatures.

These millions of animals involved in university work across Canada are strictly monitored by the Canadian Council on Animal Care, or CCAC, a non-profit agency funded by government, research groups and private industry. The agency seeks to minimize harm to animals and maximize the impact of animal-based research and teaching. “It adds value to the science when we make sure the quality of animal studies is really high,” said Gilly Griffin, guidelines and director of 3Rs programs for CCAC.

Those 3Rs are replacement, reduction and refinement; they must be integral to any animal-based work before it gets CCAC approval and before any lab, field or classroom work on an animal can begin.

Replacement asks that researchers and teachers prove there is no alternative and that using a lower-order animal, such as a rat instead of a monkey or a cell culture instead of a living creature, could not deliver the same results. Thanks to the rise of technology, some work can be done on computer. For instance, Ms. Griffin recalled one scientist who built a 3D computer model of the heart and was able to simulate how a compound would impact every one of its electrical circuits. (Inevitably, however, a drug or surgery needs to be tested on a living creature as no computer can simulate the complexity of living physiology.)

Reduction asks that researchers use the minimum number of animals. For something like mouse research, that involves using statistics to calculate incident rates to come up with an optimal number. Dr. Paré said he’s currently doing work with just two monkeys and running numerous cognitive tests over several months.

Refinement requires good treatment for animals, with comfortable housing, the ability to satisfy their basic instincts (mice, for instance, need to make nests) and painkillers during surgery. The rules, which are often enforced by on-staff vets, not only satisfy ethical concerns but also ensure that research outcomes are reliable.

Ironically, research innovations in animal care means we know more than ever how to keep creatures happy and healthy during studies. “In the early 1980s, there weren’t a lot of pain relievers for lab animals. Now we have things that are long-acting and very effective,” said George Harapa, a veterinarian at U of T who’s been working with lab animals since the 1970s.

Despite the fact that this field is heavily regulated, and that most researchers and administrators view the rules as a valued and integral part of their jobs, animal activist groups remain doubtful, as do some academics, about the fundamental value of animal work done on university campuses.

Anne Innis Dagg, an animal behaviour researcher in the faculty of independent studies at the University of Waterloo, did a series of studies in the 1990s counting the number of citations animal studies got in subsequent journals. “There was one where a hundred mice were used and not a single person felt it was worth citing,” she said. More recently, a 2011 review study out of the U.K. surveyed 67 papers using non-human primates and concluded that nine percent of those studies could not justify animal use and had little scientific merit.

Such conclusions trigger discussions about how to truly measure the value of scientific research, which in turn leads to tussles over the value of human versus animal life. We may never be able to cage this debate — which is probably a good thing for both animals and us.

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The pilgrimage of Innu surgeon Stanley Vollant

2012-05-09T09:00:00Z

Stanley Vollant speaks to elementary school students in Wemontaci, Quebec. Photo courtesy of Stanley Vollant.

Stanley Vollant says a feeling of dread swept over him that day in October 2010 when he looked down from a plane and saw the long road below that he was soon to start walking on. “It was more like a panic attack,” recalls the Innu surgeon and aboriginal program coordinator for the faculty of medicine at Université de Montréal. “I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing? I must need psychiatric help.’”

It was the start of a planned 4,000-km, five-year pilgrimage that Dr. Vollant dreamed of – literally – to inspire Native youth. His fears soon vanished, however, when he saw the excitement generated by his visits to a dozen Innu communities during that initial month-long, 620-km walk along Quebec’s rugged North Shore.

Now 18 months and four legs into the one-man mission he dubbed Innu Meshkenu (or Innu Path), Dr. Vollant is generating the excitement of an aboriginal Terry Fox as he continues to walk, snowshoe and paddle his way across First Nation ancestral lands throughout Quebec.

Invited to address primary and secondary school students at almost every stop, he promotes the importance of regular exercise and proper nutrition and talks up the many career opportunities that exist for Native youth in almost every field, particularly health care.

“There are more than one million First Nations’ people in Canada but only a handful of First Nation doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists,” says Dr. Vollant. “I tell the kids, ‘Stay in school and get an education because our people need you.’”

His most recent outing was a 13-day adventure that began Feb. 24, when he and 40 Attikameks of all ages walked a 300-km trail on snowshoes through forests and over frozen lakes and rivers – hauling 1.8 tons of wild game and other food and supplies with them on traditional toboggans.

“The excitement and energy just keeps growing,” says Dr. Vollant, who plans at least two more walks in 2012. “It’s already turned into something much bigger than I first imagined.”

Those first imaginings were in 2005, when Dr. Vollant woke in a cold sweat late one night during a personal pilgrimage to Compostela, Spain. “I had a vision of walking on our lands towards Ottawa, talking to elders and telling youth to be brave, to look to the future,” he says. “It was a big vision, but I like big visions.”

Back in Canada, he solicited donations and technical support from a handful of Native and non-Native sponsors. He also developed an itinerary and a website on which visitors can follow his every step thanks to a GPS he carries with him.

Though hampered by foot problems, he says it’s a small price to pay for giving hope to his First Nation brethren. “My pain is nothing compared to the conditions in which my people live,” says Dr. Vollant. “I tell the kids not to despair, to look ahead and think about their future.”

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Column: Will students hold Quebec hostage once again?

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

Will anarchists in the street impose their choices on the whole society?

Column: Some ‘deal’ for Quebec taxpayers

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

What a way to run a democracy! As this is written, we ordinary taxpaying Quebecers are waiting to see whether the province’s various student associations will approve the “deal” struck over the weekend with the provincial education minister and allow their non-“striking” classmates to go back to school and the rest of us to get on with our lives without daily obstruction of Montreal’s streets, subway, bridges and public buildings by protesters, marchers and, on occasion, thugs.

Students’ fee fears shared across the country

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

The Quebec student strike has been portrayed largely as an issue gripping only that province. Yet a survey of 2,200 globeandmail.com readers between May 2 and 7 shows that students across Canada share a similar anxiety over rising tuition fees.

CEGEP de l’Outaouais students vote to continue protests

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

Students at the CEGEP de l’Outaouais have voted to continue demonstrating, despite an agreement reached on the weekend between the province and some of Quebec’s leading student groups to put an end to the protests.

We've been duped, strike leaders claim

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

Far from being closer to a resolution, the tuition crisis veered toward disaster on Monday as students began largely rejecting an offer that was supposed to settle the three-month student strike.

Deal to end Quebec tuition-fee crisis unravelling

2012-05-08T07:00:00Z

The tentative deal that promised a welcome end to the three-month-long confrontation over tuition-fee hikes in Quebec has run head-on into a wall of student resistance, sending the government scrambling to salvage a fast-deteriorating situation.

Lynne Phillips

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Lynne Phillips was appointed the new dean of the faculty of arts at Memorial University. Her five-year term begins July 1. Dr. Phillips is currently a professor of anthropology at the University of Windsor, where she was head of the department of sociology, anthropology and criminology from 2000 to 2007.

Pascal Spothelfer

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

The University of British Columbia appointed Pascal Spothelfer the university’s new vice-president, communications and community engagement. He begins his five-year term on May 28. Mr. Spothelfer has extensive experience as a management consultant and senior executive of both privately held and publicly traded companies. From 2007 to 2011, he was president and CEO of the B.C. Technology Industry Association.

Elizabeth Worobec

2012-03-28T09:00:00Z

Elizabeth Worobec is Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s new dean of science and horticulture, effective Sept. 21. She joins Kwantlen from the University of Manitoba, where she has been director of University 1, the unit which oversees academic support for first-year students. Prior to that, she held several other positions at U of M, including assistant head of microbiology and associate dean of science, student affairs.

John O'Neil

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

John O'Neil was reappointed dean of health sciences at Simon Fraser University. He has held this position since 2007. Previously, he was director of the Manitoba First Nations Centre for Aboriginal Health Research. Dr. O’Neil has also worked as head of the department of community health sciences in the University of Manitoba’s faculty of medicine.

2012 Governor General’s award in visual and media arts

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Three individuals who hold university appointments were among the eight people given a 2012 Governor General’s award in visual and media arts: Diana Nemiroff, director of the Carleton University Art Gallery; Geoffrey James, a professor emeritus and research associate at Ryerson University; and Jan Peacock a professor and director of the MFA program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. In addition to a $25,000 prize from the Canada Council, the winners will each receive a special-issue medallion sponsored by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Nona Robinson

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Trent University appointed Nona Robinson the new associate vice-president, students, beginning May 1. Prior to joining Trent, Dr. Robinson was the dean of students at University College at the University of Toronto, a position she’d held since 2004. Before that, she served as the college’s coordinator of student life.

E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

This year’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships have been announced. The fellowships are awarded to enhance the career development of outstanding and highly promising university faculty who are earning a strong international reputation for original research. This year’s six winners are: Alisdair B. Boraston (biochemistry and microbiology, University of Victoria), Sheelagh Carpendale (computer science, University of Calgary), Mark MacLachlan (chemistry, University of British Columbia), Randall V. Martin (physics, atmospheric science and chemistry, Dalhousie University), Robert Schober (electrical and computer engineering, University of British Columbia), and Robert Seiringer (mathematics and statistics, McGill University). Each of the six winners receives a research grant of up to $250,000 over two years. The host university also receives up to $90,000 a year to fund a replacement for the fellow’s teaching and administrative duties during the course of the fellowship.

John C. Polanyi Award

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada announced this year’s John C. Polanyi Award winners: Brendan John Frey and Benjamin J. Blencowe from the University of Toronto. They have discovered a sophisticated DNA code that cells use to rearrange parts of genetic messages in a process called “splicing.” This sheds new light on how our bodies function and how DNA mutations can result in disease. The winners receive a research grant of up to $250,000.

Vianne Timmons

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Vianne Timmons was appointed to a second term as president and vice chancellor of the University of Regina, effective July 1. She became president in 2008. Dr. Timmons previously worked at the University of Prince Edward Island, first as a faculty member and then as vice-president, academic development. Before that, she was chair of the education department at St. Francis Xavier University.

Benedikt Hallgrimsson

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Benedikt Hallgrimsson was appointed deputy provost of the University of Calgary, effective July 1. He has been at U of C since 2000, holding a number of positions, including founding director of the bachelor of health sciences program and associate dean for undergraduate science education, as well as senior associate dean, education, in the faculty of medicine. Dr. Hallgrimsson previously worked as an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico.

Todd Mundle

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Kwantlen Polytechnic University appointed Todd Mundle its new university librarian, starting May 1. Before joining Kwantlen, he was the associate university librarian at Simon Fraser University for 10 years. Since 2004, he has served on the steering committee of the British Columbia Electronic Library Network, chairing it for two years.

Susan Barker

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Susan Barker was appointed vice provost, student experience, at the University of Calgary, effective July 1. Since 2004, Dr. Barker has worked at the University of Alberta, first as associate dean, undergraduate programs and services, in the faculty of education. She went on to become chair of secondary education. Before joining U of A, she worked at the University of Warwick in the U.K., where she was a senior lecturer in science education and communication.

2012 Killam Research Fellowships

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

The winners of the 2012 Killam Research Fellowships were named by the Canada Council for the Arts. These prizes support scholars doing research in any of the following fields: humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering, or studies linking any of the disciplines within these fields. This year’s winners are: Colin Chapman (anthropology, McGill University), Michel Gingras (physics, University of Waterloo), Ran Hirschl (law, University of Toronto), Raman Kashyap (physics, École Polytechnique de Montréal), Mark Lewis (mathematical biology, University of Alberta), Kerry Rowe (civil engineering, Queen’s University) and Suning Wang (chemistry, Queen’s University). The fellowships provide $70,000 a year for two years to each of the researchers.

Henry Reiser

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

Henry Reiser is the new dean of trades and technology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, effective Sept. 1. Mr. Reiser joins Kwantlen from Lambton College, where he has been serving as dean in the school of technology, applied science and apprenticeship and the school of fire sciences since 2007. Before that, he was the chair of engineering and IT at Conestoga Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

2011 Brockhouse Canada

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

The 2011 Brockhouse Canada Prize for interdisciplinary research in science and engineering was awarded to the team of David R. Bundle, John S. Klassen and Todd L. Lowary of the University of Alberta; and Glen Douglas Armstrong and Kenneth K.S. Ng of the University of Calgary. The prize, presented by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, recognizes outstanding teams of researchers from different disciplines who have combined their expertise to produce achievements of outstanding international significance in the natural sciences and engineering in the last six years. The team’s research is leading to new ways of developing vaccines and better tools to combat antibiotic-resistant infections. They receive a team research grant of up to $250,000.

James Currie

2012-04-02T09:00:00Z

The University of Winnipeg appointed James Currie the new dean of science. The appointment took effect March 17. Dr. Currie, a leading mathematics researcher, joined the faculty of science in 1988. He has served as chair of the department of mathematics and statistics, and most recently as associate dean of science.

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