Canada’s research capacity in the North lags other countries

The changing Arctic is a new frontier of scientific discovery, industrial development, and socio-economic innovation. From China’s plan for a Polar Silk Road to Norway’s Nansen Legacy program on the Barents Sea and adjacent Arctic basin; from Russia’s intense extraction of its Arctic resources to Canada’s reconciliation with its Indigenous people; from the building worldwide […]
Liberals’ approach to the North is people-driven

Our government’s approach to the North is very much people-driven. Since coming into office in the fall of 2015, the government has made a substantial increase to the Northern Residents Deduction, targeted the Canada Child Benefit to those who need it most, and changed the rules around the Canada Workers Benefit to make it more […]
N.W.T., Canada can work together for sustainable northern development

A year ago this week, I was in Ottawa to call for a national discussion on the future of the Northwest Territories. My red alert was motivated by the continued stagnation of the Northwest Territories economy, compounded by concerns that federal decisions and policies could create roadblocks to meaningful economic development and cut our people […]
‘We still have work to do,’ says Senate sponsor of new anti-harassment law protecting Hill staff

The “heat’s turned up” on the need for education and prevention of workplace harassment now that a government bill extending Canada Labour Code procedures and protection to Parliament Hill employees has become law, says the bill’s Senate sponsor. Bill C-65, which received royal assent on Oct. 25, changes the Canada Labour Code to add sexual […]
The North
Anti-harassment bill passes: a first step, but an essential one

Harassment and violence have no place at work or anywhere else. People have been coming forward to share their experiences inspired by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, and the high-profile cases involving well-known public figures have helped those affected by these pervasive behaviours bring their stories forward to be heard. But no one is […]
PPS to begin collective bargaining with security officers’ unions after labour board ruling

There’s light at the end of the tunnel of the almost 18-month-long labour standoff between the Parliamentary Protective Service and the unions representing officers after a recent federal labour board ruling ordered the employer to go to the bargaining table. On Oct. 10, the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board issued its decision […]
We must go from Inuit exclusion to self-determination in research

Inuit are one of the most researched peoples in the world. We are also one of the fastest-growing populations, yet the number of peer-reviewed publications and dissertations that focus on Inuit and Inuit Nunangat, the Inuit homeland, has outpaced the rate of our population growth by a wide margin. In 1996 there was one publication […]
Time for action on neglected Naylor report advice

OTTAWA—As the Trudeau government gears up for the coming election year, recommendations from the 2017 expert panel on Canada’s Fundamental Science Review, chaired by former University of Toronto president David Naylor and commissioned by the federal science minister, are coming to the fore. In the past few weeks, federal ministers have fanned out across the […]
With science funding restored, universities and colleges push for more student support in 2019 budget

Building on unprecedented investments for science in the 2018 budget, universities and colleges are pressing the Liberals ahead of the 2019 budget for new funding to cover the “least sexy” costs of research, as well as dramatically expanding the number of students in work placements. More than two-dozen individual universities and colleges, as well as […]