The rise of the knowledge disruptors
“As we develop science policy we need to look beyond the short-term context, beyond the research that looks immediately promising. If we’re blinded by the urgency of our problems, we will go the wrong way. We’ll be investing in horses, carriages, and cleaning up the streets instead of fostering the research that can give rise […]
Building on one of our greatest natural resources
We often hear that Canada is rich in natural resources, but forget that one of our greatest resources is our highly educated population. In today’s global economy, education, research, and innovation play critical roles in the balance sheet of all nations. Canada has a proud history of discovery, invention, and innovation—insulin, canola, and the BlackBerry […]
Universities call for more financial support for research, while colleges eye bigger share of funding
Advocates for Canadian post-secondary institutions are calling on the federal government to improve on the expanded investments in research seen in Budget 2016 to ensure the country can keep pace with surging global competitors. In what backers are calling the biggest increase in a decade, the Liberal government earmarked an additional $95-million this year to the Canadian granting councils, […]
Science minister sees funding gaps for young researchers, multidisciplinary and multinational research
Young researchers are starved for grants in Canada, which can make their work “impossible,” says Science Minister Kirsty Duncan. That’s one of the challenges she’s heard from scientists during her first year as minister, she said in a Nov. 10 interview after giving a speech at the Canadian Science Policy Conference in Ottawa. She also […]
University and College Research
We need a return to funding basic research
It was in the spring 2012 budget that the previous Conservative government established the primacy of utilitarian, mercantile science over basic research and pure intellectual inquiry. The budget decreed that federal funds would go to research that was “business-led [and] industry-relevant.” The significant deficit in industry investment in research and development affects our economy. We […]
It’s a ‘pivotal moment,’ PIPSC says after feds finally ask public servants to help fix Phoenix pay problem
Months after the problem-plagued government’s rollout of its new Phoenix pay system, the federal government is now welcoming the help of public servants to get things back on track and the unions are calling it a “pivotal moment,” after arguing from the outset that federal employees were capable of doing the job themselves. The Public […]
What’s killing jobs?
LONDON, U.K.—“The notion that Uber in London is a mosaic of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common ‘platform’ is, to our minds, faintly ridiculous,” said one of the judges on the employment tribunal. So the tribunal ruled that Uber’s 30,000 drivers in London were actually employees, and therefore entitled to be paid the minimum […]
Lots to talk about: Canada-U.S. relations event set for Nov. 16
They’ve been having this thing for more than two decades but, like last year, there should be whole bunch of new things to talk about at this year’s edition. The 22nd annual State of the Relationship Summit & Award event, put on by the Canadian American Business Council, is happening at the Château Laurier on […]
End of honeymoon with labour could force Trudeau to step up game as PM: academic
At least one academic and former journalist says the wrath being directed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau right now by Canada’s biggest public-service union could force him to improve his performance as Canada’s chief decision-maker. Last week, the Public Service Alliance of Canada launched a media campaign with a direct message for the prime minister: […]
