For rural and remote communities, broadband access is not a game
Over the last decade, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have decried consecutive governments for not doing enough to support rural and remote broadband access. Canadians in these communities should have access to broadband supports—it’s 2019, after all. There are a whole host of reasons given that not every Canadian has access to affordable […]
Why global standards necessary in field of artificial intelligence
This era is plagued with clichés about supporting our entrepreneurial ecosystems, elevating success, and harnessing local talent so they can exceed on the world stage. But what does this all mean? How do we translate these ambitious statements into action that will result in our local companies becoming leaders in the global marketplace? The answer is standards. […]
Canada’s agriculture system on the cusp of a circular revolution
The Canadian agri-food system is one of our best-kept secrets. It is one of our largest employers and is responsible for tens of billions of dollars in exports. It is an engine of economic growth and it means most Canadians spend only 10 per cent of their income on food. The food system also is […]
Canadian science needs non-partisan alliances to weather political winds of change
Today, Canada’s scientific community and its supporting bureaucracies seem to feel the political sun is shining on them. But political seasons change. What happens if political clouds and cold winds return? For politicians, civil servants, and scientists who emerged from the recent Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) held Nov. 7 to 9 in Ottawa, one […]
Here’s Taiwan’s trailblazing digital minister’s advice on how the feds can boost service to Canadians
Audrey Tang is not your typical cabinet minister. First off, she’s not really a politician. Ms. Tang, who has called herself an “anarchist,” was asked to be a minister in Taiwan’s government in 2016 after taking part in a protest movement that occupied its Parliament two years earlier. While some cabinet ministers are adept at […]
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 […]
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 […]
Support innovation in remote regions to build on Canada’s strengths
Since 2016, the government has taken essential and reassuring steps that demonstrate its commitment to transforming Canada into an innovative society. By unmuzzling federal scientists and establishing the chief science adviser of Canada’s office, the government sent a clear signal: science must be a pillar of federal government decision-making. The 2018 budget subsequently implemented 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 […]
