Topic: Politics
Ontario’s ‘Open for Business’ law will erode workplace rights
The purpose of Bill 47 is to “bring jobs and investment back to our province” and to increase “opportunities” for workers. One needs to look harder for any mention of fairness for workers or the creation of decent jobs, although the government claims to wish to “protect” workers. At the end of the day, however, Bill 47 will do none of the above.
READ MOREProtecting free speech on campus: A solution in search of a problem
This summer, mere days before the beginning of the semester at most universities in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced a new policy requiring “every publicly assisted college and university to develop and publicly post its own free speech policy by January 1, 2019, that meets a minimum standard specified by the government.”
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In Canada and US, fossil fuel divestment debates on campus spotlight the societal role of colleges and universities
As a new academic year begins after a summer of deadly heat waves, wildfires, droughts and floods, many college students and faculty are debating whether and how to get involved in climate politics. Climate advocacy has become well established on U.S. campuses over the past decade, in diverse forms. More than 600 colleges and universities have signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment. Schools are expanding interdisciplinary teaching and research in environmental studies, sustainability science and climate resilience, and investing in “greening” their campuses. And many activists on campuses around the country are participating in global campaigns like “Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice” and “Keep it in the Ground.”
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It’s time to invest in a faculty renewal strategy for Ontario’s universities
For years, full-time faculty hiring has stagnated at Ontario’s universities, even as student enrolment has increased dramatically. It’s time for the government […]
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What happened to the issue of postsecondary education?
Postsecondary education is an issue that affects a majority of Ontarians, but it does not often feature prominently in provincial elections. How […]
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A new bond between the public and universities could brighten America’s future
Blackboard/shutterstock.com The technology powering the device you are using to read this article was originally developed at a research university. So […]
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The importance of international students to Atlantic Canada
Anita faced a tough choice when she discovered she was unexpectedly pregnant. If she took a term off school to care for her newborn, her family would lose its dream of settling in Canada. So, eight weeks after the summer birth, with her diplomat husband away on a long-term work assignment in the Caribbean and two more children at home, the international student from Cameroon returned to class full-time.
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Equity and social justice, Faculty associations, Hiring, promotion, and tenure, Politics, Public engagement, Students
The university in the populist age
Right-wing populism threatens the future of higher education, but remaining passive and retreating to a disinterested vision of the university will actually […]
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Trump, Brexit, and the academy
There is some truth in the populist attack that the academy has sold-out to corporate interests and become inaccessible to many. Universities […]
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A populist wake-up call for universities
For many, universities do not represent opportunity or self-realization, but instead elite self-regard and academic exchanges in which they see no relevance. […]
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