Topic: Public policy

Student housing crisis: Municipal bylaws have created roadblocks for decades

By Alexander Wray, Western University and Nick Revington, Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

Post-pandemic work in the public sector: A new way forward or a return to the past?

By Eric Champagne, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Aracelly Denise Granja, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Olivier Choinière, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada picket outside a Service Canada office in Canmore, Alta., in April 2023. More […]

Funding, Public policy, Research and innovation

Two decades of stagnant funding have rendered Canada uncompetitive in biomedical research. Here’s why it matters, and how to fix it.

By Stephen L Archer, Queen's University, Ontario

Politics, Public policy, Research and innovation, Universities and the academic mission

What are universities for? Canadian higher education is at a critical crossroads

By Marc Spooner, University of Regina

Faculty strike on a picket line outside a building

Collective bargaining, Contract faculty, Governance, Hiring, promotion, and tenure, Politics, Public engagement, Public policy

Why labour strife at universities should concern us all

By Andrew Biro, Acadia University; Joseph Hayes, Acadia University, and Rachel K. Brickner, Acadia University

Academic freedom, Public policy

What is Québec’s Bill 32 on academic freedom, and why does it matter?

By Peter Ives, University of Winnipeg and Eve Haque, York University, Canada

Quebec’s bill may be seen as part of on-going ‘culture wars,’ and alongside Ontario and Québec conservative governments’ grandstanding about ‘free speech’ […]

Academic freedom, Corporatization and commercialization, Faculty associations, Funding, Governance, Hiring, promotion, and tenure, Public policy, Research and innovation, Truth and Reconciliation and decolonization, Universities and the academic mission

Are there ever really ‘financial reasons’ to fire faculty? Laurentian University, academic freedom, and the disciplining of the professoriate

By Honor Brabazon, St. Jerome’s University

The 2020–21 academic year saw two incidents of Ontario professors being effectively fired: the termination of 116 of the 345 professors at […]

Corporatization and commercialization, History, International issues, Public policy, Universities and the academic mission

Remaking Australian universities: notes from the sidelines of catastrophe

By Raewyn Connell, University of Sydney

Can we grieve not for a person but for an institution? Should we be angry over possibilities destroyed, young talents denied a […]

Health and safety, Public policy, Students, Tuition and student fees

The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of international students in Canada

By Anil Varughese, Carleton University and Saul Schwartz, Carleton University

Universities and colleges need better, more easily accessible and culturally competent mental health services targeted to the needs of international students. (Shutterstock) […]

Corporatization and commercialization, Ethics, Health and safety, Public policy, Research and innovation

Banning non-disclosure agreements isn’t enough to stop unethical workplace leader behaviour

By Peggy Cunningham, Dalhousie University and Minette Drumwright, University of Texas at Austin

Ending workplace sexual harassment means going beyond holding perpetrators to account to address a ‘network of complicity’ that enables unethical conduct. (Shutterstock) […]