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Politics, Re-Spun: Encouraging Early Political Engagement: CitizenNext.ca
It is not an accident that I am a political junkie. Even as a toddler, I was fed a steady diet of left-of-centre ideology, pro-union sentiments and anti-monarchist dogma. My mother, who was not overtly political, ensured I could recognize political leaders from around the world by sight before I could read, that I understood […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Concordia Decides That Less Is More
In August, I blogged about controversy surrounding Concordia University’s Board of Governors. A report co-authored by Bernard J. Shapiro (Canada’s first Ethics Commissioner) had concluded that an unofficial, inner circle of Board members had been micromanaging some of the university’s day-to-day operations, and undermining the President. This had apparently prompted the resignation of the last two Presidents before the midway points […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Student Debt Rising Amongst New Physicians
Newly-released data indicate that student debt is rising amongst new physicians in Canada. In 2010, 23 percent of medical residents surveyed estimated having more than $120,000 in education-related debt upon completion of their residency traning (as compared with just 17 percent in 2007). (Note: across Canada, average tuition fees for medical students amount to just over $10,000 a year.) This appears […]
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: One More Thought For Today.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post on education, lamenting the fact that like just about everything else, it has become a commodity, measured almost exclusively by its ability to lead to a good-paying job. Last evening, while watching the local news, I o…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Socialism Works! – Blinkered Americans Can Safely Ignore this Post.
Having been pointed to a neat new site called Remapping Debate by Intransigentia, I’m please to share the treasure trove of fact laden articles with my fair readership here. Denmark is a social-democratic state, it believes in protecting its people and prioritizing the needs of a healthy society ahead of the corporate greed and unsustainable […]
The Progressive Economics Forum: William Watson on PSE
On Wednesday, William Watson wrote a comment piece in the Financial Post in which he was critical of Armine Yalnizyan’s recent essay on inequality that appeared the National Post. In his piece, Mr. Watson alleges that Armine “is guilty of fantastical reminiscence,” particularly with respect to her take on post-secondary education (PSE). Among other things, Mr. Watson […]
Continue readingLarry Hubich's Blog: Know the issues, act on the facts.
In the October edition of the Labour Reporter you’ll find details about some of the things that we’ve been up to over the summer. You’ll have a chance to read about the recent SFL Summer Camp, the progress of Station 20 West, and the recent memor…
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Next we sell off naming rights for schools
Private business promoters aim to eliminate public enterprises through privatization, contracting out and outsourcing. They promote the myth that delivery of services by private, often multinational, companies gains cost and service efficiencies. …
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The Ontario NDP Platform
Pollsters tell us that Ontario’s New Democrats may double their seat total in next month’s provincial election. It’s also entirely conceivable that they could be part of a coalition government at Queen’s Park. But what’s actually in the party’s election platform? One central feature of the NDP’s proposals is to implement a tax credit for companies that hire new workers. The tax […]
Continue reading350 or bust: University of Calgary Prostitutes Itself To Big Oil & Gas
Canadian journalist Mike DeSousa, who first wrote three years ago about the anti-science group with the Orwellian name “Friends of Science”, who funded a PR blitz meant to cast doubt on the science of climate change. Friends of Science paid…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Sunday Disservice – Charity?
Well, not charity in the most traditional sense of the word, but in the sense of regarding arguing with people about ideas and reaching a conclusion or at least more of a mutual understanding of what the other is saying. Inauspiciously, this rarely seems to happen on the internet, as the sectarian nature of […]
Exponential Book: Sliding into Fall
Oops, it did it again…. The Fall term 2011 has managed to sneak up on me, like its 2010 predecessor. All of a sudden, it’s all back. I am facing a crowd of 400+ students, teaching the same introductory physics class I taught last year, in t…
Continue readingTerahertz: Unaffordable education
It’s a sad state of affairs when the first thought to run through my head upon reading the headline, “School tuition hikes eclipse inflation rate again: Statscan”, was This isn’t really news. Tuition increases are par for the course at university. When provinces cap the maximum allowable increase, that sets the bar for what the […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: PSE in Newfoundland and Labrador
Last March, Keith Dunne and I wrote an opinion piece on Danny Williams’ post-secondary education (PSE) legacy in Newfoundland and Labrador. Among other things, we pointed out that average undergraduate tuition fees (for domestic students) in Newfoundland and Labrador are $2,624/yr., compared with $5,138 for Canada as a whole and $6,307 in Ontario. With a provincial election slated to take […]
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Dalton McGuinty leadership on education praised in The Economist
http://www.economist.com/node/21529014Great article in The Economist about education reform and progress around the world, and Ontario is right at the top:“Ontario really is impressive,” enthuses Sir Michael Barber, former head of global education …
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: McGuinty Proposes Undergraduate Tuition Grant
An Ontario election is slated for October 6, and the reigning Liberal Party will attempt to pull off a third consecutive majority government. In that vein, the Liberals have recently made a slew of campaign promises in the post-secondary education (PSE) sector. Notably, they’ve committed to reducing undergraduate tuition for “middle-class Ontario families” by 30 percent, amounting […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: “Grade-Boosting” Stimulant Use on Campus
A recent editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal looks at the use of “grade-boosting” stimulants (such as Ritalin) by Canadian post-secondary students. According to the editorial: “Universities and colleges are ground zero for ‘grade-boosting’ stimulant abuse.” The thrust of the editorial’s argument is that universities and colleges need to work proactively to reduce the misuse […]
Continue readingOn the Ontario Liberal platform.
I had planned to go point-by-point through the OLP’s platform, like I did the OPC and ONDP. But, well — the platform really wasn’t worth the wait.Here’s the Cliff Notes version:Harris was awful — never named, just “previous PC governments”, which is …
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