With labour disputes looming at three Alberta public universities in Alberta, it came as a surprise when the faculty association at a small private university in Edmonton became the first in Alberta history to walk off the job in a legal strike. But at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, some of
Continue readingTag: post-secondary education
Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jocelyn Keehner et al. find that COVID infection is already common in highly-vaccinated health care workforces, while Berkeley Lovelace J. reports on the “mu” variant which seems to be able to evade existing immunity. Reuters reports on a study finding that one
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Maria Sarrhou talks to doctors about their frustrations treating COVID-19 in patients who chose not to be vaccinated. And Daniel Villareal reports on the hundreds of COVID cases spread through a single Texas church camp. – Bob Henson and Jeff Masters point
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The 2021 federal budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent federal budget. The link to the post is available here: https://nickfalvo.ca/ten-things-to-know-about-canadas-2021-federal-budget/
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Rich Mendes reports on new research showing that the longstanding focus on physical distance as a means of avoiding the indoor transmission of COVID-19 has been misplaced. Erin Anderssen and Marcus Gee examine some of Canada’s hardest-hit intensive care units to show
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The future of Laurentian University is in the hands of a flawed process and an anti-education government
When Laurentian University was founded it was not to create a profit making enterprise but to create an educational institution to serve the north, one that went on to include an important partnership with the Franco-Ontarian and Indigenous communities. Using a mechanism (Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act) designed to ensure profit
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: The 2021 alberta budget
On 25 February 2021, Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government tabled its third budget, announcing very few major changes to either spending or taxation, while also projecting a deficit of $18.2 billion for the 2021-22 fiscal year. I’ve written an 900-word overview of the budget here.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: University of Alberta faces more than half of budget’s brutal post-secondary cuts – so why does UCP have it in for U of A?
University of Alberta President William Flanagan’s mildly worded protest Friday that nearly half of the massive $126-million cut to post-secondary education in Alberta will be borne by the University of Alberta is certain to fall on deaf ears within Premier Jason Kenney’s governing United Conservative Party. “In Budget 2021, the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Andrea Reimer examines the power dynamics at play in government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the limits of formal political power where it isn’t paired with knowledge and networks. And the Globe and Mail’s editorial board rightly questions the dubious math
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Steven Lewis examines how Canada can and should learn from Australia’s success in controlling the coronavirus, while Robert Danich writes that conservative governments need to learn that they have responsibility for social health and well-being rather than pointing the finger at individuals.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Umair Haque discusses the tragic mistake governments in Europe and North America have made in refusing to make plans sufficient to wipe out COVID-19 altogether, rather than assuming a substantial level of spread could be controlled. Sarah Rieger talks to Stephen Duckett
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Corporate lobbyist and former aide to two Conservative premiers named University of Alberta external relations VP
A high-profile lobbyist with connections to past Alberta Conservative governments and involvement in a controversial effort to open a large private hospital in Edmonton has been named as the University of Alberta’s new vice-president of external relations. U of A leadership, presumably, concluded lobbyist Elan MacDonald has the connections necessary
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – David Macdonald notes that the federal government’s investments in the wake of COVID-19 have been necessary to keep intolerable burdens off of people who haven’t been able to bear them. Scotiabank weighs in (PDF) on the reality that the costs of inaction would
Continue readingAlberta Politics: State-supported academic research in Alberta should be about more than Making Oil & Gas Great Again
As Alberta launches its 10-year plan for “transformational change” in post-secondary education, a new study suggests the province’s universities and the government agencies that fund them are helping to prolong the worst aspects of the fossil fuel era. Alas, by trying to make oil and gas great again when there’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Athabasca U: The redheaded stepchild of Alberta universities faces a Cinderella moment
Is Athabasca University, long the redheaded stepchild of Alberta’s universities, about to have its Cinderella moment? After years of financial insecurity and deep angst about a mission seemingly made redundant by the Internet that sometimes gave the impression of an existential crisis about to go critical, there are signs the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Aaron Wherry discusses the dramatically different effects of the COVID-19 pandemic based on inequalities in income and privilege. And Katherine Scott draws on Canada’s most recent monthly jobs report to highlight the need for a recovery centered on women. – Meanwhile, Heather Scoffield
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: the 2020-21 Alberta budget
I’ve written a ‘top 10’ overview of the 2020-21 Alberta budget, tabled on February 27. The link to the overview is here.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Heesu Lee reports on Greenpeace’s estimate that air pollution costs the world nearly $3 trillion every year. And Damien Cave writes that this year’s wildfires have permanently changed Australia as people knew it. – Meanwhile, Alice Bell warns against trusting oil barons
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten things to know about the 2019-20 Alberta budget
I’ve just written a ‘top 10’ overview of the recent Alberta budget. Points raised in the post include the following: -The budget lays out a four-year strategy of spending cuts, letting population growth and inflation do much of the heavy lifting. -After one accounts for both population growth and inflation,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Linda McQuaig writes about the myth that we have no choice but to pursue privatization – and notes that electric vehicle production represents an ideal opportunity to build public economic capacity: Is it feasible to save the once-vibrant Oshawa complex and transform it
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