U of M names honorary degree recipients
At the 42nd fall convocation, John Lau and Andrew Bjerring will receive honorary degrees from the U of M.
John Lau is president and CEO of Husky Energy, one of Canada’s oil and gas firms. Lau is responsible Husky’s corporate direction, vision, strategic planning as well as corporate policies, and is a member of the company’s board of directors.
Andrew Bjerring is a founding member of the board of CANARIE Inc., Canada’s advanced research and innovation network that allows scientists to manage, analyze and exchange large volumes of data. He currently chairs the advisory board for the Institute for Information and Technology at the National Research Council of Canada.
The 42nd fall convocation takes place Wednesday, Oct. 21 and Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009.
Manitoba Hydro warns customers of phone scam
Manitoba Hydro has warned its customers of a phone-based scam targeting its customers, reported CBC news.
Solicitors have called a number of residents and offered a device the caller claims will reduce electricity bills by 40 per cent.
According to Hydro spokesperson, Glenn Schneider, the solicitors identify themselves as people who work for Hydro, or that the device they are selling is Hydro approved.
Schneider said the solicitors are not associated with Hydro and, as far as the company knows, the device does not even exist.
He said police are currently investigating the situation.
Asper to teach law at U of M this fall
David Asper will take on a full-time teaching position at the University of Manitoba this fall, reported Canada.com.
Asper, executive vice-president and director of media company Canwest Global, will teach a pair of courses as a full time law professor and is assured that the new position will not interfere with his current corporate and community responsibilities.
“If you talk to the people who know me and my work day, it usually starts around 4:30 a.m. and ends 18 hours later. I’ve always done that. It’s how I fit everything in. I’m the kind of person who needs to have the beaker filled up. I’m no good with idle time,” said Asper to Canada.com.
Although he will begin teaching his first-year criminal law class next week, Asper’s appointment will not become official until the University’s board of governors approves it during a meeting later this month.
Greyhound Canada plans to cancel service in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario
Greyhound Canada announced last week that it will need $15 million in public funds and an end to regulatory red tape or else it will discontinue operations in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, according to the Canadian Press.
The company announced that it will discontinue service in Manitoba in 30 days, service in northwestern Ontario by Dec. 2 and is reviewing routes in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
According to a company spokesperson, current regulations force Greyhound to make routes available to unprofitable stops in rural Canada that can no longer be supported by its more profitable routes, bus parcel operations and other money sources.
The company has asked for a $15 million subsidy so it can break even on unprofitable routes over the next year.
