In a rare piece of good COVID-19 news, researchers in Texas are developing a COVID-19 vaccine called Corbevax that developers say will be based on conventional vaccine technology, will be cheaper to produce and less complicated to store. Crucially, they do not intend to patent the vaccine, hoping this will make it more accessible in low-income countries.
My hope is that one day, when looking back at this motion, student leaders will be able to see beyond the scope efficiency and find themselves more in tune with the appropriate steps they can make toward representing the U of M’s diverse community. But for now, I can only wish that constituents become more aware of who they vote for to represent them in the biggest student-led political body at our university.
It has become apparent that not even our elected board is trusted with proposing changes to governing documents. As UMSU president Brendan Scott made clear both during debate at a meeting Jan. 6 and in a subsequent interview, it is expected of representatives to simply provide yes-or-no answers to questions presented by bureaucrats.
If the City of Winnipeg and the provincial government truly have any concern for reconciliation, development programs at the Forks must come to a halt and the revenues dedicated to them should be redistributed to help combat the genocide of Indigenous people in Canada. Although shrouded in self-congratulatory arrogance, there is nothing to be proud about when it comes to the developments and archeology taking place at the Forks.
Besides being homesick, international students also suffer from a grotesque lack of support. Getting lost around campus, poor signage at facilities and the complete lack of guidance all contribute to the struggles of new arrivals. As a newly arrived student myself, fresh off the plane from Colombia, I know all about it.
People eagerly come together during the holiday season to celebrate. However, as COVID-19 cases surged across the world, many were forced to change their New Year’s plans yet again. Amid the rising COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, Canadians were not the exception. While the federal government recommended citizens avoid foreign travel without establishing travel bans, provincial governments established various restrictions to reduce the transmissibility of the virus in their jurisdictions. Lack of preparation has defined most governments’ responses to the new variant.
Whether or not classrooms indeed open for a general return come Feb. 28, the U of M should consider additional options for keeping students and faculty safe and, moving forward, should aim to be better prepared for setbacks like the one our province and country have experienced in recent months.
Although the $40 billion could potentially prevent future abuses, no amount of money can reconcile stolen childhoods. The government is responsible for these abuses and, like Blackstock noted, Canadians cannot surrender this critical fact in light of this large settlement. It is far from time to exhale in relief. Rather, it is imperative that the federal government does not capture the settlement’s narrative and skew it as a fortune of the Liberal party’s goodwill.
Mixed emotions struck University of Manitoba students this week after the administration announced the campus will open its doors to in-person classes again for the first time in years. In a frenzy of excitement, I reminisced about the last time I was on a full campus — in regular fashion, I was getting a beer with friends at the Daily Bread Cafe when I read campus was closing due a new virus health experts were calling SARS-CoV-2. It would be open again in a couple weeks, I reassured myself. Now, here we are, a couple years later.
It is no secret that colonialism is devastating for Indigenous peoples, and by upholding figureheads who played a crucial role in this damage, Canada is setting itself on a self-defeating trajectory regarding reconciliation.