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New lab expected to attract global talent

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University of Manitoba will be the proud recipient of a brand new immunology lab at the U of M’s Bannatyne Campus, worth $5.6 million. The new lab will be an extension of the faculty of Medicine’s department of immunology.

The lab is made up of 18,000 square feet of research and teaching space and it will be located on the fourth floor of the Apotex Centre, a $32 million dollar building opened last fall, said a press release from the U of M.

Funding for the lab came from the federal and provincial government who contributed $1.6 million and the rest was provided by a partnership with Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba.

“The exemplary research facilities housed here will build on our tradition of innovation and facilitate the training of new generations of scientists,” said U of M president David Barnard.

MP of Winnipeg South, Rod Bruinooge, explained in a press release that he was happy to be part of such a huge advancement at the U of M.

“By strengthening Manitoba’s existing immunology and infectious disease research cluster with state-of-art equipment and expanded facilities we are further developing this university’s research capacity and providing our medical graduates with exciting and rewarding career opportunities,” said Bruinooge.

The U of M’s department of immunology is the oldest department of its kind in North America said the department head, Dr. Redwan Moqbel.

Established in 1969, the immunology department has been known for its contributions to cutting edge research in various areas ranging from, immunization against infection, parasitic infection and immune regulation.

Most of the research is transnational, meaning it has to have impact on health issues, said Dr. Moqbel.

Another thing the laboratories plan to attract are the leading minds in the field of immunology, “The facilities we have at the department are going to be extremely attractive for recruitments of graduate students and post doctorate trainees in Canada and beyond.”

He continued, “It will also open the door for us for recruitment of cutting edge scientists who will hopefully join our laboratories as faculty members [ . . . ].

“Technology at the end of the day is a tool. Without the person power to operate the technology and use it in the best possible way, we can’t make any advances.”

The faculty of Medicine also held an international symposium to announce the development of the laboratories and to raise the profile of the program on an international scale, said Moqbel.

“It was because of the coming of international authorities in immunology to the meeting that we know it will have a great impact on attracting very significant caliber of researchers from various parts of Europe and North America to [the U of M],” he continued.

The department currently has 25 faculty members, more than 70 students and researchers and the program offers a research thesis Masters in Science. Two Canada research chairs and one Manitoba Health Research Council chair are part of the department.

Pirate Party drops anchor in Canada’s harbour

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SASKATOON (CUP) — After years of minority governments, Canadians have gotten used to constant talk of elections. Whether or not the country goes to the polls this fall, however, the recently formed Pirate Party of Canada is still vying for voters’ attention.

The Pirate Party of Canada is modelled after the Swedish Pirate Party, whose mission is to “facilitate the emerging information society” through technology.

Formed in 2006, the Swedish party’s only three concerns are copyright reform, abolishing the patent system and bolstering citizens’ right to privacy.

In June 2009, the Pirate Party won its first seat in the European Parliament based on a strong stance in favour of file sharing and changing the current copyright system. Building on that success, numerous parties have formed around the world with similar goals, including the Pirate Party of Canada.

“A lot of people hear ‘Pirate Party’ and assume that it’s all about ‘get your content for free,’” said Tim Fretz, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Saskatchewan.

Fretz, 26, is an active member of the Pirate Party of Canada. The party focuses on copyright and patent reform, privacy rights, net neutrality and open government. Particularly in relation to file sharing, the Pirate Party has a more relaxed position compared to other political parties in Canada, although the platform is still being finalized.

“Depending on who you ask, there are either three or five planks to the platform,” said Fretz.

The delay may be because there is no central leadership. Instead, a loose network of members connects online to discuss the goals of the party. This approach is fitting since much of the platform is about accountability and embracing new technology.

“The forums and the Wiki-style of ‘everybody participate, everybody work together and check each other’s work’ is very much in that vein,” said Fretz, although he acknowledges that more structure will become necessary as the party grows. There are already hundreds of members signed up.

One of the most common criticisms levelled against the Pirate Party is that there are already political parties in favour of looser copyright laws and net neutrality. Net neutrality is the concept of keeping the Internet completely accessible to users without blocking sites or restricting certain activities like file sharing.

Fretz stresses that the Pirate Party is different from other parties because it does not fall into the traditional left-right spectrum.

“There are people (in the party) who are right wing, left wing, all over the place,” he said.

By deliberately focusing the party’s platform on a limited number of issues, Fretz says people can wholly agree with what the Pirate Party stands for instead of having to choose between parties they may disagree with to varying degrees.

“It seems like what we do is pick between who we don’t want to win,” said Fretz. “That’s not what democracy is about. You should be able to put your voice behind what you want.”

One of the most difficult issues for the party to settle has been its stance on file sharing. Most members agree that the current copyright system is outdated and too severe in punishing copyright infringement. However, exactly how lax the system should be has been a topic of robust debate on the Pirate Party’s forums. The Swedish Pirate Party’s manifesto calls for the legalization of all file sharing as long as it is done for non-commercial purposes, but Fretz and some others would not go as far as their Swedish counterparts.

“It’s a harder position to defend,” he said. “It’s easy to write down, easy to make it concise but it’s harder to defend in an ongoing debate.”

He stresses that the party is not in favour of abolishing copyright altogether but that it seeks to reform copyright to bring it in line with changing technology. Given that many younger people have, at least at one time, pirated movies, music or software, the party believes new models are needed.

As the Pirate Party of Canada establishes itself, copyright may become an increasingly important political issue, especially among a younger generation that has grown up with very different ideas about intellectual property rights. Whether or not people vote for the Pirate Party of Canada, the challenge of updating laws to reflect changing technology will not go away.

“We have a culture, a youth population that’s sharing and downloading more and more,” said Fretz. “The response should not be [to] abolish it or ban it. That’s the wrong way to go.”

Recession causes students to go back to school

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Graduate enrollment is up 5.5 percent from the 2008/09 year, reported the University of Manitoba’s Office of Institutional Analysis in a press release, but it seems that graduate enrollment is up in institutions across the country.

Jay Doering, the dean of Graduate Studies at the U of M explained that during times of economic challenge it’s not “atypical” for students to go back to school to try and assure security within the job market and this trend can be seen at more universities than the U of M.

The dean of Graduate Studies at McMaster, Allison Sekuler, explained to the Manitoban that they have also seen an increase in the amount of people who have been attending graduate studies. She said that McMaster has seen an increase of 10 per cent throughout the faculty of Graduate Studies.

“We saw increases in various programs within every one of our faculties [ . . . ] as well as within some interdisciplinary programs.”

She went on to explain that, “McMaster is fortunate that the Ontario government ranked us among the top in the province for graduate growth over the next few years, so we have room right now to accommodate the increase.”

David Andolfatto, a specialist in economics and the business cycle at Simon Fraser University, told the Manitoban that this trend is something that usually occurs when the market is experiencing a difficult change.

“College [and] university enrollment rates have always been highly countercyclical,” said Andolfatto.

He continued, “During bad times, wages and job opportunities are low. So the opportunity cost of retraining is low. The reverse happens during a boom period. Why go to school when you could be making big money at work?”

Another university that saw an increase is Dalhousie where the overall growth in grad studies is strong.

According to Carolyn Watters, dean of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie, “We are experiencing a slight increase in graduate numbers this fall overall. Growth in the professional programs, overall is strong, but then so is growth in the research programs.”

She also said that the school was seeing an increase in interdisciplinary programs, especially PhD programs. She continued to say that the school expects more people returning to study.

“I suspect that we will be seeing more diploma and re-entry [or] upgrading-types of graduate training for people in the workforce.”

“Overall, we are not noticing that people who have lost jobs are flooding back to university, nor that new graduates are shocked at the job prospects and so are staying on rather than looking,” said Watters.

Janice Compton, an assistant professor in the department of Economics at the
U of M who specializes in labor studies called this trend “basic first year economics.”

“If you graduate in the middle of a recession, your opportunities out in the work place are very limited, that makes graduate school a relatively more attractive position than it would be if you graduated in a boom time,” said Compton.

She continued, to say that students are looking to better themselves and be more versatile in the job market.

“For a lot of positions now you need a good Masters degree to get that entry level position [ . . . ] It makes [students] a little more valuable in the long run and the opportunities are not out there, so what are you going to do rather than go to grad school?”

She also indicated that a number of other levels of education, whether it’s undergraduate or graduate studies, will also see the same fluctuations.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba enjoy lowest unemployment rates in Canada

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Workers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have fared better during the current recession than the rest of Canada, according to a labour force survey released by Statistics Canada earlier this month. The two provinces are currently enjoying the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

As of August 2009, Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate was at 5 per cent while Manitoba’s came in around 5.7 per cent. Canada had an overall rate of 8.7 per cent in August.

While the central provinces have the lowest rates in the country, unemployment actually increased in each province from July to August. In July, unemployment in Saskatchewan was 4.7 per cent while Manitoba had a rate of 5.2 per cent. Canada as a whole was still well above the two provinces that month, at 8.6 per cent.

Having the second lowest unemployment rate in Canada, Manitoba is also doing quite well according to Wilf Falk, the province’s chief statistician.

“From October 2008, the benchmark start of the recession [ . . . ] Manitoba has created over 4,000 jobs according to Stats Canada,” said Falk.

Canada lost more than 387,000 jobs during the same time period, he said.

According to Falk, the labour force in Manitoba has grown by 14,000 since October 2008, putting the province in second place after Alberta in terms of growth.

The 0.5 per cent increase in unemployment between July and August was due to a very strong labour force growth, said Falk, with more than 7,500 more people looking for work in August.

“We created 3,400 jobs, but that wasn’t enough to offset the people who entered the market, and therefore the unemployment rate went up,” said the statistician.

Falk said current figures indicate that Manitoba will be the only province in 2009 to have positive economic growth.

“I think things are looking well for the rest of the year and 2010.” But, he said, “again, those are only forecasts. You never know how things are actually going to turn out.”

Rob Norris, Saskatchewan’s minister of advanced education, employment and labour, said that although the province is not immune to the current economic situation, the job climate in Saskatchewan is positive.

According to Norris, 1,800 new jobs were created from August 2008 to August 2009. He said that Saskatoon alone created over 2,000 new jobs.

“There are about 6,000 jobs listed on the government of Saskatchewan’s website. There are thousands of unfilled jobs in Saskatchewan,” said Norris.

“We’re not immune to what’s going on, but Saskatchewan’s economy remains robust.”

A diversified resource portfolio allows for Saskatchewan to enjoy the lowest unemployment rate in the country. These resources include a quarter of the world’s potash, the second largest oil production in Canada and close to half of the country’s agriculturally capable land, according to Norris.

He said that an important source of growth for the economy is the growing population in Saskatchewan, which has increased by 18,000 since November 2007. That’s a stark contrast, he said, to the period between 2001 and 2007 during which Saskatchewan lost 35,000 people.

“People are coming,” said Norris. “They’re buying homes, furniture, rolling up their sleeves and getting down to work because we still have thousands of jobs available and that in itself is stimulating the economy.”

Local Briefs

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U of M in partnership with world’s largest hydroelectric dam project

The U of M has signed a $2.5 million deal to partner with Itaipú Binacional, the world’s largest producer of hydroelectric energy according to Canadaviews.ca.

The university will play a role in training engineers, arologists, environmentalists and business entrepreneurs from Paraguay.

As Paraguay has fewer individuals capable of filling these roles compared to Brazil, this agreement with the University of Manitoba is intended to increase the supply of trained Paraguayans. With this new partnership, Itaipú will sponsor Paraguayan graduate students at the University of Manitoba with 10 students per year over four years.

“I am pleased that the University of Manitoba can be of service to our friends in South America,” says Dr. David Barnard, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Manitoba. “This agreement will also provide excellent opportunities for future collaborative projects in Paraguay.”

“The University of Manitoba shares its talents and skills through partnerships with countries and industries around the world. This latest relationship further strengthens our role as an institution with a commitment to improving lives locally, nationally and internationally.”

U of W western campus officially opens

The University of Winnipeg has officially opened its new, environmentally friendly student and family residence according to CBC News.

Named McFeetors Hall, the $18 million facility is a student and family residence with an attached 120-space day-care centre located on Langside Street.

The building is named after Ray McFeetors, a former U of W graduate and chair of the Great West Life Co.. McFeetors made a personal donation of $1.67 million toward the project.

The first two stories of the building have 25 apartments for students and community families. Nineteen of them have rent ceilings for people with low incomes. The building will also be home to 172 other students.

According to Joan Hay, who works for aboriginal agency Ma Ma Wi Chi Itata and is a member of the U of W community-renewal corporation, some members of the aboriginal community often have families at a young age and attending university can be difficult for them.

“I think it [the new residence] really increases accessibility to education, especially for the aboriginal families,” Hay said.

The new building is environmentally friendly with geothermal heating and cooling system and is certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system.

WRHA president to resign 2010

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Dr. Brian Postl, president and chief executive officer of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, will resign next year after 11 years.

Postl said he would like to continue working for another 10 years and may apply for the U of M dean of Medicine position when it becomes available next July.

“I haven’t made any decisions — clearly, that would be an opportunity,” he said. “I’d be very surprised if I left Canada, and frankly, I’d be very surprised if I left Winnipeg.”

He said he has given several months of thought before giving his resignation. His notice will allow the WRHA to find a suitable successor.

“I’m not sure there was any one reason,” Postl said. “I decided that I would think about it over the summer.

Conservative health critic Myrna Driedger said Postl has covered for government mistakes regarding health care.

“Who’s going to take the fall now for [Health Minister] Theresa Oswald’s mistakes?” asked Driedger.

“I think he’s had a daunting job. I think he deserves a lot of credit,” said Driedger. “He had a lot of hurdles to climb, including political interference from the government.”

University of Manitoba officials have said that a standard search has been launched for a new dean of Medicine to succeed Dr. Dean Sandham on July 1, 2010.

International PSE Briefs

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Harvard University newspaper publishes ad questioning Holocaust

As reported by CNN, Harvard University is under public scrutiny for an ad published in its campus newspaper.

On Tuesday The Harvard Crimson, said an error in communication led to the publishing of the Holocaust-questioning advertisement that was rejected by the paper over the summer.

Crimson president Maxwell L. Child released a statement Wednesday.

“We want to stress that we do not endorse the views put forth in any advertisement that runs in The Crimson, and this case was no different,” Child said in a letter to Crimson readers. “We will work hard to avoid such lapses in communication in the future, and hope our readers will accept that yesterday’s error was a logistical failure and not a philosophical one.”

The ad was paid for by Holocaust denier Bradley R. Smith and his Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust.

Smith said he is not surprised by public reaction to the ad because “it’s taboo, and has been taboo from the beginning. When you break a culture-wide taboo, supported in theory and practice by the state, the university and the press, you create a fuss.”

Smith said that he was never made aware of any plan by the newspaper to cancel his ad.

Bernie Steinberg, president and director of Harvard Hillel, a Jewish campus organization, said on Wednesday that the advertisement was “obviously a shock to see.”

Harvard Hillel’s student president, Rebecca Gillette, circulated a letter which said she thought the situation has been appropriately addressed.

“The fact that organizations and individuals like that publicized in this advertisement still exist today is frightening and disturbing, but unfortunately it seems that Holocaust denial will persist for years to come,” she said.

Brown University reports steep drop in endowment

The Associated Press reported Brown University has said it has seen a steep drop in its endowment fund.

The Ivy League school said the value of its endowment fell nearly 27 per cent to US$2.04 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30.

The university said the investment return for its endowment declined 23.1 per cent during the same period.

Brown has made more than US$35 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2010 in anticipation of the endowment loss.

U of T’s new library fees worry grad students

The Toronto Star reported that beginning Oct. 1, the University of Toronto will require library users from other universities to pay a fee of up to $200 a year for using its library services.

The university says the decision was made to help ease the financial pressures facing the university’s libraries this year.

“These are people who are already getting by on $16,400 a year or less, so $200 is a significant problem for students already tens of thousands of dollars in debt,” said Ian Milligan, a Canadian history PhD student at York University. Milligan said he uses U of T libraries once or twice a week.

Students were previously allowed to access library materials if they came in person with student I.D. as part of a national agreement in 2002.

“This decision is in breach of that policy,” said Marlene Shore, a history professor at York University. Shore said that such a decision might cause other universities to consider implementing a fee.

“What’s to stop the other universities in Ontario from also deciding to charge a fee?” she said.

The U of T said the new fee is not intended to make the university money, but rather to break even.

“This year we couldn’t purchase as many books as we were hoping to,” said U of T spokeswoman Laurie Stephens. “The fees will be going toward any budgetary pressures that we have on purchasing acquisitions.”

Nursing faculty may have PhD program by 2011

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In hopes of keeping graduates in the province, the U of M faculty of Nursing has put forth a statement of intent to develop a PhD program.

With a potential roll out date of 2011, the program hopes to develop skilled leaders and researchers in academic and health care settings.

According to Dauna Crooks, dean of Nursing, there is still another year of meetings before the program can be developed.

“We’re actually in the proposal at this point, so the statement of intent is sort of a basic document that lets the university and the ministry know what we’re doing,” explained Crooks.
There are currently no universities in Manitoba that offer a doctoral program in Nursing.

“In Winnipeg alone we have about 150-200 Masters-prepared nurses with nowhere to go,” said Crooks.

Instead, Crooks said graduates interested in obtaining a PhD in Nursing would have to go either to the University of North Dakota, Minnesota or another Canadian university.
Another reason for proposing the PhD program is the need for faculty renewal, said Crooks.
“You can’t renew an academic program without having doctorate-prepared staff,” said Crooks.
She said that in the majority of cases, in order to obtain a faculty position at an academic institution those applying would require a PhD.

“If we ha[d] a PhD program, we would be able to essentially home grow our own junior faculty members,” said Jay Doering, dean of graduate studies at the University of Manitoba.
According to the statement of intent, the program will encourage the study of vulnerable populations and health disparities where assessment, relevant and effective care and social support are required.

“PhD students in this program would be able to [ . . . ] research topics that would be related to [issues affecting] Manitoba, Canada and the world”, said Doering.

The program would also add to the variety of the graduate studies at the U of M, said Doering.
“When it comes to graduate programs, most of the units on campus have both a Masters and PhD program,” said Doering.

“This PhD program would have a much broader appeal, and would certainly be competitive with other PhD university programs in Canada.”

Many universities across Canada currently offer a doctoral program in Nursing, including the University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, and University of Ottawa.

The University of Ottawa, which has a similar program to the one now being proposed at the U of M, has accepted students to their program since 2004. Since that time, between 5 and 15 applicants have applied each year, with 4-5 students being admitted.

While some of the PhD students have started the program directly after completing their Masters of Science in Nursing, over half have been working and decided to return to school.
“Their backgrounds are extremely varied, ranging from management, policy positions to acute care,” said Kirsten Woodend, director and associate dean of Nursing at the University of Ottawa.

Upon graduating, the students can become directors of research or clinical scientists at larger institutions, with a number of hospitals in Ottawa hiring PhD-prepared nurses for these positions. Others seek government positions involved in policy development or obtain a faculty position at an academic institution.

“I know a lot of people who have done their masters or undergraduate degrees and are going to try the practice for a couple of years but fully intend on coming back to do their masters and teach here, or maybe go on to a PhD program,” said (Brittany Weber), UMSU representative of the Nursing Students Association Council,.

“If the opportunity is available here, that’s great; that opens so many doors for Winnipeg and for Manitoba in Nursing.”

Traveling is good for you

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“Every moment is the Guru.” — Charlotte Joko Beck

As we return from summer holidays and begin to settle into a routine again, many of us may find it difficult to imagine a world that doesn’t revolve around school and nine o’clock start times. However, at some point in their academic careers, many students put a hold on their studies and look for adventure outside the classroom.

What those students do is as varied as the individuals themselves. The most common activities, though, include working, volunteering and travelling. Some are saving up for tuition, some are looking for new experiences, some are hoping to learn more about the world, and some are actively seeking to find themselves. The National Association for College Admission Counselling in the U.S. stresses preparation to ensure a year that is filled with fun, engaging and exciting learning experiences. Programs like SWAP working holidays offer tremendous opportunities for youth to work abroad while facilitating visas and other travel arrangements.

For some students and their parents, taking time off is thought to threaten whether a student will complete his or her post-secondary studies or whether or not it might result into a waste of time. Are these worries fair? According to Statistics Canada and a study done with the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), they may be. “Nearly 10 per cent more students who don’t interrupt their studies directly after high school attend post-secondary education by the time they’re 24 years old compared to those who do: 39 per cent versus 30 per cent.”

Regardless of what some studies might suggest, acquiring new experiences through traveling could be quite rewarding, especially in terms of being able to land a job once you’ve graduated. Despite every position being unique, there are some basic skills almost all employers are looking for. In an article entitled “What do employers really want?” Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. and Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., list communication, adaptability and interpersonal skills as paramount to today’s work-force.

Exploring new environments, different societies, ways of living and cultures could provide a student with hands on experience regarding these social skills — a must, in order for an individual to be a successful asset part of the work force. If a person decides to travel abroad, especially somewhere his or her first language isn’t spoken, the individual quickly learns the value of clear communication. How great is it to be able to ask where the restroom is without resorting to wild gestures? How wonderful is it to feel understood?

Likewise, adapting to novel situations is a regular occurrence when traveling and when employed. We adapt at university too, of course, but not in the same way. How often would we walk into a classroom only to find out our Wednesday presentation has been moved to Monday? Or that an impromptu planning meeting has been called for which you’ll need to clear your schedules? Even though this could occur, in my three years as an Arts undergraduate at the U of M it did not. On the other hand, within three weeks of backpacking, I was caught in the middle of a sandstorm, stranded on a ferry and thrown into a local home-stay family. Plans change, and it’s all about rolling with the punches.

Travelling opens one’s mind, one’s field of vision and one’s opportunities as a citizen of the world. Take the chance, if you can. After all, as Mark Twain put it, “20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Katrina Broughton is a U of M religious studies graduate.

Hey Greyhound, feds: keep it down!

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On Sept. 3, 2009, Greyhound Canada announced that without government intervention to the tune of $15 million, intercity bus service would no longer be provided anywhere within the province of Manitoba after Oct. 2. As of Dec. 2, routes in Ontario, north of Sault Ste. Marie, will also be cut off. This news instantly lit up the national blogosphere and sent shockwaves throughout the country, as the social ramifications are quite evident and quite troubling.

While residents in major cities like Winnipeg have viable mass transportation alternatives, there are thousands of Canadians living in the vast stretches of Manitoba and northern Ontario, who depend solely on Greyhound buses for their travel and livelihood. Often without access to planes or trains, those without a personal vehicle could find themselves effectively stranded as a result of this announcement.

With this firmly in mind, the federal government did not spare a moment before publicly blasting Greyhound’s decision. John Baird, Conservative transport minister, called the move “heavy-handed” and labeled it as an “attempt to bully the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario.”

Politically, this was an astute move. An immediate, aggressive attack against a languishing industry leader like Greyhound plays right into the suspicions of a weary general public, subjected for over a year to news of corporate irresponsibility and massive taxpayer bailouts. However, in a practical sense, this overt confrontational approach does not do anything to help find a suitable solution to the problem for the isolated rural communities. Of course, on the flip side, Greyhound comes off looking desperate and unprofessional by airing their grievances so dramatically in the public sphere. Utilizing the press to amplify a bargaining position is a technique that almost always backfires and often undercuts any legitimate position.

In this case and according to the recent news on Goticketio, the growing animosity revolves around Greyhound’s concerns over provincial transportation regulations that require Greyhound to run specific rural routes at specific times. In theory, the profits earned in the major destination corridors more than cover the losses taken in these rural areas and, at the end of the day, Greyhound reports a net gain.

It is likely that this model of cross-subsidization worked well for both sides. Not only did the bus line benefit tremendously from their government-aided monopoly on the large metropolitan routes, but the residents in small towns were provided viable long distance transportation at a reasonable rate. However, as Greyhound contends, the new economic realities have tipped the scale far enough to make this old model unsustainable in the future. With rising fuel costs and decreased ridership as a result of lower prices in competitive airline and train trips, Greyhound is arguing that the metro corridor routes are no longer profitable enough to cover the losses taken from driving into the tiny Manitoban communities. The $15 million that Greyhound is asking the government for is presumably the difference between the two.

“We could [previously] cross-subsidize rural Canada and make some money. But we’re now also seeing declining volumes on our profitable routes [ . . . ] The model is broken,” Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president Greyhound Canada, was quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Now, my intuition leads me to believe that Greyhound probably has a legitimate position in this case. The problem however, is that in all of the commotion and hostile exchange of words, the Canadian public has been privy to almost everything but the actual numbers.

Until we have access to Greyhound’s books, we won’t know if this shortfall is projected as a true long-term issue or if is simply a temporary concern which could return back to normal once the global economic situation is cleared up. Greyhound’s 40-year lease of a brand new $7 million depot near the airport last month would suggest that the company is not nearly as financially destitute as it claims, but again, until their business numbers become available, all of this talk is simply conjecture and speculation.

What has remained clear is that without some mutually beneficial agreement in place quickly, Canadians in rural Manitoba and Northwest Ontario will be left out to dry. While Greyhound Canada does have a business to run and the Conservatives have a government to operate, both sides also have an obligation to look out for their customers and their constituents respectively. Frankly, both sides need to take their disagreements behind closed doors because this noisy public discourse does not help anyone involved.

Greyhound Canada and the federal government have a number of options in front of them. Besides automatically granting the multi-million dollar subsidy, the government can agree to tweak the regulations to allow for more flexibility on rural routes in exchange for added competition in the metropolitan areas. As another option, the government can accept Greyhound’s exit from Manitoba and northern Ontario in return for the bus line’s active participation in developing alternatives for the people who once depended on them. Regardless, for the sake of thousands of Canadians, both sides should think critically, think quickly, turn down the noise and just get something done.

Kevin Schulz is the Features Editor at the Manitoban.

Canada in Honduras

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Canada is more like the U.S. than we like to admit, even when it comes to foreign policy. Since 2000 we have quietly supported all three military coups against popularly-elected governments in Latin America. The most recent coup, which like the others is mostly ignored by our corporate press, ousted President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, and again shows our disdain for democracy.

About six families control 90 per cent of the wealth in Honduras, while about 60 per cent of the populace lives in poverty. Zelaya had reduced poverty by 10 per cent, increased minimum wages, raised public pensions and eliminated elementary school tuition fees. In response to well-documented health and environmental issues as well as human rights violations by mining companies, Zelaya announced a moratorium on new mining concessions.

On June 28, the day of the coup, Zelaya, largely supported by the poor, was holding a poll asking if voters were willing to have a referendum to reform the country’s constitution. The opposition presented this as an attempt by Zelaya to increase his term limits, which would of course be impossible, because the referendum pertaining to the constitution could only pass synonymously with the election of a new president. Zelaya hoped to reform the constitution which was formed under a U.S.-backed dictatorship. It was the challenge to elite control of governance through a popular referendum which they feared.

The coup happened just before the election with hopes that through repression and control of electoral processes, the elites could ensure favourable results. The coup government suspended human rights: there have been shootings into unarmed crowds and at opposition activists, arbitrary arrests, rapes, detentions, disappearances and police beatings. Many independent radio and television stations have been shut down. The Organization of American States and the General Assembly of the UN both immediately condemned the coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional return of Zelaya’s government.

Canada, the second largest investor in Honduras, has not cut off military aid or any aid to the coup government and is in fact still training Honduran soldiers despite the coup. In contrast to the declarations of the OAS and UN, Canada’s minister of state of foreign affairs for the Americas, Peter Kent said: “We view his initial and subsequent attempts to re-enter the country as very unhelpful to the situation.” Canadian mining company Goldcorp, which is notorious for human rights, environmental and health violations in the region, “provided buses to the capital, [ . . . ] and cash to former employees who rallied in support of the coup.” According to Kent, “Canadians should be proud of Goldcorp [ . . . ]” We support democracy when it’s good for big business.

Meddling in other countries’ democracies are nothing new. Since the 2004 recall election in Venezuela, the Liberals provided opposition party funding through the embassy and CIDA. These are opposition groups that have advocated armed resistance to the democratically-elected government. Like in Honduras, we did not take well the Venezuelan government that reduced extreme poverty by 70 per cent, greatly reduced poverty, and brought healthcare and subsidized food to the poor. It’s not good for business to have to pay higher minimum wages or taxes and it’s not good for corporations when a country reclaims its resources and redistributes its wealth rather than watching it leave for the U.S. and Canada.

Canada and the U.S. joined together to oust the elected populist-priest Jean Baptiste-Aristide from Haiti. Roger Annis reports that after his second election in 2000 Canadian “aid and loans were sharply curtailed [ . . . ] while funding of so-called nongovernmental organizations was directed exclusively at those opposing the government.” Aristide was initially ousted by a U.S. coup and was allowed back only under the condition that he would support free trade. Free trade forced small-scale farms to compete with our Agri-businesses, devastating the local economy. At the same time we funded groups causing civil unrest and finally our military alongside the U.S. removed Aristide and posed a fraudulent election where neither he nor his party could run. The repression that followed the coups was ignored by our corporate press, despite documented records of human rights abuses.

Our government and its foreign policy are not dictated by democracy promotion, but a desire to create a good investment climate, which means repressing labour, lowering taxation, unrestricted investment and the ability to repatriate our profits: that is what motivates foreign affairs in both the U.S. and Canada. In a free market system you get the best democracy money can buy, and if you are interested in a real democracy and a government that supports the need for democracy world-wide, we need to free our government from its private funding. Until then, we will promote democracy only to the extent it is convenient to business interests.

Peter Zylstra-Moore is currently studying International Development and Economics at CMU and the U of W. He has been involved in development work in Mexico, Nicaragua, Uganda and Kenya.

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