Issues & Experts >
Issues & Experts Archive > Softwood lumber, RAV, First Nations, marijuana, unions, corrections, First Nations - Issues and Experts
Softwood lumber, RAV, First Nations, marijuana, unions, corrections, First Nations - Issues and Experts
Document Tools
December 01, 2004
Softwood lumber trade war heats up…Canada and the U.S. are now nose-to-nose in their trade war over whether Canadian lumber producers are being unfairly subsidized by their provincial governments. SFU political scientists Alex Moens and Ted Cohn can look at whether Canada would be justified in reacting to the Americans' latest volley, and whether, in doing so, the Americans might further retaliate. Moens can also look at response to discussions between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Paul Martin on the issue. A Montana senator is about to introduce the Byrd Amendment -- a bill that would allow billions of dollars in lumber duties from Canadian companies to be given to U.S. forest companies. In 2002 the U.S. imposed a 27 per cent duty on Canadian lumber imports, claiming that Canadian subsidization of their exports gave them an unfair trade advantage.
RAV rollercoaster almost over…After a wild 18 months on the rollercoaster ride of municipal politics, the debate over whether and where a Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) rapid transit line should go through is about to end. SFU transportation expert Warren Gill can comment on the fate of the RAV project, which appears to be headed for the regional government's final approval today, after being killed and revived several times.
Lotus land grows most pot smokers…A new Health Canada survey shows that B.C. has more marijuana users than any other province in Canada. Nationally, the number of pot smokers has nearly doubled in the past decade. SFU psychology professor Barry Beyerstein and criminologist Neil Boyd, both experts on drug use and trends, can shed some light on what is making marijuana a mushrooming industry in Canada, and particularly, B.C.
Public sector unions regain members…Two public-sector unions that were hard hit by government privatization at B.C. hospitals are starting to regain some of their members. Marjorie Griffen-Cohen, who has researched this trend, and Mark Leier are labour experts at SFU. They can comment on why hospital workers, represented by industry groups such as the IWA, are deserting those groups and gravitating back to public sector unions, such as the Hospital Employees Union.
Seniors behind bars…What happens to the elderly behind bars? It's not a question often contemplated by the general population when considering the fate of its seniors. Corrections officials, however, are becoming more concerned about how they should handle sick and aging inmates in Canada's prisons. The number of inmates over the age of 50 has doubled in the past decade. SFU criminologist David MacAlister has written extensively about the issues facing elderly inmates and proposed solutions to resolve them.
Indigenizing Education for the 21st century…Discussions about aboriginal education in Canada have focused for many years on such issues as political control, cultural inclusion and the recruitment of aboriginal teachers. But there are other prevalent challenges, such as language preservation. Ethel Gardner is an assistant professor who is leading First Nations initiatives in the faculty of education. She was instrumental in designing and implementing the innovative Sto:lo/SFU certificate in First Nations Language and Culture and is currently conducting research involving aboriginal languages and new technologies. Gardner and colleague Mark Fettes, who is leading a five-year project aimed at helping B.C. aboriginals attain greater academic, social and economic success, will talk about their work when they give the President's faculty lecture on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. in the Halpern Centre in Burnaby.
- Alex Moens, 604.291.4361, alexander_moens@sfu.caTed Cohn, 604.291.3145, tcohn@arts.sfu.ca
RAV rollercoaster almost over…After a wild 18 months on the rollercoaster ride of municipal politics, the debate over whether and where a Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) rapid transit line should go through is about to end. SFU transportation expert Warren Gill can comment on the fate of the RAV project, which appears to be headed for the regional government's final approval today, after being killed and revived several times.
- Warren Gill, 604.291.5005, warren_gill@sfu.ca
Lotus land grows most pot smokers…A new Health Canada survey shows that B.C. has more marijuana users than any other province in Canada. Nationally, the number of pot smokers has nearly doubled in the past decade. SFU psychology professor Barry Beyerstein and criminologist Neil Boyd, both experts on drug use and trends, can shed some light on what is making marijuana a mushrooming industry in Canada, and particularly, B.C.
- Neil Boyd, 604.291.3324, neil_boyd@sfu.caBarry Beyerstein, 604.291.3743, barry_beyerstein@sfu.ca
Public sector unions regain members…Two public-sector unions that were hard hit by government privatization at B.C. hospitals are starting to regain some of their members. Marjorie Griffen-Cohen, who has researched this trend, and Mark Leier are labour experts at SFU. They can comment on why hospital workers, represented by industry groups such as the IWA, are deserting those groups and gravitating back to public sector unions, such as the Hospital Employees Union.
- Marjorie Griffen-Cohen, 604.291.5526, mcohen@sfu.caMark Leier, 604.291.5827, leier@sfu.ca
Seniors behind bars…What happens to the elderly behind bars? It's not a question often contemplated by the general population when considering the fate of its seniors. Corrections officials, however, are becoming more concerned about how they should handle sick and aging inmates in Canada's prisons. The number of inmates over the age of 50 has doubled in the past decade. SFU criminologist David MacAlister has written extensively about the issues facing elderly inmates and proposed solutions to resolve them.
- David MacAlister, 604.291.3019, dmalis@sfu.ca
Indigenizing Education for the 21st century…Discussions about aboriginal education in Canada have focused for many years on such issues as political control, cultural inclusion and the recruitment of aboriginal teachers. But there are other prevalent challenges, such as language preservation. Ethel Gardner is an assistant professor who is leading First Nations initiatives in the faculty of education. She was instrumental in designing and implementing the innovative Sto:lo/SFU certificate in First Nations Language and Culture and is currently conducting research involving aboriginal languages and new technologies. Gardner and colleague Mark Fettes, who is leading a five-year project aimed at helping B.C. aboriginals attain greater academic, social and economic success, will talk about their work when they give the President's faculty lecture on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. in the Halpern Centre in Burnaby.
- Ethel Gardner, 604.268.6795, 604.833.0732(cell); ebg@sfu.ca