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 making enterprises can continue to earn a profit as a means to solve it’s financial problems is doomed to failure from the start. I fear greatly that this great institution will be damaged beyond repair by this process as our anti-education provincial government and “businessman first” Premier stand idly by and watch.

We now have a process based on making cuts to ensure profitability and prioritizing revenue earning programs rather than than prioritizing the programs most important to the institution and the community.

The first thing that should have been done to address Laurentian University's future was to identify the most important programs, particularly those that can only be provided by Laurentian University or provided better there than elsewhere.

At this time of reconciliation there is one program at Laurentian University that stands out from all others and that is the Indigenous Studies Program, and supports for Indigenous students and ties to the Indigenous community. This is a program that is historically important not just to Laurentian University but to all of North America.

A plan to save Laurentian University must have its indigenous component at the forefront. The Indigenous Studies Program should not only be preserved with no cutbacks but expanded. Retaining a few courses and slapping them together into a token program is the worst thing that could be done and would be about as disrespectful as could possibly be to the Indigenous community.

That, of course, should not be the only priority. Near the top should be programs and research in the social sciences that focus on Northern Ontario in particular and northern communities in general.

In the sciences and engineering sectors, programs, courses, and research dealing with the ecology and environment of the north should prioritized along with programs and research related to the mining industry.

As well, programs in the health sciences and professional schools designed to meet the particular needs of Northern Ontario, such as social work, nursing and midwifery, also need to be protected.

The traditional arts programs and courses may be easier replaced by programs at other institutions but courses relating to northern history and culture, including francophone culture and history, should be protected.

As an Honours Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) graduate (May 1973) I would be remiss if I did not mention the Political Science program, which in my time provided me with a unique education in both applied and theoretical politics with a particular Northern Ontario focus.

Only after it has been determined what needs to be saved to protect the unique Northern Ontario mandate of the University should an analysis of what should be done to solve the university’s financial problems be undertaken. Gutting the university is not the answer. Strategic investments are more likely to be succesful.

To be done properly this process would require extensive community consultation, impossible with the flawed process that has been chosen that puts the process in the hands of bankers and accountants rather than educators and community representatives.

With the ultimate decision making power in the hands of a provincial government that is anti-education and anti-community I fear for the future of Laurentian University.

Ontario’s COVID-19 Disaster in Five Words

The Ontario government would like to blame the behaviour of Ontario’s citizens for this disaster implying somehow we are so much worse than the citizens of other countries, and even other provinces, that are at the end of this crisis as we enter the worst of it. The fact is other jurisdictions acted quicker and stronger and got through the worst quicker because they put the health of their citizens first.

Ontario has from the start tried to get by with half measures because the government’s priority was protecting business interests, the sacred economy. Now the government is flailing about trying to appear to be doing something while failing to implement many of the measures recommended by public health experts, and implementing others that will have little impact beyond punishing the citizens of the province for the government’s inaction and ineptitude.

Indeed the priority of Premier Doug Ford is not protecting the health of Ontario. His priority is not even governing the province of Ontario. His priority is reflected in the five words he uttered so proudly “I’m a businessman first”.

So Why Would I Buy An E-bike

It’s not that I have anything against e-bikes. I think they are great for people who want to use them as basic transportation or for whom cycling would be difficult otherwise. But for me cycling has always been a recreational activity I do for exercise, so for myself, I have viewed an e-bike as cheating.

So what has got me to change my mind. Well first my wife Christine decided she wanted one and that got me interested as well, so we went looking at e-bikes.

The first e-bikes we became familiar with were the Cubes because a number of friends had them. To us they seemed bulky and heavy looking. I tried riding one for a short time without power and found it as annoying as those heavy Dutch bikes I once tried. No offence is intended here to light Dutch bikes. I am sure they exist.

But we were both looking for something lighter and less scooterish and more bikeish. We came across a Parkway Civia at a local bike shop and it looked exactly like what we were looking for and the description stated “We intentionally made the Parkway a bicycle first, and an electric bike second.” Sounds just about right.

But they also had a Norco Scene VLT, which though it looked heavier was actually only one pound heavier than the Civia, and it was a Norco.

Christine decided to buy the Scene early in March. She waited till the salt was washed off the roads to take it out and it has proven so far, after a few days at least, to be a great bike.

Now my ideal e-bike is a bike that I can ride as a regular bike with the availability of an electric assist if I should ever need it (for particularly strenuous hills or winds or longer rides). So I took the Norco Scene VLT out for a ride for an hour without electric assist and it proved to be as easy, if not easier, to ride than my Brodie Sterling hybrid.

So, at the very end of March, I decided to get one for myself but by then the shop we got Christine’s at had none left. I ended up getting the last one available in Ottawa at a different shop. Norco does not have any available to order direct from them either. I am now anxiously awaiting delivery.