Jul 30, 2021
A Battleground Concept: The concept of academic freedom is difficult for many within and outside of the university sector to grasp – in Canadian labour relations, it is the flag on a tug-of-war rope between those who see the concept as protecting societal interests...
Jun 28, 2021
The reaction to recent news stories about the discovery of the unmarked graves of hundreds (and as time goes on probably thousands) of indigenous children who were former attendees of residential schools has been one of shock and horror and profound sadness. I wrote...
Nov 9, 2020
Once grievances move into any sort of formal process, positions and feelings become entrenched, taking the parties further away from resolution. This column is a request to colleagues across the country to work together to create cultures inside your universities that...
Jan 7, 2020
As we try to make sense of the senseless, we should derive comfort from the fact that universities are much-needed instruments of cultural and social connection. Like many Canadians, I am preoccupied with Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, which exploded and...
Oct 15, 2019
Universities, like other organizations, enter into many contracts. There are leases, insurance policies, benefits policies, partnerships, research agreements, memoranda of understanding, placement agreements, employment agreements, confidentiality agreements,...
Aug 29, 2019
In a world of increasing legal risks and fiduciary obligations, it is difficult to understand why a university would do without one. All universities should have a chief legal officer, or what is commonly known as a general counsel or GC. This is an executive-level...
