I’d like to dedicate this column to writing a short transition report for the new Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executive to help them improve relations with students, services, and the campus media.

Don’t trash talk anyone publically

There have been several instances when the current SFUO exec spoke poorly of the student press in an open forum without bringing their issues to us first. Don’t do that.

Not only does it make you seem completely unprofessional in front of students, but we will call you out and you will look stupid. Instead, bring your issues to us—we’re very likely to correct our mistakes.

Let your employees speak for themselves

Let me tell you a story. At the beginning of the year, I wrote about improvements to 1848, a campus bar. Among the people I contacted was the bar manager who was happy to comment but couldn’t do so without permission of the SFUO executive. When I asked, I was told his message won’t differ from the SFUO’s and I wasn’t to interview him.

This isn’t the only example of the SFUO not letting its employees speak for themselves. If you don’t trust people who work for you to say good things about your business or to lend their expertise on an issue without your oversight, I don’t trust you to be a strong student leader.

Give interviews even when you don’t want to

For the most part, this year’s executive was open to be interviewed—unless they were asked about something they didn’t want to say. When I called and emailed the SFUO regarding the cost of the National Day of Action, it was like we didn’t have an executive. But when asked to comment about something positive they had done—like the tax clinics—one phone call was enough.

The SFUO is in charge of student money and resources, and it’s important to be transparent and accountable for them. Those two words—transparency and accountability—are thrown around a lot during elections. The incoming executive should make sure those promises are kept throughout the year. They get paid $30,000 per year with student money to serve student interests.

 —Jane Lytvynenko

news@thefulcrum.ca

(613) 562-5260

Fees for incoming students will increase by 4.5 per cent for most undergraduates, and by eight per cent for faculties like law, medicine, engineering, and management, as well as for international students. Increases to post-graduate tuition range between the two percentages, varying by faculty, but are five per cent across the board for international students and for returning students at all levels.

Among those voting against the increases was undergraduate BOG representative Anne-Marie Roy.

“I voted against the increase in tuition fees, because I think that we’re imposing a certain financial burden on students right now, and I think that it’s very important to realize that,” said Roy.

“I’m also very disappointed with the result, because I feel like I definitely spoke about wanting to work with the university and administration to find ways in which we can improve the budget so we don’t have to impose this increase in tuition fees on students, and I feel like that wasn’t necessarily very welcomed,” she added.

Allan Rock, U of O president, said the increase is necessary to take on Destination 2020 projects and better the student experience on campus. Rock added 30 per cent of the increase will go toward student financial aid.

“Over the last 10 years, we have generated significant surpluses. They total $500 million over the past 10 years,” said Rock in his presentation at the BOG. “But this board authorized the expenditure of those surpluses to build more infrastructure … and hiring professors.”

The vote was conducted by email as the vote at the April 2 BOG meeting was interrupted by a protest of about 30 students who came to show their opposition to the increase.

“I definitely support the students and I hope that this protest made the administration realize that we’re really fed up,” said Roy. “We’re at a point where tuition fees need to stop increasing because we can’t afford university anymore.”

Also present at the meeting on April 2 was Liz Kessler, vp university affairs at the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO), who gave a presentation to the board alongside GSAÉD External Commissioner Taiva Tegler on the impact of rising tuition fees on students.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised, because [the board members] do it every year, and they tend to just do whatever the university proposes,” said Kessler. “The Board of Governors is very much not connected to the students’ realities; it’s made up of representatives from private companies, corporations that don’t have much to do with the university.”

In his presentation, Rock said the increase in tuition fees is necessary to create a better student experience through Destination 2020, a strategic vision for the U of O launched this year.

“If you’re deciding not to increase tuition, you’re deciding it not only for this year but for all consequent years, because you won’t be able to catch up,” said Rock. “That means the $1.9 million you forgo this year will be forgone the next and the next year and so on exponentially. The money we’re investing under the plan is already having an impact.”

—Edward Roué

Amalia Savva, president

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

Savva: I think this year as an executive we’ve had many achievements, but I think personally one of my big achievements is around the advertising policies on campus, especially in the University Centre. So, looking at how advertisements are done in the University Centre and ways we can improve what’s out there for students. Students on campus are not consumers, but more actual students here to learn.

Which areas could you have improved in?

There’s always room for improvement no matter what we’ve done this year, but I think that something that could always be improved is reaching out to students. It’s hard to get out many messages to 37,000 people. It’s something that needs to continue to be worked on. I think we did a great job this year at doing that, but the work doesn’t stop there.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive? 

First off, congratulations to the incoming executive. I think next year will also be filled with victories and successes at the SFUO. I think it’s definitely important to remember that you’re a team and working as a team gets you further on projects.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

I’m going back to school, which is quite exciting. I’ve taken a year off and been part time for quite a while, so I’m definitely ready to get back to the books and be a student again. I’ve spent the past four years involved with the SFUO and I’m definitely going to be volunteering next year.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

I’d bring an extremely oversized book with lots of books in it so I would have lots of reading material. I would bring my iPod that somehow recharges itself. I would bring art supplies, and my teddy bear, Teddy.

Marie-Claude Noël, vp social

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

Noël: I think one of the things that was most important for me to do and that I’ve achieved this year is having on-budget social programming and an on-budget 101 Week, as well as institutionalizing accessibility to our events, such as Winter Challenge and 101 Week.

Which areas could you have improved in?

I think—and this is for the entire executive—something we always hope to do better on is outreach. You want to be reaching as many students as possible. It’s not something we have done badly this year—it’s just something that we can improve on continuously.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive?

Be mindful of the budget, be mindful of student interests, and be sure they’re representing students in everything they do. Be constantly talking to students and getting them involved in the process, be it throwing events or anything else that the federation does.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

Going back to school full time and working. As I’m sure you know, post-secondary education is really expensive, so I’m going back to working full time again and school full time, but of course staying involved as well through volunteering.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

I would bring a phone; I would bring chocolate-covered pretzels, because I’m sure they wouldn’t have them on another planet; I would bring a laptop; I would bring Doctor Who DVDs, and pictures of my loved ones.

Amy Hammett, vp student affairs

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

Hammett: I think everybody’s biggest achievement is the work that was done with services this year. Increasing visibility and really creating a dynamic and cohesive team within the services, and the work they’ve done to support students across campus.

Which areas could you have improved in?

I think there are some areas of communication within parts of the services that could have been improved on, and that will always need to be evolving to meet the ever changing needs of students on campus.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive?

I think my best advice is to work hard and to work together as a team, because the amount achieved with an executive that works well together is going to be huge amounts more than working individually.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

I’m going back to school, probably part time. The SFUO is an organization that I think is so important on campus, so as long as I’m here, I think I’ll definitely be volunteering wherever I can.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

My other five executives from this year.

Liz Kessler, vp university affairs

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

Kessler: I think I have a few. One of them is definitely organizing the Feb. 1 Day of Action on tuition fees. It was a really fantastic day; we saw a great turnout from the students, and we made a lot of noise and got a lot of attention for it—which is, of course, the point—and definitely saw an immediate reaction from the government.

I think that was really successful, and I’m really happy to say we have built some really awesome volunteers this year for that, and we’re continuing that work as well.

Which areas could you have improved in?

I think one of the things I could probably improve on—and that I want to improve on for next year—is just better communication of what is going on with the administration.

There are a lot of little battles that we fight, and I know that sometimes my job is a little more of a background role, and so I’d like to be able to [raise] more awareness for students of what is going on at the admin level in terms of the university’s budget, [and] different policies that they are trying to pass.

Right now they’re creating a new policy on having laptops in the classroom, so I’m trying to get more awareness of that, and I’m always looking for more suggestions of ways that we can reach out to students.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive?

Just always to remember why you’re here and what the SFUO’s mandate is. To make sure that we’re looking out for students’ interests and using our collective resources to do what’s in the students’ interests.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

I’m going to try to continue the work that I’ve already started. Obviously, being the only returning exec, I’m going to be working to make sure that the rest of the new executives all feel welcome and comfortable in their new roles, and just do what I can to support them.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

I would bring a copy of Harry Potter and ice cream. I would bring my best friend from back home, Andy.

I feel like for this question I should pick something survival-related, but I wouldn’t know what kind of thing would be useful on another planet, so I don’t know. I would probably bring my laptop and some DVDs.  I would bring a copy of Firefly.  I’m kind of nerdy, in case you didn’t notice that.

Paige Galette, vp communications 

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

Galette: I can’t really pick one biggest achievement. I’d say the whole year was a biggest achievement.

If I had to put it in sections, I’d say the website and the ride-share program. The ride share is pretty huge, and I didn’t expect it to be so popular so soon.

The linguistic discrimination campaign was a big one, too  …  It’s something that we didn’t really hear about back then—and by back then I mean like two years ago—but now it’s big and people know exactly what we’re talking about, can identify what is linguistic discrimination, and how to challenge it as well.

Zoom productions, I can’t leave that out. Zoom productions did really great this year, especially with the flash mob video, which was the most-viewed video in Zoom productions history.

And I’d have to put a shout out to the Fulcrum this year. In previous years, the Fulcrum and the SFUO’s relations weren’t the greatest, but this year we were really able to hash things out from previous years and just being on great terms with not only reporters, but the Fulcrum staff as well. That’s something that wasn’t really doable in previous years, and to give credit, the Fulcrum has also changed. I think those are the biggest highlights.

Which areas could you have improved in?

I think the Oohlala mobile app. Unfortunately it wasn’t as big as expected in comparison to the ride-share program. I was expecting it to be a little bit bigger.  I think it would be something for the incoming vp communications to utilize the service and the fact that it wasn’t launched it in September makes a huge difference. When you launch a program in the new semester, it’s not the same as the new year. It’s still going, it’s still pretty hot, but it’s not as big as I’d like it to be.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive?

My biggest advice would be—to the whole executive—keep a great relationship with students, because students are the ones that voted, and you don’t want to disappoint them. And not to hide in their office, but to go out and interact with students and our membership.

I guess the other one would be to maintain the great relationships we’ve created, and that really goes for the incoming vp communications. I did my best to maintain great relations with folks in the administration, and folks at the Fulcrum, and hopefully these are relationships that were really hard to maintain or even have, as in previous years, and really making sure that it keeps going up rather than deteriorating.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

I’m still going to be around for one more year of school. I’m going to freely advocate for every issue I love, whether it’s women’s rights, or linguistic discrimination, or advocating for more racialized folks. I’ll still be around and a little shit disturber.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

I’d bring flowers, because I love flowers; I’d bring water to keep myself hydrated; I’d bring a picture of everybody I love in one picture; I’d bring Fruit Loops, because those are my favourite cereal; and I’d bring a box of jewelry, because that’s just me—I always have to flash wherever I go.

Sarah Jayne King, vp finance 

The Fulcrum: What was your biggest achievement this year?

King: This is probably harder than some of the other executives that have some really tangible achievements, other than things like making the businesses function properly.

My biggest achievement would be the Pivik. It is actually one business that has just massively improved in terms of its success as a business, both financially and in terms of the services it offers. We’ve seen massive increase in revenue, as well as a huge improvement in terms of the type of food offered, and the level of healthiness offered with that food; we have an organic section now.

As well, for all of the business except for the Agora, we’ve implemented the meal plan, so we now accept meal plan cards. So I’d say those two things related to the businesses would be a huge achievement this year.

Also just continuing to run the tax clinic program. I am the first person that implemented it on this campus last year, and I continued that program this year. It was a bit bigger than last year, and so I hope that my successors will continue that trend.

Which areas could you have improved in?

I think that a lot of the vp finance portfolio is a lot of the ongoing things that need to be continuously worked on, like the businesses, for example.

The businesses always need more love, and as much support as possible to improve over time. I think if I had more hours in the day than I already do, I would have devoted more time to the businesses.

I’d say one thing that has always been a success, but that has always required some extra attention too, is improving the health plan—the services that are offered through it, as well as the promotion of it to make sure students are aware.

This year has actually been quite impressive, but that is something again that is one of the largest services we offer, and always needs some feedback and improvement.

Do you have any advice for the incoming executive?

I’m never good at words of wisdom. I guess my advice for the incoming exec would be to be creative together, to work as a team—as a unit—because you are always representing the SFUO as a whole no matter what projects you’re working on, and to just make every effort to make it a great year, and always keeping in mind that every action that you take should be a step in the right direction for the interests of students.

That is the one thing that you need to keep in mind when doing all the work we do, and offering all the services we do, planning all the events and stuff that we do.

What are your plans once you’re done this year?

I am moving to Toronto. I was elected to be the chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario.

If you were to move to a new planet and only five items would fit in your spaceship, what would you bring?

I would bring my music, a communication device so that I could continue to talk to folks on planet earth, a friend, my partner, and a notebook.

—Jane Lytvynenko with files from Spencer Van Dyk

“I feel a little panicked because we run a lot of our programs though Katimavik volunteers,” said Jonathan Rausseo, sustainable development manager at the U of O. “We’re going to have to dramatically rethink all of our programs.”

The Office of Campus Sustainability employed three Katimavik volunteers, two of whom work full time and one part time. Rausseo said they were treated as employees more than volunteers.

“We’ve had almost 50 Katimavik participants come through our office over the past six years,” said Rausseo. “I have maybe one person who didn’t like the program. I just don’t know anyone who has gone through the program and said, ‘This is horrible.’”

Katimavik is meant to provide youth who want to take a gap year between high school and university an opportunity to travel the country and figure out what they want to do through volunteering for various organizations. Ian Mitchell, past Katimavik participant, joined for that reason.

“I got involved with Katimavik because I had just gotten out of high school and wasn’t doing anything, or just working some retail job I didn’t like, didn’t appeal to me,” he wrote in an email to the Fulcrum. “It seemed like a great alternative to everything else once I got out of high school. I had hoped for it to maybe point me in a direction for a career, which it actually did.”

Rausseo said the large contribution Katimavik volunteers made to the U of O stainability office will be hard to replace. New volunteer recruitment tactics and a volunteer coordinator will be implemented over the summer.

“We’re in a bit of a bind in terms of what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re going to have to find 22 hours of volunteer service per day. We’ll have to figure out a way to segment the work Katimavik volunteers did.

“We’re going to be dedicating the majority of our summer to figuring out how we can keep our programs going,” he added. “Some programs just won’t be possible anymore.”

Mitchell said he’s not surprised the program has been cut.

“I wasn’t shocked, but I wasn’t pleased. I’m even less pleased with the fact that this might be the end,” said Mitchell. “The last time [Katimavik] was cut, someone went on a hunger strike, and I’m honestly not sure there’s anyone willing to do that this time. Even if there were, I’m not sure that’s enough to sway the Conservatives.”

Pierre Manoni, media relations advisor at Heritage Canada, said the government will continue to invest in youth programs, but Katimavik has been costly for the government.

“Our government is committed to giving more kids the opportunities they deserve, not funding expensive programs that simply don’t reach enough young people,” he wrote in an email to the Fulcrum. “Ending Katimavik is a responsible decision that will save taxpayers over $15 million per year while allowing us to find new and more efficient ways to give young people the opportunities they deserve.”

Rausseo said he hopes the public will realize the need for the program and make its opinion known. He will contact Vince Bevin, former Ottawa police chief and current senator, with a plea to save the program, as Senate has the last say on the budget.

“I hope there will be people saying, ‘Lets do something about this,’” said Rausseo. “It’s a majority government and they don’t want the program; there’s not much you could do there. I don’t know if hunger strikes will cut it this time.”

ON MARCH 29, it was announced the University of Ottawa’s Heart Institute (UOHI) has been ranked in the top two per cent in the world. The grading, conducted by SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR), rated UOHI number 57 of 3,092 world research centres.

“These results are remarkable, but they are just the tip of the iceberg as our researchers take part in cutting-edge, world-renowned research on a daily basis, here in Ottawa, that impacts on the lives of patients worldwide,” said Dr. Robert Roberts, president and CEO of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, in a press release about the centre’s latest achievement.

Known as the Normalized Impact Report, SIR evaluated the institute on six main factors, including scientific impact, output size, thematic specialization, and international collaboration networks of the institution.

Vincent Lamontagne, the senior public affairs manager for UOHI, said this system puts each centre on an even playing field.

“It’s like [how] you would compare the United States with a smaller European country—that doesn’t work … because you can never compare them with those huge [research centres] that are twice [their] size,” said Lamontagne.

“Normalized means that we put everything worth by points, so everybody’s on the same line. Depending on your size, it’s proportionate, right? Now we can be compared to the biggest [centres]. They just look at your research according to six major aspects of the research that is being done.”

The bedside genetic test is one type of research done at the Heart Institute that has gained international recognition from top medical journals. This procedure, created by Dr. Derek So, has allowed doctors to know what  medicine to administer to patients through a simple cheek swab without waiting weeks for lab results.

According to Lamontagne, it’s this type of research that puts UOHI in the top two per cent.

“It’s not just a hospital. It’s the research institute—research at large is even more important because we’re not just experts in health. We’re being recognized by an independent body for research, too.”

Lamontagne said it’s important students and the U of O community to know the University of Ottawa’s Heart Institute is one of the best in the world because it serves as an education centre for students while providing patients with better care.

“We have three main pillars,” said Lamontagne. “We have the patient care, which is very important. Our education is very important, and our research is very important. The three of them separately are really important, but they’re also working together.

“This ranking is telling everybody not only in Canada, or Ottawa, but worldwide, the research we’re doing has a direct impact on patient care,” he added. “We have almost 80,000 patients here every year that we treat, and they have access to the best treatment in the world, or among the best research in the world among cardiovascular health.”

—Sofia Hashi

THE GOVERNMENT OF Canada, unlike student, will note complete exams in April or receive grades in May. Instead, the government released their budget last month—an indicator of their policies and strategies going forward over the next three years. They may not be getting an F on a paper, but backlash from media and Canadian citizens demonstrates how they’re going.

The Fulcrum asked leaders of each political party in the House of Commons to pick the area in which they believed Canada is failing and what needs to be done to fix that. Each leader also had the opportunity to explain where they think Canada excels domestically and one where the country leads internationally.

Dean Del Mastro

Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Born and raised in Peterborough, Ont., Del Mastro has represented the riding as a member of Parliament with the Conservative Party of Canada since 2006. He attended the University of Windsor, receiving an honours bachelor in commerce and continues to reside in Peterborough with his wife, Kelly.

Del Mastro sat on a number of standing committees and advocates for commuter rail and affordable housing. He was the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Heritage and later to the Minister of Sport before becoming parliamentary secretary to the prime minister.

Del Mastro spoke with the Fulcrum on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada.

The Fulcrum: If you were to name three areas where you believe Canada is failing, what would those be?

Del Mastro: I wouldn’t say Canada is failing anywhere. No matter where you look, Canada stands as an example to many nations. Where could we improve? I think Canada needs an improvement in productivity. We see those kinds of challenges across the board, especially in Ontario and our industrial sector.

Secondly, I think there is an opportunity for Canada to improve its overall trade mix. I think that for too long, Canada was excessively dependent on the U.S. economy for our well-being. We want to maintain a very strong trade relationship with the United States, but not to the extent whereby our entire financial well-being is dictated by the United States.

I think the other challenge is the entire country working more as an economic union. [It’s] trying to take down the interprovincial trade barriers that, I believe, prevent Canada from working as well collectively as it could. I think it is just a matter of sitting down and ironing out a stronger economic partnership between all the regions of the country.

Those are three areas where if we saw significant improvement, we would see a much stronger overall Canadian society and Canadian economy.

How do you address these concerns?

I think one of the ways to increase productivity is by focusing on innovation. I think Canadians are globally seen as great innovators. In so many areas, we lead the world in terms of research. For a long time, government has looked at how it is possible to partner with industry. I think we want to put together our places of higher learning and industry, and play the role of driving innovation.

With respect to international trade, I think that is what the prime minister has been working very hard on for the past number of years. It is a matter of building relationships and building familiarity. We have been fortunate to attract highly skilled immigrants from around the world. These people are now our advocates for these trade relationships that we seek. It is about taking this familiarity, taking these relationships and building it [all] into a trade relationship.

[With intergovernmental barriers], I believe this is about coming to an agreement between professional associations and the federal government. Any example that I’ve seen where you’ve allowed for the free flow of goods and services has always been beneficial to the consumer, and has always been beneficial to growth in the economy. When you construct artificial barriers, it makes everyone poor, it results in lower productivity, it results in lower overall employment, and it results in fewer opportunities for the people that live here and call Canada home.

If you could pick something Canada does well, what would you pick?

Certainly if you look at the economic financial crisis, there is no question that Canada’s banking sector is much stronger than any other. Outside of that, I think Canada, virtually at every level, is well governed. Even if I take issue with decisions of any given government, or a position of a party on any given day, I do think Canada is well governed. Despite the fact it is a very young democracy, it is a model democracy.

Bob Rae 

Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

This former premier of Ontario has been elected to federal and provincial Parliaments 10 times. Born in Ottawa, the 63-year-old has received many awards and recognitions, including officer of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, Queen’s Counsel, and honourary degrees at Queen’s University and McMaster University.

Rae has written four books in the past 15 years. He has a bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Toronto. Along with being a Rhodes Scholar, he completed a bachelor’s of philosophy at Oxford University.

He was the foreign affairs critic for the Liberal Party of Canada before being appointed its interim leader in May 2011 after Michael Ignatieff resigned from the position. After sitting down at a foreign policy roundtable with students from the University of Ottawa, he spoke about Canada with the Fuclrum.

The Fulcrum: If you were to name three areas where you believe Canada is failing, what would those be?

Rae: We are falling behind on being at our best both domestically and around the world. I think we are falling behind in terms of transparency, the quality of our governance. We are falling behind on the environment. We are falling behind on human rights. I think these are all areas where we are not performing at our best and I think the world sees us that way. I think that is a real concern and preoccupation that we have [and] certainly where I see us falling behind.

How do you address these concerns? 

I think the first step is facing up to them. The fact is, if you take something like innovation in our economy, we are not up to the standard we should be.

We are behind on productivity. We are behind on a full prosperity agenda as a country. I think you then look and say, ‘What are the tax policies? What are the other policies that we need to make sure that we are more innovative and creative?’

I think in terms of our parliamentary life—in terms of how Canada is governed—we are less transparent, less cooperative, less productive than we could be [and] I think we need to be.

When it comes to looking at issues of the environment, I think we are well behind. The presentation today [which discussed implementing clean technologies in the oil sands] was a good signal on that.

When it comes to Canada’s leadership in the world, I think people would like us to be at the forefront of new technologies, at the forefront of corporate accountability, at the forefront of understanding. To link these issues together, I think it takes a government of a particular kind of imagination.

If you could pick something Canada does well, what would you pick?

I think we do education pretty well. I think we can do it better, but I think we do it pretty well. We have a very well-educated group of young people who are coming into their own and who have lots of ideas and lots to present. I think that is an area of strength for Canada. I think we need to make it stronger.

Thomas Mulcair

Leader of the New Democratic Party

Born in Ottawa and raised in Laval, Que., Mulcair has been involved in politics at federal and provincial levels. He was recently elected as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP). He finished a degree in social sciences at Vanier College and then completed law school at McGill University.

In 1994, the Liberal Party asked him to run as a candidate. Elected three times to the Quebec National Assembly, he served as Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Parks.

He was elected in the 2007 federal election as an NDP candidate and became Co-Deputy House Leader. He was re-elected in 2011, and this past March, he won the leadership of the NDP.

The Fulcrum: If you were to name three areas where you believe Canada is failing, what would those be?

Mulcair: I think the number one area where we are failing is sustainable development in our own country. We are failing to assume the costs, in this generation, of the things we are doing. We are leaving that in the backpacks of [the younger] generation. My generation is leaving you the largest ecological, economical, and social debt in our history.

Unfortunately, a lot of young people are staying home instead of voting. In the May 2 election, two-thirds of young people age 18–25 in Canada didn’t bother to vote. That is something that is going to have to be a priority for us in the NDP—to talk and connect with young people.

I think Canada is having a great deal of difficulty on the world stage. When the Conservatives withdrew Canada’s application from membership on the [United Nations] Security Council last year, they didn’t do it because they were afraid we would lose. They did it because we would be humiliated. The Canada the Conservatives are projecting out on to the world is not the Canada that is recognized … as fighting for peace. It’s not the Canada that was a handed voice in world affairs.

Other than that, I would say that the budget is a failure to understand that the priority of government is to protect the public. Some of the things that they are cutting—such as food safety inspection and transportation safety—are the very recent ones come to exist.

How do you address these concerns?

With respect to sustainable development, I would do as I did when I was the minister of environment and sustainable development. In Quebec, I would bring in overarching legislation that applied to all ministries, organizations, and bodies within the government. Right now, we have a very piecemeal approach in Ottawa and it is not working. We are not enforcing our legislation essentially and we don’t have an overarching approach, so I would bring that in.

On the world stage, I would make peace our number one priority. I would get back to being a respected player on the world stage. Again, that would be extremely important and it is a question of direction. That would be the one I would take.

With regard to government spending, I wouldn’t have hollowed out the ability of the government to provide services by giving huge corporate tax breaks like the Conservatives have done. I would maintain the fiscal capacity of the government to provide those services.

If you could pick something Canada does well, what would you pick?

Across Canada we have the medicare system that we put in place 50 years ago to make sure no Canadian family would ever have to hesitate between having their child seen by a doctor when their child was sick or put groceries on the table for the family. That is a choice we didn’t want Canadians to have to make. With the Conservative cuts, that is in danger.

Elizabeth May

Leader of the Green Party of Canada

Born in Hartford, Conn., Elizabeth May now makes her home in Sidney, B.C. She was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2005 and in 2011 she was the first Green Party of Canada candidate to be elected to the House of Commons.

She graduated from law school at Dalhousie University and has served on many advisory boards to universities and the Government of Canada. In addition to being leader of the Green Party, she is an environmentalist, activist, lawyer, and writer, having penned seven books.

Since being elected to the House of Commons, she has been critical of the current government’s direction on environmental issues. She attended climate talks in Durban, South Africa in 2011 as a registered delegate of Papua New Guinea   after the Canadian government denied her request to attend with its delegation.

The Fulcrum: If you were to name three areas where you believe Canada is failing, what would those be?

May: I think we are failing in three areas both domestically and internationally. Certainly, we are failing on anything to do with the climate crisis, failing in respect to human rights, and our role as peacekeepers.

The decision to file a legal notice that we intend to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol is really shocking and deeply unhelpful to the whole global effort to negotiate meaningful climate treaties.

Domestically, I’ve never seen a budget in my life that actually focuses so forcefully on doing the wrong thing. They are cutting away the fabric of environmental law and policy to speed the development of oil sands, and increase greenhouse gases, off-shore drilling, pipelines, and tankers.

Canada has gone offside internationally. We used to always hold up the resolutions of the United Nation calling for capital punishment to be recognized globally as a form of cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We really need to rethink our role in the world. Stephen Harper is really trying to remake the image of ourselves from the blue helmeted peacekeepers to what he describes as the warrior nation. He is very keen on militarism. Our role in the world traditionally as peacekeepers is being quite vigorously attacked.

How do you address these concerns?

I’d make Stephen Harper take early retirement. That would improve our record on all areas of policy.

A carbon-pricing scheme, preferably a carbon tax, coupled with a phase out of all coal-fired plants, to invest in mass transit, and a very vigorous program for energy retrofitting of all our existing building styles. It would be a very important program and would create tens of thousands of jobs, right across the country.

For charter rights, it’s just respecting rule of law. Stop acting as if the civil liberties that Canadians enjoy [as] enshrined in our constitution are somehow something for people who love criminals and don’t support victims, which is the rhetoric we hear everyday in the House of Commons. Protecting civil liberties is protecting our entire society so that we remain civilized and respect the rule of law.

I would reconstitute what we think as our military and ask the question, ‘Where are Canada’s armed forces needed in our future?’ I think we quickly realize that peacekeeping through the United Nations is critical. The [Disaster Assistance Response Team] unit should be expanded. We need to realise the world of the future is going to need the kind of forces … for the purpose of rescue and rehabilitation.

If you could pick something Canada does well, what would you pick?

Even with the efforts to undercut, I would say our health care system. We have to protect our health care from privatization.

If you look at the stats, Canadians are less likely to die in hospitals then our southern neighbours, more likely to give birth and have an infant survive, and spend less per capital. Overall, we don’t do as well as some of the European and Scandinavian nations, but we do a lot better than the United States.

—Christopher Radojewski

As the 2011–12 year comes to an end with final papers being hastily handed in and exams written by students who are all the while dreaming of summer sun and patios, we’ve had some time to reflect on our dear U of O—and we have to say, we are damn proud to be students at this university. We’d like to dedicate our last editorial of the year to give our school mad props and respect points for its epic accomplishments. So, word to you, U of O. Word.

We like it on top. The U of O was ranked by the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the top 200 universities in the world for the first time this year. Take that, Maclean’s.

We know our shit. The U of O was ranked among the top 10 research institutions in Canada. We also scored six new research chairs over the summer.

We’ve got legit street cred. Former Governor General of Canada Michaëlle Jean was appointed the newest chancellor of the U of O this fall.

We live and learn. After a particularly… interesting round of student federation elections last year, elections for the 2012–13 executives ran relatively smoothly, with voter turnout up four per cent from last year.

We’ve got game. We’re getting a new football stadium, and our Matt Anthony Field got an upgrade this summer, earning it a FIFA two-star rating.

We party hard… Over our fall reading week, which we’ve had for the past two years. [Editor’s note: Carleton University, however, is noticeably lacking in the double reading week department.]

We’ve got peeps. The U of O hosted many nationally and internationally renowned speakers, including Kofi Annan, Lloyd Axworthy, Jagdish Bhagwati, and Elizabeth May.

We hug trees. The University of Ottawa was ranked in the top 20 most sustainable universities in the world, second in the country. Oh, and our new social sciences building—pretty freakin’ sustainable.

We can haz Internetz. After being hacked over the summer, the SFUO updated their website, giving students more access to important documentation and featuring a campus events calendar.

We’ve got Nostalgica. And it stayed open months longer than anticipated. Enough said.

We score bling. Our women’s soccer and basketball teams made it to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships this year, each bringing home a bronze medal.

Nous avons le français. L’administration de l’université et la FÉUO ont mis en œuvre des politiques cette année afin de protéger le bilinguisme sur notre campus. The university administration and the SFUO implemented policies this year to protect bilingualism on campus.

We’ve got jobs. The U of O ranked in the top 25 employers in the National Capital Region.

We’ve got… decent eats. The quality of cafeteria food is—slowly but surely—on the rise (OK, and so are prices, but still. They’re trying). Also, gotta love Muggy Mondays (free coffee!) and free breakfasts during exams!

We have a dream. Destination 2020, which maps out the future for the U of O over the next several years, envisions a university focused on the student experience, research excellence, internationalization, and bilingualism—what more could we ask for?

editor@thefulcrum.ca | (613) 562-5261

The budget cuts retirement benefits by raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement from 65 to 67 years, forcing Canadians to postpone their retirement for two years. For low-income seniors, it’s even worse. They stand to lose up to $30,000, which could hike seniors’ poverty up by one-third.

It’s a massive hit to the least well off. It’s mean-spirited and it’s wrong.

The Conservatives offered zero financial analysis to justify the cut because there is none. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, and other leading experts have all confirmed that Canada does not face a pension crisis.

The Conservatives are also using the budget to make deep ideological cuts. They are cutting $7.5 million from the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, $6.7 million from the Auditor General of Canada, and $320 million from international development aid.

How skewed are these priorities? Take a look at what the government is not cutting: Polls, advertising, bigger jails, and stealth fighters.

Canadians should be asking Stephen Harper how he can justify such a small-minded Canada.

Bob Rae

Leader of the Lieral Party of Canada

At our annual general meeting on March 30, I was proud to see the strength and vitality of our campus club. It warms my heart to see an auditorium full of young people who are willing to further Liberal politics and be engaged in the Canadian political process.

This day marked the first day of my term as the University of Ottawa Young Liberals president, and the start of my new mandate to further develop this club and continue its reputation as one of the best and most engaged Young Liberal clubs in the country.

Our Liberals are a brilliant, capable, and caring group, who are always looking to engage people in conversation, not in demonstration. Similar to this year, our next year’s Liberalism will be based on mass participation and discussion; we have never and will never tell our members or students what to think. I strongly believe in ensuring that our club members are engaged and critical, and not viewed as simply sheep following a herd. As Liberals we do not tell others they are wrong or evil behind the noise of a microphone.

We note that no other political party club on campus has shown any attempt to the extent we have to engage the student population in a political debate or make the general public aware of our activities through the student press. Liberals encourage discussion, debate, and coming up with new and more innovative ideas; we update and prosper under a challenge and we are certainly not afraid of disagreement.

We will continue to participate in the discussion and advocacy about la Francophonie in Canada and on campus. We will continue to push for greater understanding and education of the Aboriginal condition across our campus and country. We will promote our new “supporter” status within the federal party, in order to reach out to all students who wish to be engaged in some form or another, with Liberal politics.

To the students of this campus, let it be known that Liberalism is not dead, and our fiery and engaged young Liberal club is a testament to that fact. To our political opposition, we hope to discuss and engage with all of you, whether that be on bills, women’s issues, scandals, or drinks. To the Liberal membership who are unaware of our club, remember: Prosper together. We invite all of you to come and discover who we are.

Emmaline English
2012–13 University of Ottawa Young Liberals president

Clearly this figure had more than your everyday Brit reeling, as Dulux’s reaction to the study reveals: The company, alarmed at the low national average for knocking boots, has decided to experiment with one town. Ipswich, the city that has the least sex in all of Britain, has been offered free red paint from the Dulux corporation in order to repaint its citizens bedrooms.

According to the company, painting the couples’ bedrooms red is expected to encourage Ipswich pairs to push past heavy petting and up the ante in annual sex-having. Having sex 18.1 times a year, as Ipswich residents do, is not good enough for Dulux or for the judgmental public at large, if Facebook comments are to be taken seriously.
Discussing this study with my coworkers this week, I got into more than one conversation about how much sex is enough and how little is “unnatural.” Some argued that sex only once a week was ludicrous. Others were surprised these couples could find time for carnal activity at all, let alone as often as the top town on Dulux’s list, which boasts an average 66.5 sack sessions a year.

The thing about sex, as the Fulcrum’s resident sex columnist Di Daniels will tell you, is that it is different for every couple. For some, sex is an activity best enjoyed all day every day. For others, once or twice a month is more than normal. For still more couples, sex often isn’t sex at all. It is an expression of physical passion sans penetration of any kind.

Ipswich residents, and Britain the country over, were happily enjoying their none-too-active sex lives long before Dulux rolled into town, survey in hand. This company’s reaction to the so-called abnormal sex lives of the Brits it surveyed screams a lack of acceptance.

Sex is not, and should not, be about fulfilling a quota defined by Cosmo magazine or a petty paint company. It should be about consenting adults enjoying each other’s physicality to the fullest, as often or as little as they see fit.
Sex isn’t the same from partner to partner, and the same can be said for couples. Every pair (or group, for that matter) should define their sex lives according to their own desires and needs. Never should expectation or public opinion affect an individual’s take on tantric time, least of all a bucket of red paint.

—Jaclyn Lytle