For the first time in Canadian history, a government official is busy working away on rules to govern what kinds of decisions the prime minister will not be allowed to make, says The Globe and Mail Feb. 27. Howard Wilson, PM Jean Chrétien’s ethics counsellor, has agreed to suggest rules to keep Paul Martin away from conflict-of-interest clashes with his Canada Steamship Lines empire, in case the Liberal leadership front-runner becomes prime minister. “If I was in Paul Martin’s position, I’d feel I have to choose,” said Prof. Ian Greene, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts. “Either be prime minister or continue on with those business assets.”
York professor emeritus a high-flyer
Daphne Schiff, professor emeritus, Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Glendon College, looks out of place in her cluttered York University office, begins an article in the March 3 edition of Macleans magazine. The designer-clothes-clad woman who teaches a course on aviation and is herself a pilot, recently arrived back from Africa. Last November, says Macleans, Schiff and two other women flew a single-engine Cessna from Niger to communities in Cameroon and other African countries through a non-profit group, Air Solidarité. They were inspecting schools, hospitals and employment programs funded by the charity, as well as delivering medical supplies and teaching equipment. In each of the three years Schiff has made the trip, she has had to battle sandstorms, fend off malaria-bearing mosquitoes and sleep outdoors, says Macleans. Seventy-eight-year-old Schiff was the subject of an article about how some Canadian retirees are embarking on brand-new careers or undertaking volunteer work after they have left one occupation.
New minister cognizant of double cohort concerns
David Young, newly-appointed provincial minister of municipal affairs, attended York University on a scholarship and attended Osgoode Hall Law School, says the Toronto Star Feb. 27. Young, who has three children, says while he empathizes with parents who are worried their son or daughter won’t get into university, he is confident the government’s plan to accommodate those students will work. “I’m very much part of what’s happening with the double cohort.”