Will Americans boycott Canadian goods?

Despite media reports hinting at a possible change in US consumer attitudes toward Canadian products because Canada did not support the US-led war in Iraq, marketers north of the border don’t have a lot to fear, said Alan Middleton, marketing professor at York’s Schulich School of Business, in Marketing magazine April 21. “I think that, in the proportion of the US population that is supportive of the conflict, there will be a tendency to look to buy American. I don’t think there will be a tendency to not buy Canadian,” said Middleton.

Handling health emergencies ‘an art, not a science’

Ontario’s health officials deserve high marks for their efforts to control the province’s outbreak of SARS, but politicians must do more to ensure public confidence and promote compassionate behaviour, management experts told the Toronto Star in a story April 23. “My sense is they’re monitoring the situation carefully, and they’re communicating aggressively,” said Pat Bradshaw, professor of organizational behaviour and industrial relations at York’s Schulich School of Business, one of the experts the Star consulted.

 On air

Lorne Honickman, a journalist/lawyer who teaches at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, discussed whether a man whose pregnant wife’s body washed up on the Pacific coast could get a fair trial, on the Murray Wood Show (CKOM-AM), Saskatoon, April 22.