“The explosion of imported goods from China, India and other Asian economies is leading to serious congestion in the ports, rails and roads of North America. The solution may lie with Canada’s own transportation infrastructure,” co-wrote York University Professor Charles McMillan in the Financial Post March 6. “Canada is uniquely positioned to become the North American gateway from Asia and Europe to the markets of this continent. This is truly a nation-building opportunity to shape our country’s future.” Read full story.
Keeping all the balls in the air
Parenthood and a research career have at least two things in common: the demands are ceaseless and the clock is ticking. Is it possible to juggle both?…It starts with maternity leave. Although the granting agencies and universities now all have accommodation for parental leave built in, the nature of a research job makes it very difficult to step away. “The fields march on, the publications march on,” explained Lorna Marsden, president emerita of York University, in Canadian Chemical News March 5. “In some fields the pace is so fast. You’re often competing with other teams working on the same problem and you want to get there first.” Read full story.
Hamilton restaurant’s use of Confederate battle flag call for trouble, profs say
A Hamilton restaurateur’s use of the Confederate battle flag on the sign for his Southern barbecue diner is a call for trouble, according to a Kingston-based American history professor….York University history Professor Marc Egnal added the flag is sure to offend African-American patrons. “No one, including that diner owner, can be naive about what the flag means,” he said in the Toronto Sun March 5. “Symbols have a context.” Read full story.
‘Top Girls’ asks how far have women come
Top Girls, a play set in Margaret Thatcher’s England that tracks the success of a career woman, and what that really means, aims to put the lie to those who believe the struggle for women’s equality is over….Director Saul Garcia Lopez, a PhD candidate in theatre direction at York University, said it’s a political play with the image of Thatcher, Britain’s first woman Prime Minister, hovering over it….“This play is about political criticism of the conservatives of that time, and the changes that Margaret Thatcher broached,” said Lopez in the Waterloo Chronicle March 5. Read full story.