Infrastructure... then what?

Premier MacDonald will deliver a speech tomorrow morning to the chamber of commerce on infrastructure and what investments Nova Scotians can expect in the upcoming budget. I'll be there, and can't wait to hear what type of aid our institutions will get! 

Where your billz at

Students want to know if Dal has Sudan investments
But university has spurned their bid to get list of its holdings
By CHRIS LAMBIE Staff Reporter h
Fri. Mar 6 - 5:48 AM

A student group at Dalhousie University is trying to figure out whether the Halifax school has investments in Sudan.

Up to 300,000 people have died in the state-sponsored genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region, and 2.7 million have fled their homes.

"One of our campaigns is called the divestment campaign where, basically, students at various universities work to investigate the investment holdings of the university and then compare that to a list of companies . . . that are known to either work in Sudan, have conglomerates in Sudan or are somehow financially supporting the government of Sudan," said Tara MacDougall of Students Taking Action Now Darfur, which has campus groups across North America.

"And then we’ll work to remove those investment holdings from the university, thereby cutting off the funds of the government of Sudan."

But Dalhousie refused to just hand over details about its investment portfolio. Instead, the university insisted the student group apply for the data through provincial freedom of information laws.

"They’ve basically been giving us the runaround," Ms. MacDougall said. "They’ve finally come to the stage where they’ve told us we need to pay $300 to access about a 12-page document, which tells us the investments of the university."

The student group’s director, Kate Varsava, wrote to Dalhousie president Tom Traves and three other university administrators last month, saying its members had been trying for more than a year to get their hands on the university’s list of investments.

"I was wondering if I could arrange a meeting with any of you to discuss divestment and any possible methods of obtaining a list of Dalhousie’s investments, so that we can move forward with this initiative which we believe is imperative and will be effective in bringing an end to the atrocities being suffered in Sudan," Ms. Varsava wrote.

The email response from the president’s office turned them down flat.

"Dalhousie University has a fiduciary responsibility to its employees for whom we invest their pension funds to optimize our investments for their ultimate disposal," says the email.

Dal uses about a dozen specialist investment firms, it says.

"We do not direct their individual and changing investment decisions. Nor do we have detailed information about where the firms in which we may have a momentary investment carry out all aspects of their business," the email says.

"We cannot provide a list of individual investments without a large amount of work, and so if someone wants access to specific information of the sort you mention we would require you to file a (freedom of information) request, and if it is legal to respond we would require you to pay for the substantial staff time that would be required to compile the information since university staff would have to be pulled off their regular jobs to do so.

"Of course, the information provided would only be a snapshot of the information collected at that moment and could well have changed by the time it was forwarded if the investment managers wished to sell the investment and purchase something else in the meanwhile."

The student group, on principle, doesn’t want to pay the $300, which would be very tough on its yearly budget.

"We will pay the $300 if that’s what it comes down to; we do believe it’s important," said Ms. MacDougall, a third-year international development student.

But right now the group is trying to "embarrass the university into paying it for us," she said.

A Dalhousie spokesman contacted with questions about the issue did not return calls by deadline.

Members don’t know whether Dal has investments in the vast oil-rich country south of Egypt. But they are determined to find out.

"We think this is something that’s important and that the Dal community cares about," Ms. MacDougall said. "Maybe there are no investments indirectly contributing to genocide, but it’s the fact that the university seems to think it’s not important and isn’t being very transparent with us."

Safety Bus

And if you're friends don't bus, and if they won't bus,  well they ain't no friends of mine. S - S - A - A ... 

This evening the pre-budget submission from the Halifax Student Alliance was presented to council. The topic, late night transit. We were asking for an extension of late night transit until around 3 AM on the major routes servicing the university areas the 1, the 41, the 10. You can read our report HERE.

The response - no decision for the next couple of weeks - Metro Transit staff and the Halifax Regional Police Service will be compiling a report on the issue to be prepared before final budget decisions are made. 

In other news, bus fares went up by $0.25 per ride today to cover rising costs for Metro Transit and some service expansions. 

Students group wants late-night buses

From Today's Herald: 

Expanded transit service would make downtown safer, letter to council says
By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE Staff Reporter 
Mon. Mar 2 - 4:46 AM

A students group in metro wants Halifax city hall to consider providing late-night bus service downtown for post-secondary students, according to a submission to regional council.

The proposal from the Halifax Student Alliance says the plan is in line with two of council’s policy focus areas for this year: public safety and transportation.

Late-night transit would allow for safer and more convenient access to students’ destinations, the submission says, and "provide more transportation options for (the) entire community."

The pilot project would include popular Metro Transit routes such as those to Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie universities and those along Barrington Street, Spring Garden Road and Oxford Street.

Mark Coffin, chairman of the alliance, said in a letter to councillors the project is directly linked to results of the mayor’s roundtable on violence. He said about 1,540 students were surveyed for the study, and 45 per cent of respondents reported being crime victims while studying in metro.

"Alarmingly, 12 per cent of respondents disclosed that they had been victims of sexual assault downtown," Mr. Coffin said in his letter. He noted the city’s anti-violence report recommends a late-night transit service for Halifax’s central core.

The submission to council says the advocacy group represents more than 25,000 university and community college students in Halifax Regional Municipality. Many students rely on Metro Transit’s bus service, which stops at 1 a.m., and the alliance feels "an investment in late-night transit will reduce the frequency" of violent events involving young people.

The group wants the city to look at bus service ending at 3 a.m., a spokesman told The Chronicle Herald on Saturday.

Alliance members also pitched the economics of students riding city buses. They told the politicians in their letter that post-secondary students dish out at least $6.7 million annually to the municipality’s transit system through such things as bus fares and passes.

"The student contribution to Metro Transit’s operating budget is considerable," Mr. Coffin said in his letter. "The (alliance) will continue to encourage Metro Transit to provide better service to the universities and colleges, which are cornerstones of the local economy."

Transit funding is to be discussed at council’s committee of the whole session Tuesday afternoon; the alliance’s proposal is on the agenda for Tuesday night’s regional council meeting.

Dal graduate student Zach Dayler, the alliance’s executive director, said his organization is aware that late-night transit would mean bus drivers dealing with some passengers who are intoxicated. He said that scenario can be mitigated.

"I’d point to the investment in security cameras that they do want to put on buses," said Mr. Dayler.

"So that, I think, will alleviate some concern there about drunk people on the buses potentially causing incidents."

Mr. Dayler said should the municipality give the pilot project the green light, his group would like to see it running as soon as possible.

Whether there is political will on regional council for the alliance’s proposal remains to be seen. A couple of councillors have expressed their support, but others are against it. Mayor Peter Kelly hasn’t ruled out such a plan, but his is only one vote on a 24-member council.

Regardless of how councillors may feel about the issue, transit officials are not exactly hopping on the late-night-bus bandwagon.

"That’s on the back burner," Eddie Robar, Metro Transit’s planning manager, told the Coast last year.

( mlightstone@herald.ca)

Bricks and Brains

What you have heard: The feds earmarked over $2 Billion in money for infrastructure (remember the NINJAS?) renewal projects on university and college campuses across Canada. 

What they didn't tell you: If a university or college wants to spend some of that money, their provincial government must match the funding in a 1:1 ratio with the money from the feds. 

First the Atlantic Accord, now this. It looks good on paper, until you read the fine print and realize that Atlantic Canada (surprise, surprise) gets the shaft again. This funding formula obviously favours the wealthier provinces that can arguably afford the NINJA upgrades regardless, BUT its a recession - code for spend yourselves into debt! 

Where will Rodney spend? Provincial Finance Minister Michael Baker reacted yesterday by saying education infrastructure will be a priority in their upcoming budget. BUT, the Liberals and NDP are all geared up for a spring election - so chances are the provincial budget will not pass when it goes to the legislature. The upside of this is education may become an election issue again, the downside being that political posturing will take priority for provincial powerfuls while real issues like this one remain untouched for months. 

Budget Boost

Transport minister John Baird made the following anouncements today regarding infrastructure spending in the upcoming federal budget: 

$4 billion for an infrastructure stimulus fund to help provinces, territories and municipalities.

$2 billion for repairs and construction of colleges and universities.

$1 billion for sustainable green infrastructure projects.

"Students are impressed that the government has recognized the importance of investing in PSE infrastructure," said Zach Churchill, National Director othe Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. "The question for tomorrow's budget is how this money is going to be delivered and whether or not it will

simply displace pre-existing funding."

CASA was the only national student advocacy group calling for investments in infrastructure in the upcoming budget.

Zach also made a good point in his blog when he points out that none of our elected officials are talking about making room for more seats in colleges in universities across Canada. We can throw money at a problem, but without a skilled workforce, we're going to continue suffering from a skilled labour shortage.

 In addition to infrastructure spending, CASA is recommending that the following actions be taken as a part of the 2009 federal budget: 

a one-time, earmarked transfer to the provinces for PSE to offset freezes or claw-backs in provincial PSE funding
Provide temporary targeted grants to counterbalance the difficulties students and their families may face in finding the means to afford post-secondary education
Extend the Interest Relief period for Canada Student Loans from the current 6 months, to 9 months

These are the hands... what are we gonna build with them?

Infrastructure. I've been dreading doing this blog. Its an issue at the heart of the economic crisis, that needs to be discussed. But my goodness infrastructure is a boring word. So, for the rest of this blog I'm going to use the word NINJAS everytime I would normally use the I-word, and the word KARATE-CHOP instead of accumulated deferred maintenance, another boring term.  The federal budget comes out on Tuesday, and it looks as if we will have a major investment in infrastructure, where exactly has yet to be determined. 

If you've spent anytime in Atlantic universities, you will know that there are some serious problems with the NINJAS we have and there are quite a few KARATE-CHOPS that need to be repaired. Blame it on poor planning on the part of university administrators or on provincial governments, but we've got our selves in a crummy situation and the 

NINJAS are falling apart. 

Universities' operating budgets are suffering this year - no one is really sure how the economic crisis will affect enrollments, and interest driven investments aren't generating the same revenues they have in years past. Dalhousie would be set to run an $ 3.7 Million deficit if we were to do everything we did last year (more or less), maintain enrollment, and complete the bare minimum of KARATE-CHOP work. The Dalhousie administration has asked the provincial and federal governments for hundreds of millions of dollars in NINJA funding to solve the KARATE-CHOP problem, and build even more NINJAS. 

Unfortunately, any money from the feds will likely be given directly to the province to decide how best to spend it. Past NINJA spending has been spent primarily on highways and road building.  Dalhousie President Tom Traves aptly put it, our governments then face the dilemna of investing in brains versus investing in asphalt. 

 

Simply put, roads will only take us where we've already been. Nova Scotia's politicians will always talk about highways and hospitals when put on the podium.  But as the old adage says, ' if you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got'. And what does Nova Scotia have now? An aging population that is set to retire in near plurality over the next 8 years, a young population that is migrating to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Yet will still offer one of the most boastful set of universities and colleges in Canada. 

So lets send some of that NINJA funding towards the universities of Atlantic Canada and get KARATE-CHOPS out of our PSE sysem for good. Create jobs in Nova Scotia that can compete with the high paying jobs in the west and give the university administrators a reason to stop worrying about their buildings falling apart and focus their efforts on creating and maintaining the highest quality education possible. 

Time to lead...

It's no secret that I'm an Obama fan. I started out as a Kucinich fan (big dreams, lots of pockets),  and then became an Edwards fan, and then got bounced to Obama. 

Why Obama? Because he gets people excited about politics. Regardless of the policy stances he's taken on several controversial issues, he is able to use his candour and gravitas to bring people together and get them excited about politics, even when they might disagree with him. 

Isn't this blog about education? 

Barack Obama (Senior) came to America from Kenya.  He was a bright student, self driven, academically capable, but encountered financial barriers in trying to enter the higher education system. He began writing letters to American universities asking for admission and scholarship, and eventually The University of Hawiaii agreed to give him an education. He would here continue his education and father Barack. 

Barack himself funded his university career on student loans. Barack and Michelle only recently paid off their remaining student loans after becoming elected to the United States Senate in 2004 and becoming a bestselling author. 

So what's his pledge to students?

Barack Obama will reform No Child Left Behind:

• Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests and he will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college.
  

ans:Invest in early childhood education:

• The Obama-Biden comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. And they will help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.
  

I would argue that these first two promises are as important (if not more important) than the final promise. With a public school system as good as the one we have throughout most of Canada, we can't begin to imagine the work that needs to be done before we can fully consider making it possible for every capable American high school graduate to obtain a higher education. 

• Obama and Biden will create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $4,000 in exchange for community service. It will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students.
  

Three small promises, that will arguably have resounding affects on the next generation. I haven't studied american education policy, and the context is certainly very different. 

Hope for Education

Sometimes I catch myself drifting away from the importance of higher education and wonder if I should be focusing my efforts elsewhere. But the Obama story is inspiring for more reasons than unity.  Within the student advocacy movement we talk alot about the difficulties faced by students in Canada from families with no history of higher education. 

The Obama story is an unlikely one for many reasons, but its inspiring to believe that the chance accessibility of higher education has played such a pivotal role in paving the path for the president of today.  Because of the generousity of some University of Hawaii adminstrators, his father was empowered to visit America and father one of the greatest organizers and thinkers of our time. 

It makes me extremely hopeful for a world of possibilities. Possibilities that will only be realized once our leaders take the steps to ensure that every capable student is able to pursue a higher education with the right tools at their grasp, and to able to do so without the fear of backbreaking debt, balancing two jobs with full time study, or taking care of a young family. 

That's why I like Obama.