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February 18, 2021 – Posted in News
by Lexey Burns, Editor-in-Chief
Adam Kirkwood has been at Laurentian since 2014 and is not happy with how the university has been treating students’ concerns about its insolvency issue.
Kirkwood completed his undergrad in Environmental Science and Geography, earned a masters in Biology, and is now working towards a Ph.D. in Boreal Ecology, all at Laurentian.
Kirkwood had applied for funding for his research into permafrost landscapes in northern Ontario and in 2020 was awarded a $13,750 fellowship grant from Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada.
WCS Canada gave the money to Laurentian “to hold.”
When the university announced insolvency, Kirkwood said that he “didn’t understand what insolvency was or what CCAA protection was and then I started talking to other students and faculty,” he said.
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A Laurentian University board of governors meeting on Friday heard frustration and finger-pointing directed at the administration over the insolvency crisis the school is experiencing.
“Our membership is feeling gutted: they are feeling betrayed,” Tom Fenske, a non-voting member and president of the 268-member Laurentian University Staff Union, told the board. “On many levels, we have shown where we have worked with the university. We have hundreds of examples where we have done this.
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Gino Donato/The Globe and Mail
Laurentian University spent millions of dollars in research grants to keep the lights on because it had one main bank account where funds intended for academic work were mixed with money for operating costs.
The grant money was earmarked to support the research and livelihoods of dozens of academics, graduate students and lab workers. Now many of them are unsure of what the future holds and whether they will have the funds to complete their work.
Canada committed to protecting 30% of our territory by 2030. Which 30% should it be?
Scientists say we need to consider biodiversity and what ecosystems can do for us when it comes to which territory is important to protect.
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Posted: Jan 15, 2021 4:14 PM ET | Last Updated: January 15
Canada has committed to setting aside 30 per cent of its territory and oceans by 2030. (Jake Dyson)