Graduate Showcase

The women and gender-diverse individuals with informed opinions that we’ve trained, inspired or supported have published hundreds of commentaries in daily newspapers and prominent online sites, generating additional interview requests and exposure as a result. Here are just some of the analyses they’ve contributed as a result:

 

The real problem with MAID for mental illness

The Toronto Star by Isabel Grant and Elizabeth Sheehy 09 February 2024 

Much media coverage this week focused on whether we are “ready” to provide medical assistance in dying (MAID) on the sole basis of mental illness. 

 

The psychological safety equation

Canadian Consulting Engineer by Julie Cafley and Sadaf Parvaiz 07 February 2024

We see plenty of hard hats, steel-toed boots and neon vests on the frontlines of the construction and energy sectors—all gear to keep workers safe—but what about the protocols we can’t see?

 

Here are some dos and don’ts to help tackle ableism

The Conversation by Michelle Stack and Heidi Janz 30 January 2024

When we met each other in Grade 11 in Alberta, we were far from the typical high school success story.

 

Deepfakes: How to empower youth to fight the threat of misinformation and disinformation

The Conversation by Nadia Naffi 28 January 2024

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 has issued a stark warning: misinformation and disinformation, primarily driven by deepfakes, are ranked as the most severe global short-term risks the world faces in the next two years.

 

Gaps in Canada’s electric-vehicle supply chain start way earlier than we think

The Globe and Mail by Dayna Nadine Scott 01 January 2024

Industry leaders in Canada are urging governments to fill gaps toward completing a fully domestic electric-vehicle supply chain.

 

Canada’s Global Security Reporting Program needs an overhaul, not mere tinkering

The Globe and Mail by Stephanie Carvin, Leah West and Jessica Davis 21 December 2023

When is a diplomat not a diplomat?

 

As teachers and nurses strike, society’s gender bias persists

The Montreal Gazette by Maxine Iannuccilli 15 December 2023

In recent weeks, teachers and health care workers have taken to the streets, rightfully demanding better wages and working conditions.

 

How ‘benevolent sexism’ undermines Asian women with foreign accents in the workplace

The Conversation by Ivona Hideg, Samantha Hancock and Winny Shen 13 December 2023

Immigrants are critical to the Canadian economy, but their talents are under-utilized due to language and accent discrimination, as immigrants often come from non-English or French speaking countries.

 

Antimicrobial resistance now hits lower-income countries the hardest, but superbugs are a global threat we must all fight

The Conversation by Laura Domínguez 11 December 2023

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the World Health Organization’s most urgent health challenges for the next decade. 

 

The urgent need to humanize engineering

The Toronto Star by Mary Wells, Patricia Owen, Suzanne Kresta and Rebecca Kresta 06 December 2023

Thirty-four years ago Wednesday, 14 women lost their lives to a man who believed that his failure to gain entry to engineering gave him the right to kill women who had earned their place at the table. 

 

Western media have contributed to loss of truth in Gaza

The Hill Times by Lama Alsafi 15 November 2023

This isn’t a war against Hamas.

 

Forced labour of Uyghurs taints the seafood industry too

The Ottawa Citizen by Sarah Teich and Mehmet Tohti 15 November 2023

It is a settled question that the Chinese Communist Party is committing mass atrocities and grave human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, a region known to Uyghurs as East Turkestan.

 

Canada can help bring Hamas to justice

The Toronto Star by David Matas and Sarah Teich 11 November 2023

The eventual outcome of the Israeli response to the mass atrocities of Hamas is, if successful, the elimination of the threat from Hamas. 

 

You’re Paying for Uber’s Profits

The Tyee by Véronique Sioufi and Iglika Ivanova 09 November 2023

The profits platform companies earn come not only at the expense of predominantly racialized workers but also at the expense of all B.C. taxpayers.

 

Justice delayed is justice denied

National Newswatch by James Cowan and Jocelyn Downie 08 November 2023

Picture two people with the capacity to make decisions about medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

 

From a summertime of sadness to a symphony of actors

Canada’s National Observer by Jane MacArthur 07 November 2023

The experiences of the summer of 2023 were a tipping point for many.

 

How to improve your communication with someone with a speech impairment

The Conversation by Claire Davies 31 October 2023

October marked alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) awareness month. 

 

Are Canadians suffering a crisis of trust?

The Hamilton Spectator by Mary Wells 26 October 2023

The rising trend of “fake news” came to prominence over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as people turned to social media channels to read and distribute information that often fell far short of offering reliable information or verifiable data.

 

Incorporating nature into education can build skills and improve mental health

The Conversation by James Jones and Steffanie Scott 22 October 2023

Could carving a wooden spoon by a lake be the answer to the mental health crisis in Canadian universities and also global sustainability?

 

Canada’s health-care crisis is gendered: How the burden of care falls to women

The Conversation by Julia Smith 22 October 2023

As we enter cold, flu and COVID season, Canada is continuing to experience a health-care crisis.

 

Stop pro-Hamas rallies

The Winnipeg Free Press by David Matas and Sarah Teich 18 October 2023

Canada needs to respond in Canada to the terrorist attacks in Israel. 

 

Talking about science and technology has positive impacts on research and society

The Conversation by Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, Donna Strickland and Mary Wells 18 October 2023

Discussions around science and technology can become controversial, such as public conversations around climate science or gene-editing tools.

 

Let’s ‘rebrand’ what it means to age, Canada

Ottawa Citizen by Helen Hirsh Spence 05 October 2023

Canada’s population of adults over age 65 already exceeds seven million, a far greater number than the number of children under the age of 15. 

 

How Social Structures Facilitate Rape Culture in Lebanon

Daraj by Zeina Allouche 02 October 2023

Dozens of incidents of sexual violence have been reported in Lebanon over the past few months.

 

ESG bonuses are on the rise: Are they improving sustainability or just increasing executive wealth?

The Conversation by Leanne Keddie and Michael Magnan 02 October 2023

An increasing number of companies are paying bonuses to executives in the pursuit of sustainability. 

 

Safety on the line: Drivers who juggle multiple jobs are more likely to take risks on the road

The Conversation by Alexandra Lefcoe and Catherine Connelly 01 October 2023

The driving profession is unsafe.

 

Hidden in plain sight: Women face subtle forms of discrimination and bias in the workplace

The Conversation by Laura Doering, András Tilcsik and Jan Doering 27 September 2023

Gender discrimination remains a pervasive issue in the workplace. 

 

Are Canadians suffering a crisis of trust?

The Hill Times by Mary Wells 27 September 2023

The rising trend of “fake news” came to prominence over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as people turned to social media channels to read and distribute information that often fell far short of offering reliable information or verifiable data. 

 

Scale-up renewable energy co-operatives to energize the nation

Policy Options by Martin Boucher, Marc-André Pigeon and Julie MacArthur 26 September 2023

The climate crisis has driven an unprecedented Canadian wildfire season in 2023 with record-setting emissions and continent-spanning air pollution. 

 

Sex workers’ rights: Governments should not decide what constitutes good or bad sex

The Conversation by Meredith Ralston 25 September 2023

An Ontario Superior Court justice has dismissed a constitutional challenge to Canada’s sex work laws, saying that the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) does not violate sex workers’ Charter rights.

 

Actions of parental rights movement cause harm

NB Media Co-Op by Hilary Young 25 September 2023

I have been feeling many things about the September 20th protests at the New Brunswick Legislature.

 

Canada’s participation in the world’s largest radio telescope means new opportunities in research and innovation

The Conversation by Pauline Barmby 21 September 2023

Canada is about to become a member of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) — the world’s next giant radio telescope.

 

An energy-sector transition to net zero that’s fair to all

Edmonton Journal by Sarah Hastings-Simon and Rick Smith 20 September 2023

What’s the best way to get Canada’s oil and gas sector on a pathway to net zero?

 

Hollywood letters of support for Danny Masterson demonstrate the pervasiveness of myths about rape culture

The Conversation by Meredith Ralston 17 September 2023

Hollywood actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are in hot water after their letters of support for their friend and former co-star, Danny Masterson, were made public. 

 

Pay equity is good for everyone – let’s make it a reality

Talent Canada by Julie Cafley and Katie Ward 14 September 2023

International Equal Pay Day, recognized by the United Nations and observed on September 18, acknowledges the crucial need for society to address ongoing efforts to achieve equal pay for equal work. 

 

Canada is still ignoring the basic human rights of its citizens held in northeast Syria

The Ottawa Citizen by Senator Kim Pate, Alex Neve, Scott Heatherington and Hadayt Nazami 08 September 2023

“What I want is to be able to tell my story, my true story, somewhere I can speak freely without fear or duress.”

 

Marching to Ottawa for neglected and murdered Indigenous men: One family’s fight for justice grows

The Conversation by Michelle Stewart 29 August 2023

Summer in Canada means highways filled with tourists and travellers.

 

Child care also an austerity victim

The Winnipeg Free Press by Susan Prentice and Jesse Hajer 29 August 2023

A recently renewed federal-provincial child-care announcement and Manitoba billboards promoting $10/day child care create the perception that the province of Manitoba has increased funding and support for child care.

 

Aging with a healthy brain: How lifestyle changes could help prevent up to 40% of dementia cases

The Conversation by Stefanie Tremblay 22 August 2023

A 65-year-old woman repeatedly seeks medical help for her failing memory. 

 

Why Canada needs to charge citizens who left to join the Islamic State

The Globe and Mail by Jessica Davis 22 August 2023

Over the course of the past few months, Canada has repatriated a number of Canadian women from Kurdish-run refugee camps in Syria.

 

The Case of the “Dinniyyeh Child”:  the Failure of the Child Protection System in Lebanon

Daraj by Zeina Allouche 21 August 2023

A series of psychological, social, and security factors came together and contributed to the murder of the young girl from Dinniyyeh. 

 

The ‘Native Speaker’ Fallacy

Inside Higher Ed by Kino Zhao 18 August 2023

We need to stop telling our students to have their essays checked by a native English speaker.

 

Future pandemics demand a response that’s better focused on inequities

Policy Options by Alice Mūrage, Haaris Tiwana and Julia Smith 02 August 2023

With COVID-19 no longer considered a public health emergency of international concern, the federal government is engaging in efforts to improve pandemic preparedness both domestically and globally, recognizing the need to learn from COVID-19 and prepare for the next potential infectious disease crisis.

 

Synthetic human embryos could allow for research beyond the 14-day limit, but this raises ethical questions

The Conversation by Françoise Baylis & Jocelyn Downie 25 July 2023

On June 14, 2023, developmental biologist Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz presented her research on creating human embryos using stem cells at the 2023 annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).

 

An examination of Canada’s record on global vaccine equity is overdue

The Globe and Mail by Adam Houston, Joanne Liu, Roojin Habibi & Srinivas Murthy 25 July 2023

To learn the right lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada must have the courage to unreservedly examine its record on global vaccine equity.

 

How Canada’s first national cycling map will benefit both riders and public planners

The Conversation by Meghan Winters, Colin Ferster & Karen Laberee 25 July 2023

Cycling in Canada has been experiencing a great boom in recent years and a national map of cycling infrastructure is critical to allow Canadians to determine where they have access to safe and comfortable facilities and routes.

 

Fewer students are enrolling in environmental studies – how do we stop this trend?

The Globe and Mail by Sarah Wolfe & Steve Grundy 14 July 2023

Climate change endangers our ecosystems, economies and health. 

 

It’s time for B.C. government to stand with patients like Sam O’Neill

The Province by Jocelyn Downie & Daphne Gilbert 07 July 2023

Sam O’Neill, a young woman dying of inoperable terminal cancer, requested medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

 

The Toronto we want: we can all win when immigrant women lead

The Toronto Star by Anjum Sultana, Victoria Kuketz & Ramina Ghassemi 02 July 2023

More than 500,000 votes.

 

Danielle Smith’s new cabinet looks spectacularly unrepresentative of Alberta residents

The Globe and Mail by Susan Franceschet 02 July 2023

Alberta’s new cabinet looks a lot like the reductive stereotypes often associated with the province – namely, that it’s populated mostly by rural, white men. 

 

The stabbing attack at the University of Waterloo underscores the dangers of polarizing rhetoric about gender

The Conversation by Shana MacDonald & Alysia Kolentsis 30 June 2023

In the wake of the recent stabbing attack on a University of Waterloo professor and two students in a philosophy of gender course, we need to talk about the profound power words have to shape our world.

 

How Indigenous economic development corporations can support a just, low-carbon energy transition

The Conversation by Christina Hoicka & Matthew Foss 26 June 2023

There are over 50,000 Indigenous businesses in Canada today. 

 

Here’s How BC Should Protect Gig Workers

The Tyee by Iglika Ivanova & Jim Stanford 22 June 2023

The last decade has seen the rapid expansion of new business models in numerous industries, which engage workers to provide services through on-demand digital platforms.

 

Speeding up gender parity in politics

The Hamilton Spectator by Susan Franceschet & Jennifer Piscopo 22 June 2023

The Alberta election has come and gone.

 

Policy Options by Catherine Xhardez & Mireille Paquet 22 June 2023

The Quebec government presented new immigration guidelines in the spring, and within them the message was clear: language is now an ironclad condition for permanent settlement in the province.

 

Why Canada needs to end ban on migrant sex work

The Toronto Star by Crystal Laderas 17 June 2023

It’s time to have the uncomfortable sex talk with the Canadian government.

 

Canada’s terrorism laws have finally started expanding their definition

The Globe and Mail by Jessica Davis 09 June 2023

On June 6, in a landmark ruling, a young man who killed one woman and injured another three years ago in a Toronto massage parlour was found guilty of terrorism.

 

To stabilize Canada’s economy, start with a guaranteed liveable income

The Hill Times by Senator Kim Pate 08 June 2023

England is the latest in a growing number of countries to launch a guaranteed liveable basic income trial.

 

Intergenerational Day: How bringing different generations together can support our mental well-being

The Conversation by Jason Proulx, John Helliwell & Lara Aknin 01 June 2023

“You old bag!”

 

Focusing on consent ignores better ways of preventing sexual violence

The Conversation by Nicole Jeffrey 29 May 2023

In early May, a New York jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll in 1996.

 

Hidden tailings leak reveals ongoing environmental racism in Canada

Canada’s National Observer by Ojistoh Horn, Naomi Trick & Jane McArthur 23 May 2023

“It is clear that the community is suffering from decades of environmental racism and generational trauma.”

 

Feds should not waste their $15-billion Canada Growth Fund on carbon capture for oil

The Globe and Mail by Laura Cameron & Angela Carter 22 May 2023

The $15-billion Canada Growth Fund, emphasized in the 2023 federal budget and aimed at accelerating decarbonization, is a landmark opportunity to align substantial climate action with a thriving national economy.

 

Canada’s Modern Slavery Act is the start — not the end — of efforts to address the issue in supply chains

The Conversation by Kam Phung & Genevieve LeBaron 16 May 2023

On May 3, Canada passed legislation aimed at addressing modern slavery — a term that typically encompasses forced labour, bonded labour and child labour — in supply chains.

 

Learning from COVID-19: The global health emergency has ended. Here’s what is needed to prepare for the next one

The Conversation by Julianne Piper and Kelley Lee 14 May 2023

When the World Health Organization formally declared an end to the COVID-19 pandemic’s designation as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), it may seem to have had little, if any, perceivable impact on the daily lives of most people.

 

Celebrating moms: How we can support, empower working mothers to thrive in the workplace

Talent Canada by Julie Cafley 12 May 2023

At a recent Catalyst event, a speaker told an anecdote of a mom working from home during March school break and juggling work and childcare.

 

Temporary foreign worker program must have open work permits

Toronto Star by Catherine Connelly 02 May 2023

If your boss asked you to pay him $1,000 in cash to keep your job, expected you to work without safety equipment or holiday pay, or told you to sleep on the floor in the apartment he was renting to you … you would probably quit. 

 

Acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of liver injury, but it is largely preventable

The Conversation by Kelly Grindrod, Eric Yoshida and Trana Hussaini 26 April 2023

Larissa was a 21-year-old Canadian college student recovering from COVID-19 when she died from complications related to an accidental overdose of acetaminophen, a medication in probably every drug store and most medicine cabinets in the country.

 

The world is running out of time to negotiate a global pandemic treaty

The Globe and Mail  by Roojin Habibi and Clare Wenham 24 April 2023

Member countries of the World Health Organization are currently negotiating a new pandemic treaty in an effort to prevent a global health crisis like COVID-19 from ever happening again.

 

The WHO’s international pandemic treaty: Meaningful public engagement must inform Canada’s negotiations

The Conversation by Kelley Lee, Joel Lexchin, Katrina Plamondon and Roojin Habibi 23 April 2023

One of the key lessons emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic has been that the failure of countries to sufficiently work together worsened and prolonged this deadly public health emergency.

 

The new US-Canada border deal is inhumane — and deadly

Aljazeera by Jamie Liew, Petra Molnar and Julie Young 19 April 2023

Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed recently celebrated becoming Canadian citizens.

 

Workplace inclusion is a marathon

Welland Tribune by Charlene Theodore and Julie Cafley 19 April 2023

The societal changes that started in 2020 heralded a new sense of urgency and demand for increased accountability for employers claiming diversity and inclusion as core values.

 

Time to abolish the Canadian law that allows adults to spank and hit children

The Conversation by Tracie O. Afifi and Andrea Gonzalez 18 April 2023

Corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) is allowed in Canada according to Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada. 

 

Gender equality got left behind in the most recent budget

The Hill Times by Maggie Sainty 19 April 2023

Canada just can’t seem to get it right; all parents need equal parental leave.

 

Precarious work is an urgent problem for thousands of B.C. workers

Vancouver Sun by Iglika Ivanova and Kendra Strauss 13 April 2023

The rise of the “gig economy” and on-demand work through platforms such as Uber has ignited public debate about precarious work and what makes a “good job”.

 

Keeping cities cool helps keep women safe

The Montreal Gazette by Allison Lalla 05 April 2023

Everyone who’s lived through a Montreal summer knows how unbearable it gets when the heat waves hit.

 

Electric vehicles: one part of an energy transition to mitigate climate change

The Hill Times by Christina Hoicka 29 March 2023

While the world is “on thin ice,” according to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, there is an opportunity to decarbonize in Canada through the electrification of transportation. 

 

Ottawa and the provinces must work together on air pollution

The Edmonton Journal by Jane McArthur, Sharon Dodd and Joe Vipond 29 March 2023

Canada is one of few industrialized countries in the world that lacks legally binding and enforceable ambient air quality standards.

 

Centring race: Why we need to think about gentrification differently

The Conversation by Mieko Tarrius 22 March 2023

When we think of gentrification, we often think of how a neighbourhood’s demographics and landscape are transformed.

 

Erdogan regime’s detentions unlawful

The Winnipeg Free Press by David Matas and Sarah Teich 16 March 2023

As Turkey continues to reel from the impact of last month’s earthquake, countries around the world continue to provide support to the Turkish people. 

 

Rape myths endure in judicial decisions

Policy Options by Elaine Craig and Isis Hatte 10 March 2023

“Life teaches that persistence is sometimes rewarded with success.”

 

Here’s why asylum-seekers are using Roxham Road

The Ottawa Citizen by Julie Young, Shauna Labman and Jamie Liew 02 March 2023

The government’s pop-up border post at Roxham Road in Quebec is not new.

 

The free world cannot afford a loss in Ukraine

The Sault Star by Sarah Teich and Maria Reisdorf 24 February 2023

Friday marks the sombre one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

 

Mayoral byelection is a great opportunity for women leaders

The Toronto Star by Chi Nguyen 24 February 2023

With Toronto’s political municipal leadership in absolute flux, this city has a gaping hole.

 

Black Canadians in politics helped change the world. Let’s celebrate them

The Ottawa Citizen by Erin Tolley and Velma Morgan 16 February 2023

Every February during Black History Month, Canadian schoolchildren learn about Black people who have changed the world: Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Oprah Winfrey. 

 

Power dynamic a problem in John Tory’s unethical relationship

The Toronto Star by Meagan Cloutier 14 February 2023

Power is power, and it doesn’t matter if Toronto mayor John Tory’s affair with a former staffer was consensual. 

 

It’s time for action on improving air quality

The Windsor Star by Jane McArthur and Cassie Barker 11 February 2023

Where you live matters.

 

Ontario needs to invest in the non-profit business model for health and social services

The Toronto Star by Cathy Taylor 08 February 2023

Who should be in charge of delivering health and social services to Ontarians?

 

Fighting gentrification of our cities isn’t futile

The Montreal Gazette by Mieko Tarrius 06 February 2023

“This neighbourhood isn’t the same. Rents are out of control. Most of the people I’ve known my entire life left long ago, and the ones who can afford to stay are now feeling excluded in their neighbourhood.”

 

Canada is taking an unserious approach to stopping the Russian Wagner Group

The Globe and Mail by Jessica Davis 06 February 2023

Last week, the House of Commons unanimously voted to list the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor, as a terrorist entity. 

 

The return of the ‘extreme intoxication’ defence — as warned

The Toronto Star by Elizabeth Sheehy and Kerri Froc 05 February 2023

Judges can call it what they want, but the defence of extreme intoxication still smells like the same old patriarchy to us.

 

New regulations on migrant farm workers should tackle employer/employee power imbalances

The Conversation by Stephanie Mayell, C. Susana Caxaj and Janet McLaughlin 01 February 2023

The government of Canada recently amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to include new employer obligations. 

 

A space for her: What we can all learn from Jacinda Ardern’s resignation

The Toronto Star by Chi Nguyen 27 January 2023

Last week, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she would be stepping down.

 

Interest rate hikes: The Bank of Canada’s ‘resolute’ fight against inflation could threaten its credibility

The Conversation by Ellen Russell 25 January 2023

The Bank of Canada “resolutely” declared it will fight inflation by raising interest rates.

 

Canada’s new COVID test rules: Targeting travellers from China will not stop globally circulating Omicron subvariant

The Conversation by Jennifer Fang, Julianne Piper and Kelley Lee 15 January 2023

In a throwback to January 2020, when the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 began to be detected outside of China, many countries have again adopted measures targeted at travellers from China.