Air Transport Association of Canada is calling on Ottawa to slash the government's security tax and to freeze airport rents, reports The Globe and Mail Nov. 26. Its recommendations came out of a study, titled "A Crisis in Costs – The Canadian Government and Airline Passengers," released Monday and prepared by York University economics Prof. Fred Lazar. According to the report, Ottawa took $308 million out of the aviation system in 2001-2002, but only reinvested $77 million.... The Edmonton Sun reported Nov. 26 that, armed with Lazar’s study, groups representing hotels, travel agents and the tourism industry in general supported the transport group’s condemnation of the Liberal government’s policies.... Similar stories appeared Nov. 26 in The Toronto Star and The Calgary Herald.
Globe-trotters should pick Schulich
In a special report Nov. 25 on business schools, the National Post says the bloom is off the MBA rose and advises prospective students to have a goal in mind when picking a business school. It lists Schulich among the top schools and says: "Those interested in international management and globe-trotting should consider attending Schulich School of Business at York University."
Schulich was also profiled in the report as having "successfully positioned itself in the forefront of the charge into the global market. Respected for its innovative and entrepreneurial approach to business education, this past year Schulich placed 17th in a survey of the world’s top 100 MBA programs, conducted by The Economist – the highest rank ever attained by a Canadian business school in a global ranking." Dezsö Horváth, Schulich’s dean, told the Post: "In the years since the [international MBA] program was established, we have continued to place tremendous emphasis on the cultivation of new international teaching and research alliances. Today, as a complement to our international business curriculum, we teach no less than seven different languages, and at any given time approximately 10 per cent of our faculty are involved in academic activities in other areas of the world."
Another story in the report, profiles MBA grads seeking work. Schulich MBA graduate Sandra Scott landed a job with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in the internal audit and corporate security department as in-house counsel. She said she believes her previous experience as a civil litigation lawyer appealed to campus recruiters.
Anti-Kyoto court challenge could lose: law prof
On anti-Kyoto provinces threatening to question Ottawa’s right to ratify the international accord on climate change, Allan Young, a constitutional rights expert at Osgoode Hall Law School, told the National Post Nov. 26 that there is a longstanding doctrine of federal paramountcy where provincial and federal powers conflict. "[Ottawa] only has to demonstrate that power if challenged," he said. "Obviously, what the Premier [Ralph Klein] has suggested is that he wants to challenge it now in court, to determine if the federal government acting upon a treaty initiative is within its jurisdiction."
Law grad student wins Premier’s Award
Sudbury’s Cambrian College has announced that Martin Bayer, a candidate for a master of law degree in constitutional law from Osgoode Hall Law School, is a recipient of a 2002 Premier’s Award for outstanding career success and contribution to community, reports The North Bay Nugget Nov. 23. Bayer is a lawyer, a member of the college’s board of governors and a director of the Ojibways of Sucker Creek Economic Development Board, and has been active in the local land claims process, business development and tribal councils of Manitoulin.
Student wins writing prize
Nelson, the leading educational publisher in Canada, announced that York student Kristen Schooley is one of two winners of its inaugural $500 writing prize, reports CCNMatthews news service Nov. 25. Schooley won in the category of "essay on any literary topic" for her critical piece on Hiromi Goto’s novel Chorus of Mushrooms. It was lauded by judges for its success in blending scholarly and creative language in a way that does justice to the complexity of Chorus of Mushrooms.
Calgary-reserve tensions won’t ease: prof
Tensions between Calgary and the neighbouring Tsuu T’ina First Nation reserve won’t ease until the will is found on both sides to improve the relationship, says Patricia Wood, a geography professor at York, reports The Calgary Herald Nov. 25. She based her remarks on research she has done recently during a sabbatical year. "There is a real border around the reserve, a border that now exists for defence as the city expands," she told a University of Lethbridge audience. She will address the issue in Calgary in February.
Slowdown waning, Schulich survey says
Nearly 70 per cent of Canadian businesses, both large and medium-sized, believe that the current economic slowdown is waning, according to a survey of several hundred companies by marketing research firm Thompson Lightstone & Co, reports The Globe and Mail Nov. 26. The survey, sponsored in part by the Globe and York’s Schulich School of Business, found that two-thirds of the 580 respondents in the poll believed that Canadian businesses were in a good position to weather the recent downturn.
Student welterweight wins first round
Undergraduate student Carlos Newton defeated American Pete Spratt by submission in the first round of a bout on UFC 40 Vendetta, an ultimate fighting championship card at the MGM Grand, reports CP Wire Nov. 23. The 26-year-old York University student from Newmarket, enrolled in multidisciplinary studies at Glendon, was coming off a pair of losses to American welterweight Matt Hughes, who took the UFC championship belt off Newton.
A gang law unto themselves
In a Toronto Star story Nov. 25 on gangs’ street justice, Desmond Ellis, York University sociologist and expert on American youth gangs, said: "The gangs do not take their disagreements and conflicts to authorities, either because they’re very suspicious of the authorities or because they’re also doing something illegal. So who settles haggles between them? They do it themselves."
York edges Carleton in women’s basketball
York University edged the Carleton Ravens 59-57 in Ontario University Athletics women’s basketball play at the Raven’s Nest Nov. 22, reports The Ottawa Citizen Nov. 23. Shawna LaBonte and Natassia Subban led York (2-3) with 17 points apiece.
Movies as advertising
The latest 007 flick, Die Another Day, features an unprecedented 24 commercial "partners," selling products from Ski-Doos to watches, luggage and razors, reports the Prince George Citizen Nov. 23 in a Southam Newspapers story. "Major media has become so cluttered and the sheer noise level has risen so high, advertisers need you to notice them before you shut them down – mentally or physically," says Alan Middleton, a marketing professor at York’s Schulich School of Business.