York University is the latest in a series of Canadian universities to have embraced the idea of food trucks on campus, reported the Charlatan Nov. 27. The University began Food Truck Tuesdays in late September of this semester, inviting two local trucks each week to spend the day on campus. Local food trucks such as Gourmet Gringos, Smoke’s Poutinerie, Urban Smoke, Choco Churros, BeaverTails and Localista have all made appearances on the campus over the past few months. Read full story.
Rogers NHL deal will mean higher cable bills: prof
Rogers Communications' exclusive $5.2-billion deal with the National Hockey League is seen as a “strategic coup'' in the fight by telecom companies to stop the drift of customers away from traditional wireless and cable TV providers. But the move could also mean higher cable bills for Canadians, industry observers warn. . . . Schilich School of Business sports marketing instructor Vijay Setlur said the deal is aimed at mobile device customers. “For the sports fan who has got the full ensemble of television packages like digital cable, it's fine, they'll get everything,'' he said in the Huffington Post Nov. 27. “But with Rogers controlling everything, perhaps, many people will have to restore their cable service to get that content on their mobile devices given that Rogers controls all of that.'' Read full story.
Countries set out rules on directors’ tenure
While there are no regulatory guidelines for director tenures in Canada or the United States, many other countries have either introduced limits on the length of time directors can serve or have added extra disclosure requirements to ensure companies have to explain why long-serving board members are still independent. York University Professor Richard Leblanc said regulators impose term limits because companies are not moving on their own to replace directors as their service lengthens, and a term limit is an easy solution. “Regulators are not going to come in and start assessing directors – that’s just not what they do,” said Leblanc in The Globe and Mail Nov. 24. “The regulator has very limited options; they typically have a [term] limit in years. They wouldn’t have to do that if boards had been assessing themselves and acting on the assessment.” Read full story.
Ottawa choir scores a Canadian first with 2014 appearance at annual Bach Festival in Germany
The Ottawa Bach Choir is a professional chamber ensemble of about 25 singers. It was founded in 2002 by Lisette Canton, who is also a professor of choral music at York University and spends a lot of time on the road from her Ottawa home. The choir performs music from all periods but it has a special fondness for the music of the baroque and for Bach in particular. “Bach is the only one who fuses the musical, the intellectual, the emotional and the spiritual,” said Canton in the Ottawa Citizen Nov. 28. “Nobody does it quite like Bach.” Read full story.
One minister’s dark warning and the ray of hope
“A Nov. 26 announcement that Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk issued to Ukraine’s students appears almost sincere at first: ‘When hot heads push you towards illegal actions, I hope you find the strength and courage not to succumb to provocations,’” wrote Schulich School of Business iMBA student Danylo Spolsky, who lived in Kyiv from 2007 to 2012, in the Kyiv Post Nov. 27. . . . “Well-educated, mobile and social media-savvy, the students are concerned about the future – theirs, and that of the country at large. They are the first generation of Ukrainians born with no memory of the Soviet Union; they represent independent Ukraine and its future. They feel the burden of duty on their shoulders. They understand the implications of their actions. And so, when Tabachnyk suggests the students are being coerced into joining the barricades, he is misinformed.” Read full story.
Access Copyright negotiations set to end
Negotiations between the University of Toronto and Access Copyright are coming to a close, with a decision to be announced by the first week of December, reported the Varsity Nov. 25. . . . The university requested a cancellation of the current agreement this summer. U of T released a statement detailing what would happen if the negotiations were to prove unsuccessful. The statement outlined that the university would create a similar model to the one already in place at other universities across the country, namely York University and the University of British Columbia. These systems have created a copyright office run by the existing staff of the university, who would oversee all copyright licenses and educate university professors on how to properly obtain copyrighted work. Read full story.
Federal by-elections: Toronto Centre contest a two-horse race, experts say
Though there are four candidates in the closely watched Toronto Centre byelection, it has become a two-horse race, political experts say. Toronto Centre – one of four federal byelections Monday – is Bob Rae’s former riding and a longtime Liberal stronghold. . . . York University political science Professor Dennis Pilon says he thinks this is an important race. “Not so much for the government but for the opposition and who is going to be the key opposition party that can challenge the government in the next election, and I think it’s up for grabs,” said Pilon in 680News Nov. 22. Read full story.