Guy Laforest, Professeur, Département de science politique, Université Laval

Ce blog a été publié sur le site web de Guy Laforest's le 15 mai, 2016

« La conférence de Québec de 1864 150 ans plus tard : comprendre l’émergence de la fédération canadienne ». Tel est le titre d’un ouvrage collectif, préparé par Eugénie Brouillet, Alain-G. Gagnon et moi-même, qui vient d’être publié par les Presses de l’Université Laval (https://www.pulaval.com/produit/la-conference-de-quebec-de-1864-150-ans-plus-tard-comprendre-l-emergence-de-la-federation-canadienne). Ce livre s’inscrit dans un vaste programme...

Mel Watkins, Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics, University of Toronto

Stephen Clarkson was my colleague and friend for more than 50 years. Gracious and congenial, he was an intensely private person.

He was a legendary teacher who could give a polished lecture without notes. I taught a course with him for many years and he set the bar high. He was much respected by students, who gave him high evaluations.

He was a prolific researcher and writer who received many awards. Fittingly, indefatigable at 78, still not retired and with serious health problems, he was in Portugal on a research tour with students when he fell fatally ill. He died on the go, students in his wake, with pen in hand.

He was proficient in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian and Italian.

He...

Here at the Federation, we’ve been picking apart the 2016 federal budget and also keeping an eye out for what our colleagues are saying. There seems to be a solid consensus growing: March 22 was a good day for Canadian scholarship in its many forms.

The Federation’s overall impressions are articulated in our post-budget media release, and a detailed analysis of the budget is available in our 2016 budget briefing note. The following is a brief overview of a few key topics, including issues that we feel are likely to be highly relevant in the coming year.

The 2015 Liberal election platform had no specific promises relating to research funding, so it was a welcome surprise to see a funding increase of $95 million split between the...

It has been exciting to see the Canadian government make progress on its knowledge agenda, beginning with the reinstatement of the long-form census. The Federation is thrilled to be participating in another exciting development: the creation of a new senior research advisor in the federal government. The Federation recently submitted its recommendations to Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan for the creation of a Chief Research and Knowledge Advisor.

In their 2015 election campaign, the Liberal party committed to creating a new Chief Science Officer. As a new government, they’ve so far followed through on that promise, with the prime minister mandating Minister Duncan to create the post. The Federation strongly supports this project, and we have submitted a set of recommendations that we feel can help make Canada’s research-advisory system the best in the world.

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