Month: October 2024

Navigating the political turmoil that may cause an early election for Canadians

 

Editor’s note: This story was previously published in The Ontarion’s October 2024 issue. 

 

There are two words you’ll be hearing a lot in the next year and those words are “snap election” which means calling a political election earlier than scheduled. It leads to Parliament being dissolved and provides voters the opportunity to select a new set of representatives in Parliament.

It’s also something that might happen a lot sooner than we think.

On Sept. 24, federal Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre put forward a motion for a vote on non-confidence in Parliament. If the vote was passed, it would cause a snap election and get Canadians to the poll to let them have their say on who they wanted in charge of the country. 

But what does a snap mean and why is it important?

The current timeline

The next federal election will be the 45th election and will be held on or before Oct. 25, 2025. However, there is a current bill proposing to postpone this date to Oct. 27 of the same year to accommodate Diwali celebrations.

According to Elections Canada, candidates would have a minimum of 37 to a maximum of 51 days to campaign leading up to the election to convince voters that their platform is the right choice for them. 

Voters then cast their ballot on the candidates in their riding. Each riding elects one representative to represent their riding in Parliament. Parliament was previously composed of representatives from 338 ridings across Canada. However, if an election is called now there will be 343 seats based on the 2021 Canadian census. According to Elections Canada, the seats are determined by population equality and are evaluated every 10 years.

Canadians don’t vote for a Prime Minister, rather they vote for who they want to represent them and their riding in Parliament. The number of seats held by elected representatives from each of the parties determines which party will form a government and who will be the Prime Minister. 

Currently, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, holds the most seats, though they fall short of holding a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. The federal Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre, have the second most seats. In third is Bloc Québécois, led by Yves-François Blanchet. The NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh holds the fourth most seats. The federal Green Party holds the fifth.

In October 2025, Canadians will get the opportunity to vote for their riding representative, and by proxy, who they want to become the next Prime Minister of Canada.

That is, if a snap election isn’t called before then.

Dissolving the agreement with Jagmeet Singh

During his third term, Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals didn’t have a majority of seats in the House of Commons. Trudeau then created a Supply and Confidence agreement with the federal NDP and Jagmeet Singh.. This agreement allows the Liberal party more flexibility to pass legislation and know they will have the votes they need for certain policy objectives..

However, on Sept. 4, Jagmeet Singh publicly announced that he and the NDP were pulling out of this deal with the Liberal Party.

In a video posted to Singh’s X account, he said he let the Prime Minister know that he “ripped up” the agreement. He said Canadians are fighting a battle for the future of the middle class.

Prior to Singh ending the agreement, Poilievre had publicly urged him to do so and trigger a fall election. Poilievre, who is currently riding a wave of populist support, would benefit from an early election. 

Poilievre has made the carbon tax credit a central issue, characterizing the upcoming election as a  “carbon tax election,” meaning that the main issue at hand would be whether Canadians agree or disagree with paying a carbon tax.

Singh’s withdrawal from the Supply and Confidence agreement has created an opportunity for the Conservatives to force an early election.

How a snap election could play out

In Canada, Members of Parliament, (MPs), are allowed to put motions forth in the House of Commons. One of the most important motions that can be put forward is a non-confidence vote. If the motion is adopted, it triggers a vote where MPs, decide whether the current government still has the confidence of the MPs that make up the House of Commons. 

Poilievre tabled this motion on Sept. 24. His speech in the House of Commons was 20 minutes long and Poilievre spoke about restoring the “promise of Canada.”

On Sept. 25 the House of Commons voted on whether they still had confidence in the government. Leading up to this vote, parties like the Bloc Québécois and the NDP both said they wouldn’t trigger an election by voting in support of a non-confidence vote.

The vote did not pass with a final vote of 120 to 211. This means Canadians won’t be heading to the polls in the near future and may get a proper Election in 2025.

But if they were to have voted in favour of non-confidence, Parliament would be dissolved and an election would be called in what some may describe as the snap of a finger.

It’s happened before in Canadian politics, and parties have had votes of no confidence that triggered elections, and they still came back and won the election by winning a majority of seats.

This could happen again, however, current polling suggests this snap election would leave us with a completely different House of Commons, with the Liberal Party suffering a significant defeat.

 

This was the first of what may be many votes of non confidence and we could see Canadians heading to the polls well before our scheduled date of October 2025. It might not even be a matter of if, but simply a matter of when.

 

Co-founders Mark Spagnolo and Claire Voy spoke with The Ontarion about all things SHEBAD, including their upcoming EP, show us it’s real

 

Editor’s note: This story was previously published in The Ontarion’s October 2022 issue.

 

From jamming in The Bullring to Kazoo! Fest,  playing on Johnston Green during O-Week, and releasing their first EP, SHEBAD has been taking the Guelph music scene by storm. 

Mark Spagnolo, bassist and co-founder of SHEBAD explained that he and fellow co-founder and vocalist, Claire Voy knew each other from taking a class together at the University of Guelph campus. 

Spagnolo played in a jazz trio and performed sets in The Bullring. He knew Voy was a vocalist, and one day he asked her to jam. 

“After that we said ‘yeah this is working, let’s write some stuff,’” Spagnolo said.

Voy explained that both she and Spagnolo are heavily inspired by jazz. They both credit the genre with influencing SHEBAD’s signature sound.

But the duo also credited every person who has been a part of SHEBAD along the way.

They describe themselves as a musical collective that allows everyone the freedom to explore their creativity. 

“I think that we just know so many talented musicians and artists, creatives, just people in the community who want to be a part of something like this,” Voy said. “I feel like music is such a great foundation for so many other art forms to kind of branch out.”

Voy also creates the band’s album artwork, which plays with colour and is a synesthetic experience in itself. Another artform that comes from the roots of SHEBAD’s collective music experience is their performances. 

Voy said that when the band began playing live shows post-pandemic, there were nine members that would perform. 

“We just wanted as many people involved as we can, even though it’s hard,” Voy said.

SHEBAD brought six of their original nine members out to perform with them in B.C. late this past summer. They narrowed their six-piece down to a saxophone and trumpet player, a keyboardist, a drummer, and background vocalist with Spagnolo on bass and Voy on lead vocals. 

“They [the original ensemble] always have a place here in some way. We’re always wanting to keep them feeling like they’re a part of it,” Voy said. “Really because it’s just such a beautiful project.”

However, Spagnolo and Voy took the lead when it came to recording their material, most of which was done during the pandemic. The songs they’ve been creating have been unfolding for the past two years and have gone through many versions before the final product.

Spagnolo said while recording Terra, the first single off the band’s upcoming EP, he had doubts about the translation from live to in-studio.

“I remember there was a moment in time where I was like, ‘this feels like an energy ball,’’ he said. “[I was] like, it just feels like way too much nerdy stuff and it has too many risky things.”

Voy said that the music takes on a form of its own and that’s where, as artists, they have to release some control. She also added that she strives to create a space for the LGBTQ+ community within SHEBAD’s music. 

“I feel like being queer – that extends into my music,” Voy said. “Like, that extends into the way I create music, the way I feel about music and how I feel in my body as a musician presenting on stage… It just runs through my soul in so many ways.”

Spagnolo echoed that sentiment and said that SHEBAD”s music often resonates with members of the LGBTQ+ community. He said he feels happy to be adjacent to something that brings space for that gender curiosity and experimentation. 

“Yeah, I think experimenting is a big part and malleability,” Voy added. “I think that extends into identity and relates heavily to music and performance.” 

SHEBAD’s funky soul roots continuously pushed the boundaries during performances at Kazoo! Fest and playing alongside popular musicians like Jessia and Dear Rouge at the Ignite Concert Series in Fergus this summer. Both Voy and Spagnolo said these performances were humbling experiences and gave them the opportunity to connect with new fans. They also had a full-circle moment when they played on Johnston Green during O-week this year. 

However Voy and Spagnolo said that none of this would have happened without their own hard work. They both also acknowledged that they wouldn’t be at their current level if not for their failures.

“It’s like, the emotional work of getting to know yourself and your partner that you’re doing it with and  the emotional work of being bad at leading and being bad at mixing and recording,” Spagnolo said. “You want everything to be at a certain level right away and you constantly have to remind yourself that it isn’t going to be.”

They also mentioned the anxiety that comes with putting a piece of your art into the world for others to see or listen to. Spagnolo referenced their experience while releasing their EP’s first single, Terra.

“I remember saying I wanted to make it a song full of like, five songs and it feels like that when you listen to it,” Spagnolo said. 

When the song got put on a playlist, Spagnolo was certain it was a glitch.

“Yeah, here it is more than 100,000 [streams],” said Spagnolo. “It blows my mind because it’s such a silly song. It literally has me talking in it… and it’s cheeky, it’s ridiculous, but yet that’s what people like, they like boldness.”

SHEBAD hopes to continue to showcase their boldness on their upcoming EP, show us it’s real, when it is released on Oct. 1. They hope to expand their reach and play more non-local shows in the future.

“Give us a minute and we’ll show you what we can do and so yeah, I think that’s kind of where we’re headed,” Spagnolo said.

From speaking with Navitas to partnering up with Lovely Professional University, the University of Guelph is exploring their options for international recruitment

 

Editor’s note: This story was previously published in The Ontarion’s March 2024 issue. 

 

On Jan. 17, a town hall meeting was held at the University of Guelph to provide insight and get feedback on their potential partnership with Navitas, a private international student recruitment company.

Pathway programs have become increasingly popular among Canadian universities as they look to internationalize their campuses. With universities like McMaster and Toronto Metropolitan University, (formerly Ryerson) signing on, even the University of Guelph is looking to expand their international recruitment through these programs.

On Feb. 5, following vocal opposition from faculty and some students, a senate meeting was held where it was revealed that the university had paused its talks with Navitas. 

At the same meeting, the senate approved a partnership with Lovely Professional University, a private university in India for a pathway program into the University of Guelph’s agricultural college. 

Government Cuts

On Jan. 17, 2019, the Ontario government measures to reduce university tuition by ten per cent and freeze tuition at its current level for domestic students. 

This helped students save an average of $660 on tuition during the 2019-2020 school year, according to a press release from the provincial government. 

This pre-pandemic tuition freeze has continued on for five years.

“By freezing tuition for another year, we are saying yes to ensuring that students have access to affordable, high-quality post-secondary education,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities in a release from March 2022. 

In November 2023, a blue-ribbon panel of experts called on the Ontario government to lift the tuition freeze. 

“As time goes on, this situation is ever more likely to pose a significant threat to the financial sustainability of a major part of the province’s postsecondary sector. Higher rates of price inflation in the last two or three years exacerbate this threat,” the panel said.

The report explains that in 2021-2022 Ontario’s university funding worked out to $11,471 per student, compared to the Canadian average of $20,772 per student.

The government-commissioned panel recommended that tuition be raised by five per cent in the 2024-2025 academic year, and a two percent increase in tuition in the year following, along with additional tuition raises in line with the federal inflation rate.

In addition to tuition freezing and reducing costs, the government also scrapped a number of grants to students and universities. Losses from university amount to just over $1.1 billion. 

“No province has underfunded postsecondary education more, and no province’s institutions have found so many ways to raise money from private sources,” says a report titled The State of Post-Secondary Education in Canada in 2023.

Record inflation is another one of the reasons why universities and students have been struggling in light of these tuition freezes. 

In 2023 the annual inflation rate was 3.9 per cent. The year prior had an inflation rate of 6.8 per cent, the highest in 40 years. This affects the day-to-day costs for families, students and the university. 

On Dec. 5, Charlotte Yates released an open letter to the university community about the lack of government funding and how it affects the University of Guelph.

“To weather this storm, we have undertaken several short-term measures,” the letter reads. “These include a 5.5 per cent reduction to our base operating budget, reducing services and leveraging our reserves — none of which are long-term sustainable practices.”

In addition to the tuition freeze, and rising inflation, declining enrolment has also been a factor with multiple universities across the province.

Many of these institutions have increased their enrolment of international students to make up for the loss in domestic tuition fees. International students pay up to three times more in tuition compared to their domestic counterparts, according to Stats Canada. 

Universities like Wilfrid Laurier, Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Manitoba have partnered with an international student recruitment firm, Navitas, to help ease the financial strain.

Navitas

Navitas’ business model is to recruit international students who typically wouldn’t qualify for Canadian universities. These students would study through a Navitas-run program using campus space.  They would have the opportunity to complete their degree at the partnered university, should their grades be sufficient. 

According to Navitas’ website, it’s partnered with over 300 universities worldwide. They also list 28 universities as part of their international pathways program. Navitas uses the campuses of these universities to teach their students and in turn gives the universities royalties for using their space and branding. 

In a meeting of the Board of Governors at the University of Manitoba, who has partnered with Navitas, conservative estimates said the university is poised to receive $100 million in funding from their partnership with Navitas over the first decade of their partnership.

In a letter to the board of governors from the University of Guelph Faculty Association, (UGFA), Faculty expressed their concerns about the possible partnership. Their letter cited concern for the quality of education the students would receive, the outsourcing of teaching, the university’s reputation and the wellbeing of the students in these programs.

“The University’s commitment to internationalization and EDI [Equity, Diversity and Inclusion] will be undermined and tainted by this initiative, as its principal requirement is the ability to pay high fees,” they said in their open letter. 

They also expressed worry about students and their families possibly being exploited as well as creating segregated international groups and how the agreement would affect the overall strain on campus facilities and resources. 

Navitas is a private company owned by equity firm, BGH Capital, whose primary purpose is to generate profit for its shareholders.

Faculty also got the chance to voice their concerns about Navitas at a town hall meeting held in Peter Clark Hall on Jan. 17.

Associate vice president academic, Byron Sheldrick, spoke with faculty members about how the program would possibly work.

“Our overall goal, though, is over the next several years to increase our intake from what now is about 270 a year to maybe 400 to 500 over the next five years,” he said during the presentation.

Faculty members and students raised concerns about the partnership with Navitas and questioned the financial aspect of the program.

“These are real people trying to have real educational experiences that will lead to success. I don’t see this leading to success,” professor Andrew Hamilton-Wright said during the meeting.

History professor Karen Racine also voiced her opinion. 

“International Student Recruitment isn’t going to be the solution to our problems,” Racine said.

Nate Broughton, University of Guelph student and one of two Central Student Association, (CSA), board representatives for College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, brought the issue to the CSA’s attention. He said he was optimistic about the acknowledgement of opposition.

“I would like to think that, at least at some level, they took notice of the amount of opposition that they were facing, and heard the students and faculty and everyone else on campus that was saying this is not a good idea,” said Broughton, speaking in his role as a student.

Sheldrick also mentioned there are different approaches to working to internationalize campus. One of the programs he mentioned during the town hall was an admission pathway between a private university called Lovely Professional University, (LPU), located in Phagwara, India, and the Ontario Agricultural College, (OAC). 

LPU

In a news release posted on Feb. 12, the university announced its partnership between LPU and the OAC to the public.

The university did not confirm when talks of a partnership with LPU began.

However, on Feb. 19 2023, an LPU Instagram account posted photos of U of G president Charlotte Yates visiting the campus in India. The post said that Yates attended LPU to “discuss opportunities for students and faculty.”

LPU is owned by the Lovely Group in India, which is run by Ashok Mittal, a businessman and former politician. Lovely Group operates businesses spanning different industries that are grouped into Indian sweets, auto dealerships, education, packaged food, hospitality and others, in addition to Lovely Professional University.

“It is shocking that, while facing strong opposition to their Navitas initiative, the administration did not think to mention to the UGFA or the University community that there were separate discussions with LPU,” said Kunze in an email to the UGFA membership. 

Kunze also mentioned in his email “unlike Navitas, LPU is at least a degree-granting university that is considered by university ranking systems.”

Jessamine Luck, manager of stakeholder communications for the University of Guelph, said in an email the “pathway will start in fall 2025 with an initial cohort of five to 10 students and this number will slowly grow over time according to program capacity.”

Luck said that the program follows a similar process as the degree pathway for students with an associate diploma in agriculture at U of G’s Ridgetown campus who wish to apply their credits toward a bachelor of science (agriculture) degree.

She did not comment on exact similarities or differences between the programs.

Broughton said the differences between LPU and Navitas did change his perspective.

“I think that on one hand, it is a little bit different,” he said. “It is … an accredited institution, which is ranks in… university rankings. It’s more reputable than Navitas in that sense.”

Luck explained further.

“Its agriculture program is accredited by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research,” Luck said. “As part of the pathway development process, U of G faculty have rigorously assessed LPU’s agriculture program curriculum to ensure consistent academic standards between the two universities.”

Both Navitas and LPU are technically 2 + 2 pathway programs, but work differently. 

LPU is a private university, whereas Navitas is a company that is hired to recruit students.

Navitas does not have its own campus, but it uses existing space at their partnering universities. However, LPU is an accredited university with a campus that students will attend for the first two years of their program.

Navitas agrees to pay the university for their space, whereas with Lovely Professional University it is a “memorandum of understanding” agreement. 

However, they both work to outsource international student recruitment to financially benefit the universities they partner with.

Student cap & new funding

On Jan. 22, the federal government announced a cap on how many international students post-secondary institutions were allowed to take in.

“In light of the recently announced cap on international students, further discussion on a potential partnership with Navitas has been paused until we have a more accurate picture of what international student recruitment will look like in Ontario,” Luck said.

Broughton said that he hopes the pause on talks with Navitas are permanent. 

“I’m happy that they’ve paused discussions for the time being. Hopefully that is a kind of permanent pause,” he said. “I guess it will depend on what the interpretation of these regulations looks like.”

On Feb. 26, in response to the blue-ribbon panel’s recommendation the provincial government announced almost $1.3 billion in funding for post-secondary institutions that are struggling due to underfunding.

The funding will be distributed over the next three years. According to the Ontario government’s press release, “the government is continuing to evaluate the blue-ribbon panel’s advice and is working with postsecondary sector partners to create the right conditions to help students access and succeed in postsecondary education.”