Experts: International Day of Education | January 24
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24 as the International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. The theme of the fourth International Day of Education is “Changing Course, Transforming Education.” Transforming the future requires an urgent rebalancing or our relationships with each other, with nature as well as with technology that permeates our lives, bearing breakthrough opportunities while raising serious concerns for equi
Experts: One-year anniversary of the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks to mark the one-year anniversary of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection, which began as members of Congress worked to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, commanded the nation's attention as violent scenes of rioters attacking officers and destroying parts of the Capitol were broadcast live across the country.
Experts: 2021 Holiday Season
The McGill Media Relations Office suggests the following sources for your holiday stories:
Expert: U.S. diplomats to boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
The United States has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China – a move that has been heavily criticized by Beijing. The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China's human rights record but said U.S. athletes could attend and would have the government's full support. (BBC News)
Experts: International Day for Persons with Disabilities | December 3
Celebrated on December 3rd, the International Day for Persons with Disabilities mobilizes support for critical issues relating to the inclusion of persons with disabilities, promotes awareness-raising about disability issues and draws attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for all.
Expert: Proposed Rogers-Shaw deal bad for Canada, says Telus
On November 22nd, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission began five days of public hearings into the proposed purchase of Shaw Communications by Rogers Communications. Telus says Rogers will be large enough to buy foreign content, such as TV shows and movies, which it will hold exclusively so other companies don’t have access to it. If Rogers can’t do so, it will raise rates or delay access to services in an effort to hamper competition, says Telus.
Expert: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women | November 25
Every year, from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to December 10 (World Human Rights Day), Canadians observe the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. It is an opportunity to come together to call out, speak up and renew our commitment to end gender-based violence.
Experts: COP 26 United Nations Climate Change Conference
The twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be hosted by the United Kingdom, in partnership with Italy. The summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC. More than 190 world leaders will participate, along with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, businesses and citizens for twelve days of talks.
Expert: Sudan army seized power to prevent civil war says coup leader
Sudan's coup leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said the military seized power to prevent "civil war". He added that the deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was being kept at the general's house "for his own safety” but has now returned home. Protests are continuing for a second day in the capital, Khartoum, with roads, bridges and shops closed. Phone and internet lines are also disrupted. (BBC News)
Expert: Whistleblower Frances Haugen says Facebook making online hate worse
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told British lawmakers that the social media giant stokes online hate and extremism, fails to protect children from harmful content and lacks any incentive to fix the problems, providing strong momentum for efforts by European governments working on stricter regulation of tech giants. While her testimony echoed much of what she told the U.S.
Experts: Inflation at almost two-decade high complicates Bank of Canada rate plan
The cost of just about everything in Canada was more expensive in September, pushing headline inflation to its highest in almost two decades and complicating the Bank of Canada’s plans to keep interest rates pinned near zero until well into 2022. Prices are being driven higher around the world by an extreme mismatch between supply and demand. Suppliers are now scrambling to catch up, clogging ports a
Expert : Anand to defence, Joly to foreign affairs: Trudeau announces major cabinet shakeup
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is kicking off his third mandate with a monumental shift in his cabinet lineup that makes significant changes to senior portfolios. Anita Anand becomes only the second woman in Canadian history to take on the role of Defence minister and Mélanie Joly received a major promotion this morning, moving up from minister of Economic Development and Official Languages to a much higher profile as Foreign Affairs minister.
Expert: New Alberta mayors, councilors bring diversity to provincial councils
The 2021 municipal election was historic in Alberta, where Edmonton elected its first mayor of colour and Calgary its first female mayor. Calgary’s new mayor, Jyoti Gondek, says the diversity of the city’s incoming council will bring “strength to decision-making” at a time when a significant number of women and people of colour were elected to municipal offices across Alberta. Mayor-elect Amarjeet Sohi, a Sikh immigrant from India, will be the first person of colour to lead Edmonton.
Expert: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp back online after global outage
Facebook and Facebook-owned apps Instagram and WhatsApp were up and running again late Monday after being hit by an outage that affected users around the world. The social media giant said the disruption to network traffic "had a cascading effect on the way our data centres communicate, bringing our services to a halt." It said there is no evidence that user data was comprised.
Expert: Amazon faces Teamsters union drive at Canadian warehouse
Amazon.com Inc. could be facing its first unionization battle in Canada after a Teamsters local filed for a union vote for workers at the e-commerce giant’s fulfilment centre near Edmonton. If the Alberta Labour Relations Board verifies application, all workers at the YEG 1 fulfilment centre in Nisku, Alberta, who were employed as of September 13 will be able to vote on joining the union.
