Increase in summer jobs
OTTAWA—On Jan. 12, Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development, announced that an additional $20 million in funding will be put towards the Canada Summer Jobs 2010 program.
Finley stated that the additional funding, which is anticipated to create thousands of more jobs, will benefit students after the poor summer job market in 2009.
University applicants soar
TORONTO—The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) announced on Jan. 18 that there was an increase in the number of applicants to post-secondary institutions. The number of high school applicants rose 2.7 per cent.
A total increase of 46 per cent in applicants to Ontario universities has been noted since 2000.
Ex-prof accuses U of O of ‘covert surveillance’
OTTAWA (CUP)—Denis Rancourt, a dismissed physics professor has filed a union grievance against the University of Ottawa, claiming that the administration hired a student to gather information on him through illegitimate means.
Rancourt alleges in an online report that Maureen Robinson, a former student, collected information by taping conversations, creating a fake Facebook persona and attending activist student events.
Cabinet shuffle
OTTAWA—On Jan. 19 Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed two new ministers to cabinet and shuffled several others.
Ministers who maintained their positions from the previous cabinet include minister of finance Jim Flaherty and minister of defence Peter MacKay.
