The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s West Coast spirit has embraced innovation and questioned the status quo. With close to 63,000 students from 160 countries and more than 5,400 faculty on two campuses in Vancouver and the Okanagan, UBC is a place where bold thinking develops into ideas that can change the world. Its entrepreneurial perspective encourages students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning.
While recuperating heat from data centres to ease greenhouse energy demands is better than letting it go to waste, we must not overlook the complex implications of these two newly merging industries.
Then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles visiting Canada in 2017. As a new monarch is crowned in Britain, is it time for Canada to have a head of state who is Canadian?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
As Charles is crowned King, maybe the time has come for Canada to reassess its connection with the British monarchy and become a republic.
Justice Paul Rouleau releases his report on the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act, in Ottawa, on Feb.17, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Emergencies Act inquiry final report found that almost all parties involved fell short of upholding the rule of law during the convoy protests.
A man runs past shoes hung on the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver in remembrance of victims of illicit drug overdoses on International Overdose Awareness Day in August 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Decriminalization helps recharacterize drug addiction as a chronic health condition instead of a criminal activity, reduces the stigma associated with drug use and improves treatment options.
Dating apps like 2RedBeans and Tantan, that specifically cater to Chinese people, have become increasingly popular.
(Joshua Chun/Unsplash)
Manlin Cai, University of British Columbia and Yue Qian, University of British Columbia
Chinese-oriented online dating platforms create “Chinatowns” in cyberspace, where Chinese daters gather in hopes of finding true love.
Nurses of the University College Hospital protest in London on Feb. 6, 2023. The walkout is part of a wave of health worker strikes and demonstrations in recent months.
(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
U.K. health worker protests echo issues in Canada. They are also a harbinger of future labour disputes and systemic collapse if austerity, underinvestment and neglect of health workers continue.
A supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, in 2021. B.C. has decriminalized simple possession of drugs, including methamphetamines and opioids.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
There are concerns about how health data are used, but research shows support for uses with public benefits by health-care providers, governments, health-system planners and university-based researchers.
A rare photo from an Indian Residential School in Fort Resolution, N.W.T. These systems have been labeled a form of genocide by the Canadian House of Commons.
(Department of Mines and Technical Surveys/Library and Archives Canada)
Canada’s recent resolution to label the Indian Residential School system as genocide (and not cultural genocide) is not a mere alteration of words, it is a significant and consequential change.
At corporations and organizations like universities, policies meant to promote equity, diversity and inclusion are being used to enhance wealth and status.
(Sam Balye, Unsplash)
Equity, diversity and inclusion policies are being used to obtain status and financial benefit. It’s the very antithesis of EDI as a tool for democratic and equitable citizenship.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appears at a news conference in Edmonton in October 2022.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Danielle Smith’s grasp of Indigenous issues seems rooted not in genuine allyship and justice but in the appropriation of Indigenous experiences to advance white grievance politics.
Provinces like British Columbia have reduced infection rates thanks to successful treatment and prevention measures.
(Shutterstock)
Dec. 1 marks World AIDS Day. Canada has the tools and means to end the epidemic. The question remains, are we up to the task?
Climate conferences provide platforms for collaboration among countries, venues for interaction across levels of governance and critical events to mobilize civil society and media coverage.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
There have been 27 UN COP meetings. Despite these negotiations, the planet is on target to exceed emission thresholds for global warming. Given these failures, why continue with this process?
Offshore oil and gas activities jeopardize coastal environments, human health and local economies.
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Stopping the expansion of offshore oil and gas extraction is a critical but often overlooked step towards achieving global climate targets and protecting our oceans and planet.
Every year, hundreds are held arbitrarily in provincial jails. The Canadian government must take action to end the jailing of migrants.
(Shutterstock)
Migrants and refugee claimants in immigration detention continue to face serious trauma and abuse. The federal government must take action to stop migrant detentions.
Co-author of this article, Chief Ninawa, hereditary Chief of the Huni Kui Indigenous people of the Amazon, holds a sign that says: ‘Amazon is life, petroleum and gas is death’ outside a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
(AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A different future will not be possible without reverence, respect, reciprocity and responsibility towards the Earth. On this issue, Indigenous Peoples have a lot to share.
COP27 has given countries and organizations yet another chance to push for a managed decline in fossil fuel production. A climate action banner hangs from the Tower bridge in London in April 2022.
(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
A managed fossil fuel phasing-out offers a chance for producers – including governments, corporations and unions – to negotiate the terms of a ‘just transition’ to renewable energy.
Bianca Andreescu was awarded the 2019 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year. The Toronto Star recently decided to remove Lou Marsh’s name from the trophy.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Hans Deryk
Brown carbon refers to a range of pollutants found in smoke from wildfires. They can contribute to global warming before they undergo a process that alters their chemical properties.