Liberals take the safety off their freeze ray

Ontario's Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan unveiled proposed legislation yesterday to extend a two-year wage freeze to the province's public sector.

The Protecting Public Services Act, if passed, would restrain compensation for employees of the Broader Public Sector (BPS), as well as all executives and managers across the BPS and Ontario Public Service (OPS).

Among the proposed measures in the draft that is now being circulated for consultation with other parties:

• A permanent salary cap for new BPS and OPS executives of an amount equal to double the Premier's salary;
• Temporary restraints on compensation for two years for unionized employees of the BPS, with the rate of pay frozen;
• A freeze on earnings for two years for managers eligible for "performance pay" so that they will not earn more in the next two years than they did last year; and
• A requirement for employers to negotiate collective bargaining agreements that are "consistent with the Province’s goals to eliminate the deficit and protect the delivery of public services"

"Compensation costs account for over half of Ontario's program spending, either paid directly through the Ontario Public Service or as part of the government's transfer payments to schools, hospitals and other broader public sector partners," reads an explanatory note on the Ministry of Finance's website.

The proposed legislation would apply to nearly 2,300 collective agreements covering approximately 481,000 public sector workers in the province.

The broader public sector, which includes employees at the province's universities and colleges, was subject to a two-year freeze in the 2010 budget.

There's no official word yet on the impact that this legislation, if passed, would have on the agreements with faculty, staff, and CUPE units on campus that were signed in 2010 and 2011.

 

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Board chair appointed to Killam Trusts

A media release from the Killam Trusts.

The Trustees of the Killam Trusts are pleased to announce the Honourable Kevin G. Lynch, PC, OC, PhD, LLD as a fellow Trustee, effective January 1, 2013.

An astute leader in the Canadian financial, academic and business communities, Dr. Lynch currently serves as Vice Chair of BMO Financial Group. His previous positions include Clerk of the Privy Council, Secretary to the Cabinet, Head of the Public Service of Canada, Deputy Minister of Industry, Deputy Minister of Finance and Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund.

As one of Canada’s most renowned economists, Dr. Lynch is an active community member, serving on the boards of the Gairdner Foundation, the Perimeter Institute, U.K. Ditchley, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, the Learning Partnership, the Samara Foundation and the Shannon School of Business. In addition, Dr. Lynch is Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo. Dr. Lynch was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 and has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from McMaster University and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

“We are honoured to have Dr. Lynch as a Killam Trustee. His professional and civic contributions are reflective of the values the Killams wished to leave as a legacy through their financial gift. It will be a great asset to have Dr. Lynch help guide this mandate of recognizing Canadian research achievement,” stated George T. H. Cooper, Managing Trustee of the Killam Trusts.

Dr. Lynch joins Trustees M. Ann McCaig, CM, AOE, LLD (Hon.) of Calgary, John S. Montalbano, CFA of Vancouver and George T.H. Cooper, CM, QC, LLD (Hon.) of Halifax. John H. Matthews, LLD (Hon.) of Toronto will be stepping down after over 30 years of exceptional service as a Killam Trustee, having joined the Killam Trusts in 1981.

The Killam Trusts were established in 1965 under the Will of Dorothy J. Killam to commemorate her late husband, Izaak Walton Killam, a leading Canadian business and financial figure. Today, the Killam Trusts are valued close to $400 million, the income on which is used primarily to fund graduate scholarships, postdoctoral fellowships and other educational awards. The universities benefiting from the Killam Trusts include University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, University of Calgary, Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University and Dalhousie University. The Killam Trusts also support the Canada Council’s Killam Research Fellowship Programs, as well as the Killam Prizes. The Killam Prizes are valued at $100,000 and are awarded annually in five disciplines including Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities and Engineering.

The Killam Prizes represent the pinnacle of Canadian Research awards and are presented annually by the Governor General at Rideau Hall.

 

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Gold medals and grad awards announced

The Advisory Committee on Graduate Scholarships and Awards has announced the recipients of the 2012 Alumni Gold Medals and Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Studies Designation.

This year's Alumni Gold Medal winners are:

• John Doucette, Computer Science, For Outstanding Academic Performance in a Master's Program
• Kristin Laurin, Psychology, For Outstanding Academic Performance in a Doctoral Program.

"The selection was made from a group of exceptional nominees," writes Associate Provost, Graduate Studies Sue Horton.

Doucette's thesis was entitled "An Ex-Ante Rational Distributed Resource Allocation System Using Transfer of Control Strategies for Preemption with Applications to Emergency Medicine." His medal citation reads in part as follows:

"John has already received numerous achievements and awards, including an NSERC CGS and an OGS, as well as recently securing an extremely competitive NSERC Vanier Scholarship for his PhD studies. Winning this award is a great testament to his tremendous academic, leadership and research excellence, as well as his future potential. Having only completed two years of graduate studies, his publication record is outstanding. He has a large number of peer-reviewed publications in journals and has also attended international conferences and workshops. John has consistently demonstrated an unrivaled talent and flair in his research abilities which has contributed to his ongoing success."

Laurin's thesis was entitled "Social Disadvantage and the Self-Regulatory Function of Justice Beliefs." Her medal citation reads in part as follows:

"Kristin stands out as a phenomenal researcher within the University of Waterloo's social psychology program, a renowned program, and has far exceeded the expectations demanded of her. An external examiner of her dissertation wrote that she is clearly "going to be a leader in the field", while another professor and chair indicates that she "is a brilliant scholars who has a talent for theoretical integration and exceptional methodologically creativity." Her achievements have been rewarded with several scholarships, including various SSHRC and OGS awards. She most recently received the prestigious SSHRC Vanier CGS for her doctoral program, which cites academic excellence, research potential and leadership in their evaluation criteria. For a scholar so early in her career, she also has a tremendous list of publications, including top ranked journals and books."

The winners of the Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Studies designations are:

Master's

• Kaylena Anastasia Ehgoetz Martens, Psychology (Fall 2012)
• Mohammad Rostami, Electrical and Computer Engineering (Fall 2012)
• Shannon Elizabeth Van der Velden, Biology (Fall 2012)

Doctoral

• Bei Chen, Statistics (Fall 2012)
• Megan Conway, School of Planning (Spring 2012)
• Thomasz Glawdel, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering (Fall 2012)
• Adriano Senatore, Biology (Fall 2012)

The medals and awards are to be given out at convocation in October.

 

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Hackathons, fires, and other hot news items

VeloCity is one of the sponsors of the third annual Great Canadian Appathon, a so-called hackathon for post-secondary students across the country that is taking place from September 28 to 30. It is being advertised as a "two-day scramble" for student developers who will produce a mobile game with $30,000 in prizes up for grabs. The event is decentralized with "hubs" located on participating campuses - Waterloo's competition will take place in the Davis Centre fishbowl, and there are hubs at Wilfrid Laurier University, Conestoga College, and TriOS College in downtown Kitchener as well. Representatives from event organizers XMG Studio will be on hand at some locations to help advise on the mobile game development process.

A small dumpster fire on campus Tuesday evening brought a quick response from the Waterloo Fire Department. At about 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday, September 25, University of Waterloo Police and the campus safety office were alerted to flames coming from a dumpster between Biology 2 and the new Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. Firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the fire. Smoke set off alarms in Biology 2, and those inside evacuated, following proper procedure. One window in the biology building cracked from the heat and will be replaced. There was no damage to the new quantum-nano building. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but is not believed to be suspicious.

The myHRinfo system will be down for maintenance until 1:00 p.m. today, according to Information Systems & Technology (IST).

Pickup locations for GRT and Go Transit buses will be altered because of the 27th Annual AHS Fun Run that is happening as part of Reunion this weekend. All traffic around Ring Road beginning at 9:00 a.m. will be routed to the outer lane only until approximately 12:00 p.m. Police Services will be managing traffic during this time.

Greyhound buses are not affected as their only morning departure (at 9:00 a.m.) is in advance of the race. GO Transit will simply be picking up across the street from their regular locations. Signs will be posted about the change to pickup locations. Additionally, Grand River Transit has been notified of the change and will adapt their pickups accordingly.

Anyone who has questions can contact Mari-Beth Davis, alumni advancement officer in AHS, by email or at 519-888-4567, ext. 32610.

 

An expert in the management of physical and human systems, including natural disasters, will examine lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake at this year's TD Walter Bean Lecture in the Environment, which will be held this evening. Professor Norio Okada will deliver "Averting Disaster: Coping with Earthquakes, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdowns" at the Humanities Theatre at 7:00 p.m.

Okada is a professor at Kumamoto University in Japan, and the former director of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University.

Named in honour of the late Walter Bean, who served as president of Waterloo Trust until its merger with Canada Trust in 1968, the TD Walter Bean Visiting Professorship is meant to uphold the legacy of community involvement and commitment to youth and education. The professorship attracts top researchers with international reputations, who give lectures, teach classes, and engage in dialogue with faculty members. The lecture is hosted on a rotating basis by the faculties of engineering, science, and environment, with engineering acting as this year's host.

The event is free and registration is available online.

 

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