News Briefs
UMSU hosts election forum on Aboriginal issues
Chelsea Moore Staff
The University of Manitoba’s student union hosted a forum on Aboriginal issues that took place on Jan. 13 in the Fireside Lounge in university centre.
The forum provided local candidates from Canada’s four main federalist parties — the Conservatives, NDP, the Liberals and the Green party — with an opportunity to voice their platforms to the student electorate.
Tory candidate Rod Bruinooge, the forum’s only Aboriginal candidate, expressed his desire to see more funding for Aboriginal people actually reach Aboriginal communities, rather than being tied up in what he called “bureaucracy.”
Mark Wasyliw, the Winnipeg South NDP candidate, brought attention to the hardships experienced on reserves, especially the ones that lack sewage systems and convenient access to drinking water. He added that this is not acceptable in a nation as wealthy as Canada.
The education of Aboriginal people was a concern pressed by Tanya Parks, the Liberal candidate for Elmwood-Transcona. She also spoke of the need to improve housing for Aboriginal people, adding that the Liberals have committed over $4 million to water and infrastructure.
The Winnipeg South Green party representative, Wesley Whiteside, spoke of the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the prison populations, loss of Aboriginal culture and the racist views of certain members of Canadian society.
Political Studies conference to be held February 1-3
Regan Sarmatiuk staff
From Feb. 1-3, 2006, the U of M’s political studies students will hold their annual conference, entitled: “The State of the State: New Challenges in the 21st Century.” The confernce will include six panels that will discuss various aspects to the “challenge to state pre-eminence,” according to the organizers, who also note that “globalization, the reassertion of ethnic identity and the phenomenon of state failure have highlighted the emergence of other actors.” The organizers indicated that panel discussions will consider whether or not these changes will “augur the death of the state.”
For more information, email: general@umpssc.ca.
U of M researchers receive $100,000 from Manitoba Kidney Foundation
Regan Sarmatiuk staff
Dr. Peter Nickerson and Dr. David Rush are currently working on unique research in the area of nephrology, and they have just received some tremendous support in the way of a $100, 000 donation from the Manitoba branch of the Kidney Foundation to help establish a Research Chair in transplant nephrology at the U of M.
Their research, which involves finding new ways to diagnose transplant rejections, is expected to have an impact on the design of new immunosuppressive therapies in general, and to help improve the survival rate of transplant patients.
According to Sybil Stokoloff of Transplant Manitoba, “rejection occurs in kidney transplants 10-20 per cent in the first six months,” while “graft survival at one year is 90-100 per cent, and 70-80 per cent at year five.”
U of M awards two environmentally-friendly cleaning supply contracts
Regan Sarmatiuk staff
On Jan. 11, it was announced that Swish Maintenance and Enviro-Solutions have been awarded a three-year systems contract with the U of M under which they will be the sole providers of all cleaning products on campus.
According to Jasmin Ismailovic, manager of caretaking services, the move is a “major step,” in that both companies are certified by the Environmental Choice Program as being “environmentally preferable.”
Also, the change will reduce the number of chemicals currently in use, thus contributing to a safer workplace for U of M employees and reducing training time for the handling of chemicals.
Ismailovic confirmed that the university has also awarded a contract to Wood Wyant to provide the university with paper products such as toilet paper and paper towels. Wood Wyant’s products feature 90 per cent post-consumer content.
Both of the changes will be effective as of Feb. 1, 2006.
