In brief
JENELLE PETRINCHUK STAFF
Outreach Awards: 13 from U of M awarded
The Outreach Awards were held on Nov. 27 and recognized 13 staff and faculty members from the University of Manitoba for exceptional community involvement.
Those awarded include Richard Holley from the department of food science in the faculty of agricultural and food sciences for his work as an industry liaison in the area of food safety, and Dilantha Fernando of the same faculty in the department of plant science for his mentorship to high school students and involvement in science fairs.
Khalida Hai-Santiago, from the Centre for Community Oral Health in the faculty of dentistry, was recognized for his services to medically, physically, mentally and/or financially challenged clients.
Two faculty members from engineering were honoured: James Dietrich and James Blatz were both recognized for promoting engineering and the U of M to the broader community.
The remaining awardees were Terry Janzen, Wanda Wuttunee, Elizabeth Comack, Kristina Hunter, Merlin Shoesmith, Maureen Rodrigue, Chris Rutkowski, and Marilyn Seguire.
Awards ranged from knowledge shared about UFOs (Rutkowski) to working with the aboriginal community (Wuttunee).
The Outreach Awards are an annual event held by the U of M to honour staff members who are active in the university community.
Students aren’t the only ones in debt: StatsCan
According to a Statistics Canada survey released Dec. 4, Canadian businesses are facing a large increase in debt for 2005, the second year in a row.
Compared to the 2004 data, Canadian business clients have increased their debt to commercial financing suppliers by 10.7 per cent, up to $411.5 billion. Business loans increased 4.1 per cent.
The bulk of the debt comes from businesses holding loans of over $5 million, while those with loans of less than $1 million only accounted for a 4.3 per cent increase.
Slightly over half of the loans are issued by domestic banks at 51 per cent, only down from 57 per cent in 2000. Insurance companies and finance companies account for the remaining half.
In terms of a provincial split, numbers vary across the board. Major deviations include Saskatchewan, which holds the largest debt increase from 2004 to 2005 at 16.7 per cent while Newfoundland and Labrador only saw an increase of 1.7 per cent. Other provinces range from a 6.4 to 14.4 per cent increase.
Manitoba saw an 8.6 increase.
The fields of manufacturing and wholesale trade saw the largest increases at around 17 per cent while the only industry that saw a decline in debt was finance and insurance at -4.2 per cent.
$442m for Canadian research
MICHAEL OLSON STAFF
The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced on Nov. 27 that it is investing a total of $442 million in Canadian research infrastructure.
This massive investment marks the beginning of the CFI’s Leading Edge and New Initiative funds, which will support 86 projects at 35 universities, colleges, research hospitals, and nonprofit research institutions throughout Canada.
More than $141 million was given to 40 projects through the Leading Edge Fund, which looks to further assist initiatives that have received funding from the CFI before.
Over $183 million was given to 46 projects under the New Initiatives Fund to augment Canada’s ability to initiate new areas of research.
Over $97 million was given from the Infrastructure Operating Fund, which assists institutions’ infrastructure costs.
Two projects at the University of Manitoba were also included: Diffraction and Spectroscopic Infrastructure for Mineralogy- Geochemistry, and the National Research Data Centre Network: A Quantum Leap Forward in Social Science Research. The two projects received a combined $5,053,050 from the CFI’s Leading Edge Fund.
The CFI is an independent corporation created by the federal government to provide funds to research infrastructure.
