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APRIL 2011
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164.12
Megan Verhey
All-candidates debate brings key issuesto campus ahead of election
A
n all-candidates debateorganized at the U o G brought together f veederal candidates and nearly two hundred audience memberson uesday, April 12. KarenLevenson o the Animal AllianceEnvironment Voters Party o Canada, John Lawson rom theGreen Party, Drew Garvie o the Communist Party, BobbiStewart o the New DemocraticParty and Guelph’s ormer MPFrank Valeriote o the LiberalParty, attended the orum.Marty Burke, the Conservativecandidate or Guelph, did notpartake in the debate, to much o the other candidates’ disapproval.T e f rst question posed tothe candidates was one that is o particular relevance to students,as it inquired about whatcandidates would do in regardsto student debt and tuition costs.“Obviously I probably don’thave to tell many o you thatstudent debt is astronomical,”said Garvie. “It’s hitting recordhighs. It’s $30,000 dollarsin Ontario or the averageundergraduate ater graduatingKELSEY RIDEOU
Richard Laviolette, a local Guelph musician, serenaded show goers at the eBar on Sunday April 10 with songs from his new EP
Soundtrack oT e Lie o a Car Nearly Driving into T e Pacif c.
Chancellor Pamela Wallin resigns
O
n March 31, PamelaWallin resigned romher role as Chancellorat the University o Guelph. T eChancellor is the titular heado the University o Guelph, aposition that a ords its occupantthe power to coner degrees tostudents at our university. Sinceher appointment to the positionin early 2007, Wallin was involvedwith the university in variousways, such as sitting on the Boardo Governors and attending
Discussing Wallin’slegacy at the University of Guelph
ANDREA LAMARREmany o cial events includingconvocations. In addition toher duties as Chancellor o theUniversity o Guelph, Wallinwas appointed to the Senate o Canada in December 2008 andsits on various other governmentalcommittees.“Pamela Wallin told us whenshe f rst became a CanadianSenator that she would continueas Chancellor o the University o Guelph as long as she was able todevote the time to properly serveour students and the university community,” explained Chuck Cunningham, Assistant VicePresident o Communication andPublic A airs at the University o Guelph. “Now, due to increasedresponsibilities in the CanadianSenate, she has decided to stepdown.”According to a University o Guelph press release, thoseresponsibilities include assumingthe chair o the National Security and Deense Committee, as well asserving as a member o the Senate’sprestigious Foreign A airs andInternational rade Committee,the Veterans A airs Subcommitteeand the Special Senate Committeeon Anti-terrorism.Wallin’s decision to step downhas sparked much reaction romthe Guelph community. Wallinhas been an active member o theUniversity o Guelph, and willbe missed by those who she hasinspired.“Any graduate who evercrossed the stage when Pamelawas presiding at convocationwill tell you about how very special she made them eel,” saidCunningham. “We have receivednumerous letters rom graduatesand their amilies telling us thisand how much the Chancellorinspired them.”T roughout her appointment,Wallin went beyond a f gureheadrole as Chancellor, according tosome.“In addition to presiding overnumerous convocations, theuniversity in a our-year programand the jobs just aren’t therewhen you go out.”All candidates agreed thatinvesting in the local economy,particularly a greener economy with cleaner technology isintegral to helping students withtheir debt loads. Bobbi Stewartis committed to the NDP’splan to raise the education taxcredit, while Valeriote vowed tocontinue f ghting interest rateson student loans and also hopesto introduce a measure in whichuniversity students can see areduction o $1500 dollars o their student loans or every 150hours o volunteer service.T e verbal exchange betweenthe Guelph candidates seemedto greatly diverge rom the moreattack-centered sentimentsexpressed amongst ederal party leaders. Candidates openly appreciated their opponents’ideas and poked light-hearted unat one another. Much commonground was established amongstthe varying parties, includingtheir will to unite the economy with the environment and actresponsibly to address challengesposed by climate change.“T ere is no security unless wehave global security o gettinggreenhouse gases under control,”said Lawson.All parties agreed theConservative government hasailed in the area o climatechange policy and expressedtheir rustrations about majortax cuts granted to the ossil uelindustry.Some strategies in how toe ectively respond to climatechange di ered, with Garviepointing to the problem as asystematic one deeply rootedin capitalism. He called or thenationalization o oil and gas.Stewart and Valeriote agreed
see “WALLIN,” page 3see “DEBATE,” page 3
HARPERROYALSQ & A
ATHLETICS
SUMMER
ACTIVITIES
A YEAR IN
PHOTOS
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Courtesy
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Apr. 14 - 20, 2011
.com
News
Canadian Federal leaders hash it out before election
Leaders o the ConservativeParty, the Liberals, the New Democratic Party, and the BlocQuébécois came together onApril 12 to debate about variousissues that are o concern to theCanadian public. T roughout thetwo-hour debate in downtownOttawa, Conservative leaderStephen Harper spent much o the time deending his actions orthe economy and controversialissues like G8/G20 misspendingand doctored CIDA documents.Liberal leader Michael Ignatief ’smain criticism o Harper washis disrespect or the democraticprocess that is oundational tothe Canadian government, madeevident by the Conservatives beingound in contempt o Parliament.Meanwhile, Harper was vigilantin appearing calm and ocused onthe successes his government hasbrought to the Canadian economy.– CBC
Vaguely higher radiation levels inOntario linked to Japan
Energy Minister Brad Duguidstated that higher-than-normalradiation levels have been detectedin Ontario due to the nuclear crisisin Japan. But he emphasized thatthe shit in radiation levels is sominimal that it poses no threat tothe public’s saety. On April 11, theJapanese government increasedthe rating o the nuclear crisis tothe highest possible level, puttingit on par with Chernobyl, whichis believed to be the worst nuclearaccident in history. Ontario’sChie Medical O cer o Health,Dr. Arlene King, echoed Duguidin stating that the province’sradiation levels pose no health risk or Canadians. – CBC
Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbago captured
On Monday April 11, LaurenceGbagbo was arrested by orces loyalto the internationally recognizedPresident Alassane Ouatarra. T earrest ends a our-month standof that has let an estimated 1,000people dead. Gbagbo had reusedto leave o ce since the Ivory Coastheld its election in November,asserting that he had won despitethe United Nations recognizingOuatarra as the new president.Around one million people arebelieved to have ed the area andcontinue to live without adequateaccess to ood and shelter. – CBCCompiled by Kelsey RideoutChancellor was an outspokenadvocate or higher educationand the University o Guelph,”said Cunningham o the ormerChancellor’s involvement in thecampus community. “She alsoattended numerous o cial U o Gevents and unctions over the yearsand was most recently a panelist atthe ‘Universities Fighting WorldHunger’ conerence held on ourcampus.”Despite her great involvementon campus, there has been somecontroversy about Wallin’s dualroles as Chancellor and Senator inthe Conservative caucus. Concernshave been voiced about theSenate’s recent strike down o aclimate change bill without debate.“We don’t have speci c concernsabout Pamela Wallin, but morewith the entire Conservativecaucus o the Senate. She’s a part o that and thereore has to bear someresponsibility or her actions. ous, and to a lot o people in Guelphthat shows a lack o leadershipand guidance, which is precisely what her role is as a Chancellorat the University o Guelph,” saidGeorge Jackson, president o theGuelph Greens. Jackson stressedthat the Green Party and others inthe Guelph Community supportdemocratic debate, discussion
“WALLIN,” continued
and guidance in the Senate, andas such were concerned about theSenate’s actions.T e Greens indicated a hopethat the university’s committee incharge o nding a new Chancellorwill continue to take the nature o the position seriously.“I think it needs to be somebody that respects the democraticinstitutions that we have in Canadaand the need or debate, discussionand guidance amongst the citizenso Canada. T ose are the sametypes o qualities that should bepromoted by the Chancellorshipo the university. A university is aplace o learning and discussing allideas,” said Jackson.Overall, it appears that Wallinwill be ondly rememberedby many in the University o Guelph community or her role asChancellor or some time to come.“I know Pamela will continueto be a riend to the University o Guelph and will continue to waveour ag high when opportunity presents itsel,” said Cunningham.that an ef ective cap and tradesystem needs to be developedand stressed that emission levelsmust be reduced by 80 per centbelow 1990 levels by 2050.T e issue o electoral reormwas also brought orward.Lawson, who is in avour o shiting to a proportionalrepresentation voting system,explained that the Green Party received almost one million voteslast year and had no seats in theHouse o Commons, while theBloc Québécois received 1.4million votes, and grabbed over40 seats.Reerring to a “democracy de cit” in Canada, Garvieexplained that the rst-past-the-post system encouragesCanadians to abandon theirvotes, as they eel they won’t bere ected in Parliament. He hopesto see another reerendum takeplace on the matter, expressingrustration over a ailedcampaign in 2008 that in his
“DEBATE,” continued
Chancellor of the University of Guelph, Pamela Wallin, hasresigned.
Megan Verhey
view, only ended up misleadingand conusing Canadians.Levenson and Stewart wouldalso like Canada to move towardsproportional representation.Valeriote was open to electoralreorm and agreed with Lawsonthat the Greens deserve a seat inthe House.Bettering our democracy andmoving away rom Harper’sundemocratic actions, wasemphasized by all candidatesthroughout the entirety o the debate. Building on themomentum rom U o Gstudents to get youth rom acrossthe country to vote, Valeriotetacked onto the non-partisanmessage and urged young peopleto engage in democracy andcast ballots “in accordance with[their] conscience.”
Karen Levenson from the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada speaks to the audiencealongside other Guelph federal election candidates. Other contenders who participated in the all-candidatesdebate include from left, John Lawson from the Green Party, Drew Garvie of the Communist Party, BobbiStewart from the New Democratic Party and Frank Valeriote from the Liberal Party.
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