The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

Category: Politics

The Growth Budget We Aren’t Going to Get

There’s a federal budget coming later today.  I know, it’s hard to remember what one of those is like: it’s been 25 months and several hundred billion in unscheduled expenditures since we last had one.  As usual here at HESA Towers (well – virtual HESA Towers, or maybe HESA Towers-in-exile) will be bringing you analysis of what the budget means for post-secondary education.  But this morning, I thought I would give a sense of what I think is heading down

Read More »
April 19, 2021 No Comments

That NDP Student Debt Forgiveness Promise

Today, I want to look at Jagmeet Singh’s recent promise that an NDP government would forgive up to $20,000 in federal student debt.  It was a fascinating little announcement, which is part-super-savvy and part deeply-perplexing. The announcement itself, which you can read in the NDP press release here,  says that an NDP government would i) eliminate interest on student loans because interest = profit, ii) bring in a 5-year waiting period before student loans became repayable and iii) forgive the first $20,000

Read More »
April 7, 2021 2 Comments

The Alberta Budget

Everything you need to know about last Thursday’s horror show in a handy Q&A session. Q: What’s the damage this time? A: I swear to God I do not understand how the province of Alberta explains anything financial.  The University of Alberta claimed the system-wide cut was $126 million, the Globe and Mail said it was $135 million.  I count the cut to operating institutions as being $175 million if you use the 20-21 budget as a base, and $142 million

Read More »
March 1, 2021 3 Comments

Newfoundland 2021 Election Manifestos

There is an election in Newfoundland on Saturday.  It’s not because the government’s term was up or it lost a confidence vote, or indeed that anyone at all actually wanted a vote.  No, it’s because Newfoundland, a province where party leadership literally changes with the season, has a rule whereby a new Premier, if brought to power by becoming leader of a party which already controls the legislature, must seek an independent mandate within 12 months.  And since Premier Andrew Furey did

Read More »
February 10, 2021 No Comments

Jump-Starting a Moribund Ottawa Policy Process

Note: I know you’re all probably expecting me to have a write-up on the Laurentian University omnishambles, but contrary to popular belief I both have a day job and require sleep, so you’re all going to have to wait another 24 hours for me to put that one together.  In the meantime… A few months ago, I made the point that Canadian policymakers at both the federal and provincial levels have more or less given up on the idea of economic

Read More »
February 2, 2021 3 Comments

One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

Subscribe

Search Posts

Search Publications

Social Media

Linkedin Youtube Spotify

Recent Posts

More thoughts on...