April 5- April 18, 2013
THE
GBC student newspaper Founded 1982
Fresh veggies in the classroom
Montreal bylaw rounds up 600 student protestors
Advertising your sexism is always a bad idea
Raise funding, not tuition, for students in Ontario
New job grant program shuffles old money
2 News
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The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
GBC’s Good Food Market boosts food security
By Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Dialog Reporter
Oranges at 10 cents, cucumbers at 25 cents, and mushrooms at 10 cents, these are some of the weekly sales at the Good Food Market. This produce bazaar is held every Thursday, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in room 356E at the St. James campus of George Brown College (GBC). The Good Food Market is a program run by FoodShare Toronto, which is a non-profit community food security organization founded in 1985. Through its various initiatives like the food link hotline, community gardening, beekeeping, community kitchens, urban agriculture and the good food market, it aims to ensure that everyone has adequate access to sustainably produced, good healthy
food. Ashley Booth, the coordinator of Good Food Market at GBC, noticed that there were a lot of students who were food insecure. They did not have enough money, time or resources to get access to food. She saw a lot of students eating chips, drinking pop and having nutritionally void food at all times of the day. “It’s really hard to learn in an empty stomach or mind and body which is trying to run on junk food,” said Booth. “So, we thought, hey, let’s bring this program that brings quality and affordable food right into the classroom.” Booth, who is also a professor at the Academic Upgrading program, said, “It’s a cost recovery market. The fruits and vegetables are sold at cost and we don’t make any profits. The
idea is to get really good quality food into the hands of people who need it such as students who are on a fixed or limited budget.” The Good Food Market is coming up as an alternative to the already existing Food Bank at GBC, which provides food for free. “The Food Bank is great and needed as well because it allows getting food at no cost. However, you don’t always get to choose what you want; you’ll always have to rely on donations. Whereas at the Good Food Market you can buy what you want and choose the quality as well,” said Booth. “Food banks were originally meant to be an emergency food supply centre where you could get help is you’re in a tough place. People’s income is so stretched these days that for many, the food bank is be-
coming the primary source of food. That’s not what a food secure community should look like.” One of the big challenges of the Good Food Market is the treatment of the unsold, leftover food items. To tackle this problem, Booth has managed to coordinate with the Student Association’s food bank, which now buys the leftovers. The Good Food Market has been selling about $50 worth of food to the food bank every week. “We try to order enough so we don’t have leftovers more than $50. Because when we do, we have to think of creative options to sell the food,” said Booth. “Sometimes I put stuff on a little trolley and walk around the hallways trying to hawk fruits and veggies.
GBC president Anne Sado made $360,462.12 By Mick Sweetman Dialog Staff
Every year since 1996 the Ontario government has released the Public Sector Salary Disclosure List, popularly known as the “sunshine list”, which lists employees in the public sector that make over $100,000. George Brown College (GBC) President Anne Sado tops the list for GBC and is the eighth highest paid in the entire college sector with her combined salary and taxable benefits totaling $360,462.12 in 2012. Sado raked in an additional $5508.77 compared to 2011 when she earned
3. Lorie Shekter-Wolfson, Assistant Vice President, Waterfront Campus & Health & Community Services Partnerships $209,904.87 in salary and taxable benefits 4. Karen Thomson, Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Enrollment Management: $207,280.55 in salary GBC’s top ten and taxable benefits 5. Terry Comeau, Executive Di1. Anne Sado, President: rector, Waterfront Development: $360,462.12 in salary and taxable $195,312.11 in salary and taxable benefits benefits 2. Eugene Harrigan, Vice President, 6. Nancy Hood, Executive Director, Corporate Services: $228,249.19 in Human Resources: $184,361.03 in salary and taxable benefits salary and taxable benefits $354,953.35 in salary and taxable benefits. A total of 294 GBC employees made the “sunshine list” in 2012 compared to 266 in 2011, a 10.5 per cent increase.
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Managing Editor: Mick Sweetman SA Publications and Communications Coordinator: Mick Sweetman Dialog Published by: Student Association of George Brown College
George Brown College student newspaper
Dialog Reporters: Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Drop by in person or send mail: The Dialog Room E122 - Casa Loma 142 Kendal Avenue Toronto, ON M5R 1M3 www.dialog.studentassociation.ca Tel: 416-415-5000 ext. 2764 Fax: 416-415-2491 dialog@georgebrown.ca
7. Yves Herbert, Chief Information Officer: $184,341.73 in salary and taxable benefits 8. Colin Simpson, Dean, Centre for Continuous Learning: $172,684.17 in salary and taxable benefits 9. Lorraine Trotter, Dean, Centre for Hospitality & Culinary Arts & International Education: $170,127.38 in salary and taxable benefits 10. Maureen Walsh-Loweth, Dean, Centre for Business, Arts & Design: $168,417.96 in salary and taxable benefits
Karen Nickel
Dialog Contributors: Alisha Riley, Courtney Niven & MaryGrace Falvo, Begum Oral, Erin Sparks Cover: Ashley Booth stands at the Good Food Market at GBC. Photo: Preeteesh Peetabh Singh
The Dialog newspaper is published by the Dialog Collective under the auspices of the Student Association of George Brown College. The collective is responsible for the overall vision and direction of the Dialog newspaper, as it coincides with the larger vision of mission of the Student Association. The cost of producing a monthly newspaper is in part defrayed by advertising revenue and largely subsidized by the Student Association. Occasionally, some advertisers, products and services do not reflect the policies of the Student Association. Opinions expressed in the Dialog are not necessarily those of the Dialog Collective, the Student Association of George Brown College, or its editorial staff. The Dialog will not publish any material that attempts
to incite violence or hatred against individuals or groups, particularly based on race, national origin, ethnicity, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.
Contributions to the Dialog are always welcome. We request that articles be submitted as digital copies in plain-text (TXT) or rich-text (RTF) format. Letters to the editor can be sent in an email message to dialog@georgebrown.ca. Images should be in EPS format as vector images or TIF format (Mac or PC). We request that you submit a hard copy of your work. Originals only please.
The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
M O N D AY
News 3
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T U E S D AY
W E D N E S D AY
T H U R S D AY
F R I D AY April 5 The Constituency Community Centre presents: I Dream of Freedom: An evening of art, performance, and celebration! 7 p.m. -10 p.m. Paintbox Bistro, 555 Dundas Street E.
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 11
April 12
The Aboriginal Students’ Constituency presents: A Colonial Contagion 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. St. James, Room 598F Join us for a presentation by practicing professional Indigenous artist and academic Tannis Nielsen!
Weekly Beading Circle St. James, room 165B Join the Aboriginal Students’ Constituency Group every Tuesday from 12-2 for a weekly beading workshop, taught by Allen Sutherland
Jamaica Fest 5 p.m. Kings Lounge in St. James.
Rally at US Consulate - Social Movements call for international solidarity as US threatens Venezuela 5 p.m. 360 University Ave
Mobile App Launch Party 5 p.m Kings Lounge,St. James campus. Free mobile app for George Brown College students: OOHLALA! Visit www.gotoohlala.com for more information
April 15
April 16
April 17
April 18
Movie Nooners 10:30 a.m - 2:30 p.m. Casa Loma, Student Centre
Weekly Beading Circle St. James, room 165B Join the Aboriginal Students’ Constituency Group every Tuesday from 12-2 for a weekly beading workshop, taught by Allen Sutherland
World Movie Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Casa Loma, Student Lounge Slumdog Millionaire in Hindi and English.
Day before the End of the year Boat Cruise! GBC Students: $25 Guests: $30 Get your tickets at Student Association offices.
An Introduction to First Nations Art 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. St. James, Room 482C
DAILY
UP
No new money in federal job grant program By Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Dialog Reporter
On March 21, Canada’s Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty announced the Economic Action Plan 2013. Returning to balanced books by 2016 by eliminating the deficit; closing tax loopholes; tax relief and lower taxes for manufacturers and small businesses; infrastructure funds and creation of job grants were some of the highlights of the federal budget. The budget addresses the issue of skill shortage in Canada. Some of the jobs available in the market are not matched with the set of skills required to do it, and these positions remain vacant. This is where creation of job grants comes in. With the introduction of job grants, Canadians will be eligible to receive a maximum of $15,000 per employee for training. A maximum of $5,000 will come from the federal govern-
ment and the province and employers will match it equally. The job grant will use $300 million from the current $500 million Labour Market Agreements (LMA) for provinces. It will be introduced as a part of LMA in 2015 since the current LMA expires in 2014. Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, said, “It’s disappointing that only 16 per cent of investments for skills and jobs is new money, with the rest an extension or reallocation of existing funds. Money has been taken out of the hands of provinces and low-skilled workers, and put into the hands of employers to do what they should have been doing already. Money is being channeled to specific employers with no guarantee that training will meet broader labour market needs.” According to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) the budget focuses predominantly on shuffling
around existing investments in an attempt to continue to pay down the deficit without taking any meaningful steps to address a significant skills shortage and high unemployment rates for youth. It transfers money formerly allocated to support unemployed workers to employers, in order to subsidize training that the CFS thinks employers should already be paying for. David Valentin, national vice-president communications for the Young Liberals of Canada said, “The job grant does not have any new money attached to it. The problem is no one is going to get a single grant from this program for the next two years. The job grant is also contingent on the provinces and territories agreeing to match funding. Apart from that, it has not been indexed to inflation.” The federal budget includes a reallocation of $4 million over three years
to encourage apprenticeship across the country. The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant of $1,000 per year, up to a maximum of $2,000 per person will be available to registered apprentices. The budget also includes supporting job opportunities for all Canadians with $70 million over three years to support an additional 5,000 paid internships for post-graduate students. It reallocates $19 million towards educating youth about high-demand fields. The government has managed to provide research funding and aboriginal funding. Recruitment of international students in post-secondary institutions; new money for expansion of temporary resident and citizenship program; and $45 million to increase the processing capacity of visa applications were some of the other highlights of the federal budget.
4 Opinion
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The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
Tuition increase a sign of underfunded system
By Mick Sweetman Managing Editor
Recently while taking the subway in the morning rush there was an almost business-as-usual delay that left hundreds, perhaps even more than a thousand people crammed onto the platform as we waited for the train. When the train did finally arrive, it was packed to the gills with people who had squeezed on at the previous station. Between the two trains there were more than 2,000 uncomfortable and annoyed people saying “excuse me” who had paid the $3 fare to ride a system that is straining from years of underfunding. Ontario’s post-secondary system has parallels to public transit as it too is a system designed in the 1960s that keeps asking people to pay more as the spaces become more crowded and people grumble about the state of the system. Like transit, the main problem that the funding for post-secondary education hasn’t kept up with the rising demand on an aging system. According to the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (TCU), there are 200,000 more post-secondary students today than there were in 2003 and the numbers keep climbing. Ontario has seen perhaps the largest expansion of post-secondary education in Canadian history as part of the Ontario government’s Reaching Higher plan that has seen enrolments increase over five times the rate in the 1990s according to TCU. The other thing that keeps going up is tuition. According to the College Student Alliance college tuition has risen 22 per cent since 2006. The Canadian Federation of Students— Ontario puts the increase in tuition at “as much as 71 per cent” for the all post-secondary though that number includes wide differences in programs. The Ontario government recently announced a new tuition framework that caps tuition increases at 3 per cent for most college and undergraduate university programs and 5 per cent for high-demand college and graduate programs.
So tuition will again go up next year, just not as fast as the previous years which saw the government set 5 per cent and 8 per cent caps. However, per-student funding has not kept up. It peaked around 2007 and has been falling ever since in real dollars. This has created a growing funding gap between the costs of operating the post-secondary system and the revenues institutions are bringing in. “On the question of how much tuition should go up, clearly less is better than more,” said Dan Wright, Senior Vice President Corporate Administration at George Brown College (GBC). “If the government doesn’t pay for it, and they want a quality education, then there’s only one place left to go—but students can’t afford it either.” According to Colleges Ontario, in 2011 total per-student funding in operating grants was $6,060 while college students pay about $2,200 in tuition for a typical program. Universities in comparison received $8,519 in operating grants according to the Ontario Confederation of University and Faculty Associations and undergraduate students paid an average of $6,815 in tuition in 2011 according to Statistics Canada. “All students across Ontario deserve a break,” said Mohammad Ali Aumeer, director of Education and Equity for the Student Association of GBC. “All students in a publicly funded college or university are paying way too much for their postsecondary education. We need a break. We need relief now.” Aumeer thinks funding postsecondary education needs to be a political priority for the Ontario government, and isn’t shy about saying how it should be paid for. “We have a progressive tax system. A family that makes $160,000 is more affluent, should they benefit from a tuition decrease as well?” said Aumeer. “Those that are in the higher income brackets, where more or less the more you make
the more you pay. You pay your share into healthcare and into education. Our system needs to be publicly funded, it needs to come from taxpayers.” This is the same sort of frank discussion that’s finally happening about transit and is a point that has been, sometimes grudgingly, conceded when talking about elementary and secondary schools, healthcare, fire services, policing, and other public services we take for granted. If we want basic public services that socialize the risks a modern society so we don’t live in a mad-max libertarian dystopia then we have to pay for them. And while the corporations
who have benefited from tax cuts should be the first in line to pony up, eventually we all have to pay something and the rich should pay more than the poor. While the colleges and universities will no doubt increase tuition as much as possible in the new frame work, it’s a good idea to listen to Wright when he says, “I spent four years at the Ministry of Finance, and I have to tell you the squeaky wheel does get a bit more grease.” It’s going to take more than a bit more grease to fix Ontario’s postseconday system and students have every reason to do a lot more than squeak.
The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
www.dialog.studentassociation.ca
Opinion 5
Advertisting your sexism is always a bad idea By Karen Nickel Dialog Staff
“The most environmentally friendly way yet to stalk your ex”. Terrance Luscombe, a recent graduate of York University’s Masters of Environmental Studies, couldn’t believe what he saw. While walking in his Ossington and Bloor neighbourhood, he happened by Tev E-bikes, an e-bike retailer whose latest advertising campaign contained the phrase. The poster (one out four posters) has “stalk” in big bright red letters. The quote at the bottom of the poster reads, “Ebikes No Emissions. No Pollution. Just Misguided Love”. “I thought the red would act as a stop sign to get people to stop and look at the e-bikes,” said Charles Dennis, co-owner of Tev E-bikes. Indeed it did work, but not the way he had anticipated. Luscombe saw the poster and was unimpressed. He snapped a picture of it in the store’s window and posted it on his Facebook page; that’s where it came to the attention of The Dialog. Luscombe was incredulous as to, “why they thought that the idea of stalking, or any gender-based vio-
lence, was appropriate for an advertising campaign”. Mandy Bonisteel, coordinator for George Brown’s Women and Children’s Counsellor / Advocate program, said, “This ad is yet another sad example of our society’s refusal to take violence against women seriously.” Deb Singh from Toronto Rape Crisis Centre / Multi-Cultural Women Against Rape, was even more blunt, “My thoughts are: that is f@#^*ed up! That ad has no merit and is plain messed up. It is unacceptable and sexist and perpetuates the culture of violence”. Mark Lewis, associate creative director for the advertising company, kbs+ (located in three countries) wrote to The Dialog, “The ad you are referring to wasn’t in any way intending to suggest violence against women, nor would we advocate anything of the kind. In fact, the line is directed at urban women because they are the target consumer we wanted to reach with this particular execution, not men.” Okay. Wait. What? When I told Luscombe this response he said, “So the poster is either about men stalking women, or women being crazy.”
“Last year someone was sexually assaulting women in the neighbourhood,” said Luscombe. “They were being stalked and assaulted. It’s mind blowing that they would use stalking for an ad.” Not making it any better, Dennis said, “I thought of it as humour; from a woman’s perspective. I never thought of it as violence.” When I mentioned that there was no way to tell who the ad was for based on what it said, Dennis replied, “I didn’t want to offend anyone. As soon as we heard that this was the case, we pulled the ad from the window.”. Statistically, the majority of stalking victims are women. According to Bonisteel, “This form of violence most often occurs against women and has long been documented as a major risk factor for subsequent physical harm and death. This type of ad popularizes this terrorizing
PHOTO: TERRENCE LUSCOMBE / FACEBOOK
An offended local snapped this photo of an ad in the front window of Tev e-bikes
behaviour and makes it harder (for) victims of stalking to come forward as well as increases the likelihood that if they report, they will not be believed.” It’s vitally important to speak up against this violence. So hats off to Luscombe for seeing sexist advertising in his neighbourhood and saying it’s not acceptable. To Tev Ebike’s credit, they did remove the poster from the window as soon as it was brought to their attention. Now if we could get them to realize why sexism is harmful in the first place, I might not have to mention to them that relying on male stereotypes of women to sell products is always a bad idea.
6 News
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The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
Montreal police arrest 600 under new bylaw
By Karen Nickel Dialog Reporter
Is protesting a thought crime? Montreal police have stated that people have the right to freedom of expression, but not the right to protest. The SPVM (Montreal’s police), since the “Higher Education Summit” in February, have used municipal by-law, P-6, to pre-emptively shut down protests before they even begin, labelling them as illegal. At the march against the Summit, police tried to intervene and break up the march into smaller, easier to manage sizes. Confusion and panic set in for some in the crowd. Max Silverman, a law student at Universite du Quebec a Montreal, who was on strike for six months last year, said, “I was really taken aback (and) in shock when while rounding a corner all of a sudden the crowd
was running back in my direction. So we kept going and then in another direction a wall of riot cops moved in. Then horses entered the crowd and sound grenades started going off and things descended into terrifying chaos. At one point, even though the police were clearly on ‘dispersal’ rather than ‘kettle’ mode, there was actually no where to disperse to, with cops coming in from all directions. So the first 3/4 (of the march was) overly dull for my liking, and then the last 1/4 was PTSD-inducing(ly) terrifying. It was strange”. Other than direct police intervention, one tool the state has been employing since the student strike began has caught thousands in its net. During the 2012 strike, a provincial Law 78, later becoming Law 12, (which has since been repealed), was hurried into place, as was an amendment to municipal by-law (P- 6) that would make demonstrations that
failed to provide their route to police at risk being labelled illegal. P-6 also stipulates that protesters cannot wear face coverings (even scarves in the winter); and it sees increases to fines to a staggering $637. Demonstrators at the annual Anti Police Brutality march were stopped before they moved the protest into the street, with arrests of people before any protesting had begun. In all, roughly 240 people were arrested before the protest moved one block from the meeting spot. At the last three demonstrations, police have used P-6 to end demonstrations; kettling and ticketing even those who showed up at the meeting point. A similar situation happened during the march marking the one year anniversary of the beginning of the student strike that saw 20,000 people attend last year but only a few hundred showed this year and of those 200 were arrested.
So far for 2013, 600 people have been arrested and/or interrogated from the beginning of March alone. After the latest pre-emptive detention and ticketing of 200 + students, faculty and Anarcho-panda, Sergeant Jean-Bruno Latour, spokesperson for the SPVM, told La Presse. “We do not want to hold citizens who wish to go to downtown Montreal hostage. The Charter (of rights and freedom) protects the right to freedom of expression, but there is no right to protest.” [Translated from French] Students, activists, faculty and Charter of Rights proponents are planning more rallies and marches as summer approaches; and they don’t plan on handing in an itinerary, but they are bringing books in case they are kettled.
PHOTO: ERIN SPARKS / THE LINK
One detained student protestor holds up a peace sign shortly after being kettled on St Timothee St. in Montreal on March 22
The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
Art 7
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An artistic trip to historic Florence in an hour
of period. The first part is created under MasThe Art Gallery of Ontario is cur- ter of the Codex and St George, inrently hosting another spectacular cluding panel paintings, triptychs, exhibition called Revealing The Ear- and sculptures. The pieces explain ly Renaissance: Stories and Secrets how art met with the religious institutions, bankers, and merchants who in Florentine Art until needed to express their June 16. The exhibifears, hopes, ideals and tion highlights the stoemotions in this period. ries and secrets from The second is the devothe half of the 14th tion of Christian faith. century in Florentine Devotional artwork takes art. on many form; frescoes, Florentine style mupanel paintings, altarsic welcomes you at pieces, diptychs, stained the entrance of the glass, and crucifixes. The exhibition, it inspires main items are female you and gives you the and male saints, virgin, feeling of the artistic and Jesus. pieces you will expeThe Crucifixion by rience. Virgin and child Pacino di Bonaguida is Revealing the Early Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario one the most well known Renaissance includes pieces. Following parts panel paintings, sculptures, fresare comprised of more paintings, the coes, triptychs, paintings of the most renowned painters; Giotti di storytelling of famous Italian poet Bondone, Bernardo Daddi as well Dante Alighieri and some artists’ as less known painters as Pacino workshops. Videos show the techdi Bonoguida, Lippo di Benivieni, niques of panel paintings and manuMaestro Daddesco, and some manu- scripts. Revealing the Early Renaissance is scripts from the Vatican Library. one of a kind, which brings the stoAn interactive map with touch screen helps you explore the places ries, secrets, discoveries, and variety where Renaissance Florence chang- of pieces, even the techniques in Florentine art. It is a small artistic joures into the Florence of today. The exhibition has six parts offer- ney to Florence in an hour. By Begum Oral
Special to The Dialog
ing different types of pieces with a story, an artist, and a different time
Below: The Peruzzi Altarpiece Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario
Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario
The Crucifixion by Pacino di Bonaguida
Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario
Courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario
The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula and 11,000 Virgins
8 Features
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The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
Marty Gervais and the art of storytelling By Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Dialog Reporter
“Every individual, every policeman, every politician, every sports person. Everybody has a story to tell,” said Marty Gervais, an award-winning journalist from the Windsor Star, poet, photographer and editor in his workshop on storytelling at the Canadian University Press’ (CUP) Ontario Region spring conference, Between the (Head)lines held in Windsor, Ontario. The conference presented by the CUP and The Lance, the campus and community newspaper of the University of Windsor, had members participate from various campus publications from Ontario. The Dialog team also participated in the three-day conference from March 29-31 representing George Brown College. The story from the conference included some great journalists, writers, professors, columnists and media union members such as Shawn Micallef (Toronto Star); Steve Dorsey (Detroit Free Press); Sonya Bell (iPolitics); Katherine Lapointe (CWA - CUP); Veronique Mandal (St. Clair College); Blake Roberts (University of Windsor); Nancy Duffy (In Retro Magazine). Gervais has won the prestigious Toronto Harbourfront Festival Prize for his contribution to Canadian letters and emerging writers. In 2012 he was named the first poet Laureate
PHOTO: PREETEESH PEETABH SINGH / THE DIALOG
“A good reporter is always poking their nose in other people’s life. If you step in a room where you are not supposed to be, what can possibly go wrong?” asked Gervais at the CUP conference. of the city of Windsor and has also won 16 Ontario Newspaper Awards. Some of his published books include the bestseller Rumrunners, My Town and Ghost Road and other forgotten stories of Windsor. In his session on storytelling Gervais went through some stories from his life, which turned out to be landmarks in his journalism career. There was the story about how he
found an eyewitness of Pope John Paul II’s attempted assassination, a priest from Windsor who was studying in Rome. Or the time he interviewed Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Mohammad Ali at the same time in their room while other reporters waited at the press conference. An unforgettable story was the time Mother Teresa asked the sisters in
Detroit to pack up all the food laid out for important dignitaries after her sermon and then distributed it in the poor neighbourhood the next day. They were a treat to listen to. Gervais said that in order to tell a good story, one must be curious, attentive, persistent and a good listener. “If you are a good listener, people will talk to you, open up to you and if you look deeper in an individual, you’ll find a story to tell.” According to Gervais, some of the other aspects of a good story telling are doing good interviews, research and awareness of new technologies. Trusting yourself and believing in your abilities also goes a long way. Gervais encouraged young journalists to be curious and inquisitive all the time. “A good reporter is always poking their nose in other people’s life. If you step in a room where you are not supposed to be, what can possibly go wrong? You might be asked to leave, that’s it.”
The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
www.dialog.studentassociation.ca
Business 9
Government capital fund a real Dragons’ Den By Preeteesh Peetabh Singh Dialog Reporter
Venture capitalists are on the prowl in Canada scouting for entrepreneurs with good innovative business ideas. But will this initiative from the Ontario government proves to be a hit like the CBC’s Dragons’ Den? Job growth and employment are a focus of the federal and provincial governments at the moment. With the federal budget having provisions for creating job opportunities through job grants, Ontario has come up with its own venture capital fund. The Ontario Venture Capital Fund (OVCF) is a joint initiative between the government of Ontario and leading institutional investors such as TD bank, OMERS Strategic Invest-
ments, RBC, Manulife Financial, and Business Development Bank of Canada. The OVCF will help finance emerging companies and support entrepreneurs for business startups. The Ontario government will contribute up to $50 million to the new fund and it is expected to touch $300 million with the participation of private investors over time. This fund is part of the government’s plan towards creation of new jobs, encouraging competitive business structure, attracting investments, and supporting innovation to push the economy further. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said, “For Ontario companies to compete on the world stage, our entrepreneurs need access to capital.
Our new venture capital fund will help unlock more financing opportunities for these emerging startups, creating the next wave of Ontariomade innovations and Ontario-based jobs.” John Marshall, president and CEO of the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation said, “We are not funding entrepreneurs directly; this is a fund of funds where we are creating a pool of capital which is going to invest primarily in venture capital funds and companies. This is a market driven, returns based fund. It is a long term investment where we are trying to build a globally competitive venture capital industry that can attract and maintain the investor confidence of banks and other financial institutions to continue to rein-
vest here in Ontario.” Not everyone wins an investment in the Dragons’ Den. While the Ontario government is supporting entrepreneurs through this fund, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has its own plans. The CIC has stopped accepting applications under the immigrant investor program since July 2012 and the federal entrepreneur program since July 2011. Both these programs are under review. “Immigration is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial government, said Laura Sylvis, communications coordinator for Ontario’s Ministry Of Citizenship and Immigration. “We try to work with the federal government on issues of immigration.”
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© 2013 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *Average is based on all student returns prepared at H&R Block in Canada for 2010 tax returns. The average refund amount calculated for students was over $1,100, cannot be guaranteed and varies based on each individual tax situation. $29.95 valid for student tax preparation only. To qualify, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during the applicable tax year or (ii) a valid high school ID card. Students pay $79.99 for Complex/Premier return. Expires 12/31/2013. Valid only at participating locations. Additional fees apply. SPC cards available at participating locations in Canada only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. For full terms see www.spccard.ca.
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10 Sex
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The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
Ménage à Trois: “Tits & Answers” trimmed or groomed—on weekends—so I tend to like a man who is also groomed or trimmed. I think Dialog Sex Columnists hair is natural and can be really sexy, We just wanted to let y’all know but similar to MG, I do not want hair that all of these answers are coming in my teeth! So I am not going to obfrom our places of privilege and perject to a well groomed man! sonal preference. Your experiences, thoughts and feelings in relation to Courtney: I’m in 100% agreement these questions are going to be difwith MG—but I do actually prefer ferent; they might be similar but rea little lady hair in the vulva area. I gardless, always completely valid. think it’s sexy, so if someone were to tell me what to do with my pubic “Is body-scaping a factor in chooshair I would tell them to fuck off. ing a sexual partner?” - Professor XXX “How do you initiate a conversation about oral sex when you’ve Mary-Grace: Honestly, I don’t want performed it on your partner but anyone telling me how or how not to they have yet to go down on you? “scape” my body. If you don’t like it, Eat This Flower you can fuck off. That said, I certainly won’t complain about a trimmed Courtney: I’m pretty open and like pubic area. Getting pubic hair stuck to keep an open dialogue with my in my teeth has never been high on partners about our sex lives. When my list of super-fun happenings. I have sex with a girl, generally going down on each other is what inAlisha: I tend to keep my body hair By Alisha Riley, Courtney Niven & Mary-Grace Falvo
evitably happens, but I also respect one’s desire to wait, so the last thing I would do is want to impose pressure. I think it’s all about communication and wanting to make each other feel pleasure in whatever way that works for the individual – so dialogue around that is very important for me.
Mary-Grace: I would most likely go about it in a roundabout way. Talking about how much I enjoy oral sex and love to have my partner go down on me, hoping they get the hint. I’m not especially patient so if that didn’t work I would be more blunt about it. If it’s not their thing, no judgment we just may no longer be together.
downtown is not cool, so don’t do that! Ideally, I will stop what was going on and check in with the person and tell them how sexy I find it when a man eats me out. “Why is it that talking about sex and sexuality is still taboo in most communities?” - Broken Sex-ama-phone Mary-Grace: I think one of the biggest reasons is an attempt to prevent children and youth from participating in sexual activities and exploring their sexuality. That if we don’t talk about it they won’t find out until their ‘old enough’. We all know that doesn’t work. The sex happens.
Alisha: I grew up in a home where we spoke about sex…a lot. It helped remove a lot of the stigma for me in talking about sex. That said, I get some really funny looks on TTC when I am on the phone with friends discussing my sexual escapades. I think it boils down to sex being viewed THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' CONSTITUENCY PRESENTS: as “dirty” or “sinful”, or that it should be between W O R L D M O V I E S two people that love one another, and it neglects MARCH 27 // APRIL 2 // APRIL 17 how much fun and pleasurable sex can be! STUDENT LOUNGE - CASA LOMA
Alisha: I am terrible at this conversation! I generally will wait for them to go down on me before I go down on them. In our last article I mentioned that shoving one’s head
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Courtney: I think often sex is stigmatized and deemed dirty to maintain some type of control—there is the idea of keeping people in boxes (whether it is regarding sexuality, gender identity, ability, etc.). If we create open dialogue about sex, it is sometimes presumed that everyone is going to turn into promiscuous sluts. But again, what is wrong with that? With adequate sex education we can all fuck each other safely. Remember, email us your questions and/or comments at: dialogsex@ gmail.com
The Dialog April 5 - April 18, 2013
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Puzzles & Fun 11
Why monsters and slashers all vote Tory By Kyle Leitch The Carillon
REGINA (CUP) — While paying due attention in film class last week, a professor raised an interesting concept that I thought I would share with you all. Over the course of the lecture, aforementioned professor suggested that horror films, and, more specifically, the slasher films of the 1970s and ’80s were representations of Conservative political policies, albeit cartoonishly overexaggerated ones. As I have been known to do when someone challenges my firmly established paradigms, I scoffed, “Surely, you jest!” Perhaps the professor didn’t hear me, because the lesson moved on without the slightest pause to acknowledge what was a well-phrased query. “Surely, he jests?” I asked my neighbour. “Fuck off,” my neighbour responded, going back to the doodles adorning every margin of every page of his notebook. “It’s okay,” I nodded. “Surely, he jests.” But still, I couldn’t get the nagging idea out of my head. The night after that fateful lecture, I sequestered myself in my living room — beside me, a veritable cornucopia of bloodlust. Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Tommy “Leatherface” Hewitt would be my only company that cold night in this foul year of the Common Era, 2013. First on the docket was Jason. Surely Friday the 13th wouldn’t let me down. Okay, things are looking good: teenagers getting high and screwing, Jason putting the machete to them, and — wait. Hold on: teenagers. Drugs. Sex. Oh no. I ejected the DVD getting slightly more panicked now. Nightmare on Elm Street? Freddy killed without discrimination, right? He got you in your dreams, right?!
Teenagers. Drugs. Sex. Abortions. Oh, fuck. Mike? Leatherface? Teenagers. Drugs. Sex. Oh fuckety fuckety fuck! This is bad. This is really, really bad. How could I have not noticed the patterns? They had been in place since before the turn of the century! These movie monsters are the metaphorical archangels sent by Conservative politicians to punish the things that they hate most. Think about your favourite slasher movie. Now, think about your favourite kill — you sick bastard. Now, think about the victim. Think about what they were engaged in immediately before their intestinal tracts were used to string up the light fixtures. I guarantee you they were either having intercourse out of wedlock, were abusing a controlled substance, or were discussing something guaranteed to piss off your local Conservative MPs. Ask yourself what a Conservative MP hates more than teenagers, drugs, sex and abortions? And, suddenly, it hit me. This is how the Conservatives have been exerting their power in Canadian politics for so long. They get into power, and then they use their cronies summoned literally from the very depths of hell to murder their competition in cold blood. All I’m saying is, who’s heard from Joe Clark, lately? Jason, Freddy, Michael, Leatherface — I expected more from you. I honestly thought you killed regardless of political affiliation. I can assure you, gentlemen, that whatever the Conservatives are paying you, we, as a collective body could easily double it to stop your mercenary work for the Conservatives, and make a few more sequels each. Shall we set the first shooting day, say, March 21, 2013? I’m not angry. Honest.