Latest news with #CapeBretonUniversity
Toronto Star
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Nova Scotia premier warned to be cautious before granting mayors more power
HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government should be cautious as it considers giving mayors more power — authority that could create a 'mini American presidency' in communities across the province — says a political scientist. Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist at Cape Breton University, said the province would be wise to wait and see how stronger mayoral authority plays out in Ontario municipalities before following suit.
CBC
10-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Growing rural homeless population facing unique challenges, researchers say
Homelessness is getting worse in rural parts of Nova Scotia and significant service gaps are creating unique challenges for homeless people and the organizations trying to help them, researchers say. Two separate counts by teams at Acadia University and Cape Breton University tracked the approximate number of people experiencing various types of homelessness in the western and eastern zones of the province last year. "I think what this count is telling us is that there's an acute issue that needs a collaborative cross-sector response to house our community members in more dignified ways," said Mary Sweatman, an associate professor in Acadia University's department of community development. Both counts revealed a significant increase in the number of people living without permanent shelter since this type of data was last collected, as well as an increasing strain on the organizations that support these individuals. Last year's western zone count, which was expanded from previous years to include the South Shore, was done in response to requests by these organizations for updated numbers, Sweatman said. "They really wanted an outside organization to prove what they were seeing anecdotally and that is that there is a rising concern of homelessness in rural Nova Scotia," she said. Numbers are an underestimation At least 672 people were experiencing homelessness across western Nova Scotia. That's up from the 231 recorded in a 2022 count. The western Nova Scotia count was based on information collected in November by 47 organizations. Staff completed anonymous surveys with people who use their services and then shared the results with the researchers. The count included people living outdoors, in emergency shelters, with loved ones or friends, or individuals who are at risk of losing their housing. The latest count covers a larger area than previous ones, so Sweatman isn't surprised the number is higher. But she said it's still an underestimation of the overall problem. "Because it only counts those that have access to services and so we know we're missing people and that's an issue," she said. The western zone count was modelled after similar research done in the eastern zone, Sweatman said. Cape Breton University has been tracking homelessness in that part of the province since 2016. The latest count was conducted last July and found 254 people were homeless in rural Cape Breton and surrounding counties. "We saw a 72 per cent increase in homelessness in these rural parts of the eastern zone since 2021," said Catherine Leviten-Reid, an associate professor of community economic development at Cape Breton University. The challenges facing homeless people in rural areas are similar across the province, according to the researchers. In addition to a lack of affordable housing and shelters, they said there are service gaps from community to community and transportation barriers for people to access support. "If I look at research projects in other parts of the country on rural homelessness, the conclusion is that these people just go without services," said Leviten-Reid. Trading sexual favours for rides to appointments The increase in homelessness and a lack of support are adding more pressure on front-line organizations. "The impact on those of us in this work is huge, but also that just speaks to the impact on the people who are living it," said Kimm Kent, director of the Windsor, N.S.-based Peer Outreach Support Services and Education, or the POSSE Project. Many people working for organizations that help vulnerable people go on long-term leave because of what they experience on the job, she said, which creates even more strain on services already at the brink. Kent was working to find a permanent home for a man before he was found dead in a tent in November, while the western zone homelessness count was underway. The results of the counts legitimize the work done by organizations like POSSE and the need for sustainable funding from all levels of government, Kent said. Decentralizing services in rural areas is essential to helping people who are homeless instead of expecting them to travel significant distances, she said. "I know people who have to, like, exchange sexual favours for rides to their medical appointments and that shouldn't be a reality of rural Nova Scotia."
CBC
09-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Most of Nova Scotia's universities are in the red. Here's why, and what's next
Nova Scotia's universities are planning cuts, program reviews and tuition increases to grapple with budget shortfalls over the coming year. All of the province's large universities are planning to run a deficit in 2025-26. The troubled times come amid a significant drop in international enrolment, a government-mandated tuition freeze for some students and stagnating provincial funding. Here's the financial outlook for each university over the coming year: Acadia University: $2.8-million deficit. Atlantic School of Theology: $7,551 surplus. Cape Breton University: $6.8-million deficit. Dalhousie University: $20.6-million deficit. University of King's College: $750,000 deficit. Mount Saint Vincent University: $1.59-million deficit. NSCAD University: $1.245-million deficit. Saint Mary's University: $2.8-million deficit. St. Francis Xavier: $1.966-million deficit. Université Sainte-Anne: not provided or published. This is not business as usual. Most universities are accustomed to surpluses, not deficits. Dalhousie University, Cape Breton University and Mount Saint Vincent University have reported surpluses every year of the last five up to 2023-24, but all three are in the red this year. Some universities have had a deficit in at least one of the previous five years, and St. Francis Xavier University and the University of King's College have run deficits in several recent years. The president of the Atlantic School of Theology, Rev. Heather McCance, says although the school has a very small surplus on the books right now, the new collective agreement with faculty reached on July 1 will affect the budget, but until it is ratified, she cannot provide more details. Why is this happening? For decades, provincial governments provided the majority of the operating revenue for universities, but across Canada that percentage has dropped from about 55 per cent in 2012 to closer to 40 per cent in 2023. Nova Scotia is no exception. Although the province gave a two per cent increase in the operating grants to universities this year, it is not keeping pace with inflation. Government funding now makes up 33 per cent of university revenue in this province. Many universities turned to tuition to compensate, and the global market was the focus of these efforts. International students pay a premium for studying at Nova Scotia universities, paying more than double or even triple the tuition rates charged to Canadian students. Cape Breton University threw its weight behind this strategy of enticing international students, to the point that 77 per cent of its student body in 2023-24 came from outside Canada. Other universities had smaller but still significant proportions of international students, with Saint Mary's at nearly 28 per cent, Université Sainte-Anne at about 27 per cent, and Dalhousie and Mount Saint Vincent at 21 per cent the same year. International model has crashed But in January 2024, the federal government announced a cap on international student permits amid concerns about the effect of skyrocketing numbers on the housing market and to crack down on so-called "diploma mills." In September, Ottawa further reduced the intake of international students by 10 per cent, and included graduate students, who had previously been exempt. The effect has been drastic and swift. Cape Breton University, for instance, had 6,974 international students in 2023-24, but that fell by 1,200 last year and is expected to continue dropping this fall. Dalhousie's international enrolment fell from 4,279 in 2023-24 to a projected 3,382 in 2025-26. Acadia had 489 full-time international students in 2023-24, and that's expected to drop to 374 in 2025-26. As of March, applications to Acadia from would-be international students had fallen by 58 per cent from the previous year. Mount Saint Vincent is anticipating a 5.5 per cent drop in international enrolment. Peter Halpin is the executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities. He said universities in the region rely more heavily on international students than other parts of Canada, with an average of 30 per cent of enrolment coming from abroad, compared with 20 per cent in the rest of the country. Halpin said Nova Scotia universities overall lost more than 14 per cent, or more than 2,000 international students last year alone. "That represents a major revenue loss for many institutions, and 2025 looks equally as grim, quite frankly," he said. 'It was never going to be sustainable' Peter McInnis is the past president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the former president of the St. FX Association of University Teachers. He said the days of relying so heavily on income from international students are likely over. "It might change a little bit, but I don't think it'll ever be the numbers that it was before," said McInnis, who is also an associate professor of history at St. FX. "That was never going to last, it was never going to be sustainable.… It was always going to be unstable and volatile." The processes that international students must go through now to get a student visa and attend university are so onerous that students are choosing to go elsewhere, said Halpin. "The damage to Canada's brand internationally is very, very significant. International students have options, and right now Canada is not perceived as a welcoming country." Other reasons for the financial pinch universities are experiencing include fluctuating interest income, province-mandated tuition freezes for some students and contractual increases to expenses, including labour costs. What's next Some universities have said they will be implementing across-the-board cuts to departments, axing programs, reconsidering their real estate footprint, tapping into special reserves of funding, not renewing contract staff, considering retirement incentives and increasing tuition for out-of-province and international students. Most schools do have other sources of funding, including from capital campaigns, endowment funds and research grants, but those sources are often tied to specific uses and cannot be applied to operating budgets for day-to-day use. "Immediate decisions must be made to generate additional revenue, find efficiencies across both the administrative and academic sectors, and live within our means," reads Acadia's budget document. "Without intentional and significant change, Acadia is heading down a path of being financially unviable in the short term." Despite the current situation, McInnis said universities are still worthy of investment and support. "We actually have a really vibrant educational system in the province and it's something that we should sustain," he said. Halpin agreed. "They make such a valuable contribution to Nova Scotia's economic growth and attraction of talent and driving the research agenda and creation of new business that, you know, I think there's always going to be a place for strong competitive universities in the province."
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Cape Breton trades workers on strike as they call for ‘equitable working conditions'
Trades workers are seen on strike outside the Cape Breton University campus on July 8, 2025. (Ryan MacDonald/CTV Atlantic) For the first time in more than three decades, trades professionals on Cape Breton Island are on strike as they call for 'more fair and equitable working conditions.' Construction of the new medical sciences building at Cape Breton University is among the projects currently on pause due to the strike. Workers were picketing outside the campus Tuesday morning. The university says it's too soon to say whether the job action will affect the timeline of the project, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of October. 'It is important to note that this is not a CBU related strike, and there is no impact on program start dates, which means the inaugural class will begin in late August as planned,' said Lenore Parsley, director of strategic communications with Cape Breton University in an email to CTV News. 'We continue to monitor the situation and will update the community when we know more.' Strike comes after 'challenging negotiations' The Cape Breton Island Building and Construction Trades Council says the job action comes after 'months of challenging negotiations to achieve new multi-trade collective bargaining agreements' for the 10 construction unions affiliated with the council. 'At this time, the unions are seeking wages and conditions that respect the dignity, work, and skill of its members,' said Ernie Dalton, president of the Cape Breton Island Building and Construction Trades Council, in a news release. The council says the current agreement, which was negotiated more than five years ago, includes substantial wage concessions that were promised to be remediated in future negotiations. It says the concessions were made to support a smoother negotiation process and expediate some much-needed projects. 'These promises are not being honoured and current negotiations are once more asking our members to accept lower wages,' said the council. Negotiations were supposed to begin in January, but didn't begin until March, which the council says has resulted in lost wages for its members. The council is calling on all parties to return to the bargaining table, noting 95 per cent of infrastructure and community projects in Cape Breton are done by its members. 'With critical projects across the Island relying on timely construction, a swift and fair resolution is crucial,' said Dalton. 'The Cape Breton Building Trades remains open to any constructive dialogue and is committed to achieving a fair outcome.' The Cape Breton Island Building and Construction Trades Council says it represents a total of 14 affiliated unions with more than 4,000 trades professionals in multiple disciplines across the island. It partners with more than 100 unionized contractors to build infrastructure such as water and sewer, commercial buildings, schools, and hospitals. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
New 104-space daycare to be built at Cape Breton University
Cape Breton University is seen in this undated file photo. A new child-care centre with 104 spaces is coming to Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S. The Nova Scotia government announced the new centre, which is a partnership between the province and the university, Friday morning. The facility will be built on the CBU campus, behind the new medical school. It will offer spots and programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. 'Access to affordable, high-quality child care is essential for families to thrive,' said David Dingwall, the president and vice-chancellor of Cape Breton University in a news release. 'Expanding our daycare program is about more than just increasing seats, it's about supporting parents, empowering students and helping our community grow stronger together.' The province says the project is part of its efforts to expand access to child care, supported through the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. 'We're improving access to child care, which means families will have the support they need close to home and work,' said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Brendan Maguire. The news comes after the province announced last week it would be opening a 104-space daycare on the St. Francis Xavier University campus in Antigonish. Nova Scotia has signed a five-year extension to the Canada-Nova Scotia Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement and the Canada-Nova Scotia Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, worth more than $1 billion total. The province says the extended agreements will be in place until March 31, 2031. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
