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This document is a comment on a previous article discussing the regulatory design of the Water Sustainability Act (WSA) in British Columbia, Canada. The comment argues that the WSA's regulatory design took a science-forward approach and considered specific regional factors. It addresses criticisms of the WSA and emphasizes the importance of licensing groundwater use for assessing environmental impacts. The WSA allows for nuanced water management through regulation-making authorities, but challenges remain in implementing the regulations, including Indigenous water rights and government resources. Recommendations for improving the WSA's design include defining sustainability goals, regionalizing regulatory action, and long-term planning. Ongoing resourcing and consideration of Indigenous rights are necessary for the effective implementation of the WSA. [Extracted from the article]

The present study first describes the variations in concentrations of 12 chemical elements in groundwater relative to salinity levels in Southern Quebec (Canada) groundwater systems, and then uses this data to develop an empirical predictive model for evaluating groundwater chemical composition relative to salinity levels. Data is drawn from a large groundwater chemistry database containing 2608 samples. Eight salinity classes were established from lowest to highest chloride (Cl) concentrations. Graphical analyses were applied to describe variations in major, minor, and trace element concentrations relative to salinity levels. Results show that the major elements were found to be dominant in the lower salinity classes, whereas Cl becomes dominant at the highest salinity classes. For each of the major elements, a transitional state was identified between domination of the major elements and domination of Cl. This transition occurred at a different level of salinity for each of the major elements. Except for Si, the minor elements Ba, B, and Sr generally increase relative to the increase of Cl. The highest Mn concentrations were found to be associated with only the highest levels of Cl, whereas F was observed to be more abundant than Mn. Based on this analysis of the data, a correlation table was established between salinity level and concentrations of the chemical constituents. We thus propose a predictive empirical model, identifying a profile of the chemical composition of groundwater relative to salinity levels, to help homeowners and groundwater managers evaluate groundwater quality before resorting to laborious and costly laboratory analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the example of an industrial site in Edmonton, Alberta, this paper argues that industrial ruins represent instantiations of abstract abandonment, a kind of real abstraction that directly articulates to the logic of capital. Drawing from excavations of the industrial ruins of Mill Creek Ravine, one of the first industrial areas in Edmonton, this paper reveals how sites of abstract abandonment congeal critical histories of both abandonment and its afterlives. The history of these ruins, and the communities that emerged after they were abandoned materialize the failures of capitalist fantasies, as well as the sprouts that grow in its cracks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British Conquest of Quebec in 1760 was a key moment in Canadian history as it marked the beginning of a tense coexistence between French and English Canadians. Many argue that the Conquest had strong economic consequences in the form of the relative poverty of the French settlers. All the proposed mechanisms rely on a retreat from the market by French farmers. Using 171 years of wheat price data for Quebec City and Montreal, I test whether there are signs of this retreat and instead find the opposite: markets grew more integrated across regions. Additionally, over time, regional prices became better predicted by current prices elsewhere than by the lagged prices in the same region. By the 1830s, markets in Quebec were as well integrated as those in economies such as the USA, France, Britain and Germany. The evidence in this paper is consistent with recent empirical findings about Quebec's economic history, and so I argue that the case for the Conquest's initiation of the relative poverty of Quebec is non-existent as defined by conventional explanations. This does not exclude long-run consequences of the Conquest, but the correct answer must lie elsewhere than in conventional explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews major structural drivers of place-based health disparities in the context of Canada, an industrialized nation with a strong public health system. Likelihood that the COVID-19 pandemic will facilitate rejuvenation of Canada's northern and remote areas through remote working, advances in online teaching and learning, and the increased use of telemedicine are also examined. The paper concludes by identifying some common themes to address healthcare disparities for northern and remote Canadian residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both Canada and the United States, immigrants often experience different residential outcomes than non-immigrants. Previous research often attributes these differences to differential treatment in either the labour market or the housing market. We adopt a unique approach in this paper, comparing the behavior of racial groups in Canada and the United States, two countries with large non-white immigrant populations, and distinct housing and labour markets. We examine the role that factors such as immigration status, ethnic group, and housing costs play in differentiating the housing careers of White, South Asian, Black, Latin American, Filipino, and Chinese immigrants from their White native-born counterparts. We find that immigrants often converge upon the native-born in both countries, and that the differences between countries are not nearly as stark as the differences between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) is generally focused on female survivors. However, in Canada, about half of all self-reported victims of IPV are men and 1 in 5 calls to police for domestic violence are for male victims. This paper takes a comparative approach to understanding survivors' experiences of IPV. Methods: Across Canada, 110 female and 45 male survivors of IPV were recruited through media, social media, and listservs for a survey and interviews in 2017. Results: Findings indicate areas of similarity (healthcare needs; difficulty accessing formal support; fear of false accusations) and areas of difference (availability of formal support; types of violence experienced most often; interactions with the justice system). Women and men reported similar types of IPV, with women experiencing higher rates of sexual violence, stalking, and damage to property. Women and men reported similar physical and mental health consequences following IPV. Men were less satisfied than women with the response of the justice system, and both female and male participants encountered gender bias within the justice system. Some women reported being turned away from services that were at their maximum capacity, and men reported difficulty identifying IPV-related services for male survivors. Conclusions: Findings can be used by frontline service providers and the justice system to ensure that services are gender-inclusive and gender-sensitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The military lifestyle can be defined by a triad of unique stressors: frequent relocation, parental absence, and risk of injury, illness and/or death of a serving member. Research has suggested that this unique triad of stressors can impact the mental health of children and youth living in military families. However, research focusing on the mental health of children and youth living in military families overwhelmingly focuses on the American context. Due to key contextual differences, it is unclear to what extent the American findings are representative of military-connected children and youth living in other geographical contexts, such as Canada. A large qualitative study was conducted to explore the mental health of military-connected children in Canada from three perspectives: child, parent, and service provider. This paper reports on the service provider findings. Using individual semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 11 service providers. Data analysis was guided by qualitative content analysis. Two main themes emerged: (1) the mental health of children living in military families may be impacted by the military lifestyle stressors, and (2) the mental health of children living in military families can be impacted by the accessibility and availability of mental health services. While this qualitative study builds upon recent Canadian work that has considered the service provider perspective, additional research is needed to better understand the experiences of service providers who support military-connected children and youth. Highlights: American research shows that the military lifestyle factors can impact the mental health of military-connected children. The mental health of military-connected children has yet to be extensively explored in Canada. The mental health of children living in Canadian military families may be impacted by the military lifestyle stressors. The mental health of Canadian military-connected children can be impacted by the accessibility and availability of mental health services. Our findings can help build capacity and knowledge for service providers who support Canadian military-connected children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Canada, in the early 2000s, the decriminalization of cannabis for recreational use seemed imminent. Between 2003 and 2005, three government decriminalization bills were introduced in the Canadian House of Commons, but none were adopted, and decriminalization efforts were abandoned. Subsequently, Canada went beyond decriminalization and legalized recreational cannabis in 2018. This paper examines why the Canadian decriminalization efforts failed, using the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) and ACF policy change theory. Three ACF-based hypotheses to explain the failed reform attempts are developed and investigated, but none are empirically supported. A fourth hypothesis is developed using information processing insights from Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) but adapted to the ACF. This hypothesis is empirically supported showing that Canada's decriminalization efforts failed, despite a supportive advocacy coalition, favourable conditions in the cannabis policy subsystem and favourable conditions in the Canadian political system, because its systemic advocates did not give it priority relative to other issues from other subsystems. This finding has implications for ACF policy change theory, identifying a necessary condition for major policy change that has been potentially overlooked, and illustrates the potential for cross-fertilization between PET and ACF theories of policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the roots of the Association for Media and Technology in Education (AMTEC) in Canada and its connections to global educational technology and media organizations including the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). The AMTEC History Project, which is preserving memories, voices and documents related to the field of educational technology in Canada, celebrates the 50th anniversary of AMTEC in the context of the 100th anniversary of AECT. Generations of AECT leaders had a substantive influence on the history of AMTEC. Interviews with memory keepers as part of this history project revealed the importance of communication, collaboration, networking, persistence, and a learning mindset for those engaged as educational technologists, as they navigated change. Students, academics, and practitioners of educational technology may benefit from lessons learned by the Canadian pioneers of multi-media instruction and research collected in this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The considerations of how Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to global climate action under the Paris Agreement are ambitious and fair, or equitable, is expected to guide countries' decisions with regards to the ambition and priorities of those contributions. This article investigates the equity aspect of the NDCs of four cases (Canada, the EU, Kenya, and South Africa) utilizing a combination of document analysis and expert interviews. It interrogates both the NDC documents themselves and, uniquely, the role of international and domestic equity considerations within the domestic policy processes that led to the formulation of the NDCs. For this, 30 participants and close observers of these processes were interviewed. We find countervailing effects of equity on ambition, with an enabling, or ambition-enhancing, effect resulting from international equity, in that these four Parties show willingness to do more if others do, too. In contrast, tempering effect appears to result from domestic equity concerns, for example with regards to real, perceived, or anticipated adverse distributional impacts of climate action across regions, sectors, and/or societal strata. Political cultures differ across the four case studies, as do the key actors that influence domestic policies and the preparations of NDCs. This paper also demonstrates that research on equity in NDCs can benefit from expanding its scope from the contents of NDC submissions to also examine the underlying decision-making processes, to generate insights that can contribute to future NDCs being both equitable and ambitious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Section explores the interplay between Indigenous peoples, industry, and the state in five proposed and active mining projects in Canada and Sweden. The overall aim is to identify factors shaping the quality of Indigenous community-industry-state interactions in mining and mine development. An ambition underlying the research is to develop knowledge to help manage mining related land-use conflicts in Sweden by drawing on Canadian comparisons and experience. This paper synthesizes the comparative research that has been conducted across jurisdictions in three Canadian provinces and Sweden. It focuses on the interplay between the properties of the governance system, the quality of interaction and governance outcomes. We combine institutional and interactive governance theory and use the concept of governability to assess how and why specific outcomes, such as mutually beneficial interaction, collaboration, or opposition, occurred. The analysis suggests there are measures that can be taken by the Swedish Government to improve the governability of mining related issues, by developing alternative, and more effective, avenues to recognize, and protect, Sámi rights and culture, to broaden the scope and increase the legitimacy and transparency of the EIAs, to raise the quality of interaction and consultation, and to develop tools to actively stimulate and support collaboration and partnerships on equal terms. Generally, we argue that Indigenous community responses to mining must be understood within a larger framework of Indigenous self-determination, in particular the communities' own assessments of their opportunities to achieve their long-term objectives using alternative governing modes and types of interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016. Canadians' opinions on the service are nuanced, particularly as the legislation changes over time. In this paper, we outline findings from our review of representations of MAiD in Canadian news media texts since its legalization. These stories reflect the concerns, priorities, and experiences of key stakeholders and function pedagogically, shaping public opinion about MAiD. We discuss this review of Canadian news media on MAiD, provide examples of four key themes we identified (vulnerability, autonomy, dignity, and human rights), and discuss their implications for health policy and equity. Though key stakeholders share the values of autonomy, dignity, and human rights, they appeal to them in diverse ways, sometimes with conflicting policy demands. These representations offer a useful gauge of how views about MAiD continue to shift alongside changes in federal legislation. These stories can influence related policies, respond to the powerful voices that shape MAiD legislation, and have the potential to change national conversations. Our analysis adds to the existing body of scholarship on MAiD by examining post-Bill C-7 news media, identifying related health equity issues and tensions, and discussing potential impacts of MAiD's representations in news media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Current paper studies the nexus between fiscal decentralization, renewable energy intensity, and carbon footprints in Canada. Preliminary empirical findings strictly reject the preposition of data normality and highlight that the observed nexus is quantile dependent. Additionally, our test looks for systematic deviations from zero in the causality at a certain quantile and frequency. In particular, we consider the bootstrap Fourier Granger causality test in quantile. At each frequency, we test the sample causality against the distribution of the median causality across frequencies estimated for that process, which may disclose the misleading causal link in previous studies using only traditional Granger causality. Our results show a negative one-way Granger causality from fiscal decentralization to carbon footprints (quantiles: 0.1–0.9) and renewable energy intensity to carbon footprints, respectively (quantiles: 0.1–0.9). Herein, results show a positive one-way Granger causality through fiscal decentralization to renewable energy intensity (quantiles: 0.3–0.7). These conclusions are used to formulate policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting global sustainability targets under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement requires paying attention to major land-use sectors such as forestry and agriculture. These sectors play a large role in national emissions, biodiversity conservation, and human well-being. There are numerous possible pathways to sustainability in these sectors and potential synergies and trade-offs along those pathways. This paper reports on the use of a model for Canada's land use to 2050 to assess three different pathways (one based on current trends and two with differing levels of ambition for meeting sustainability targets). This was done as part of a large international consortium, Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land and Energy (FABLE), which allows for incorporating international trade in meeting both national and global sustainability targets. The results show not only the importance of increasingly stringent policies in meeting the targets, but also the role that population and consumption (e.g., diets) play in meeting the targets. Both the medium and high ambition sustainability pathways can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions while protecting forestland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic numerous institutions around the world have surveyed students to gain an understanding of their experiences. While these surveys are valuable at a local institutional level, it is unclear as to which findings from individual surveys reflect the broader higher education environment, and which patterns may be consistent across student surveys. It is worthwhile to synthesize survey findings in order to explore patterns and potentially new understandings that may arise from such analysis. In this paper, we reviewed and synthesized 21 surveys examining the impacts of COVID-19 and emergency remote learning on approximately 155,000 student respondents in Canada. Findings reveal that the impacts of COVID-19 and emergency remote learning on students centered around (1) educational experiences, (2) mental health and wellbeing, (3) financial concerns, (4) impact on future plans, and (5) recommendations for future practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries are experiencing an ongoing opioid crisis characterized by high rates of opioid use problems, overdose, poisoning, and death. Stigma has been identified as a central problem for seeking and receiving quality services from health providers and first respondents. The Mental Health Commission of Canada developed a scale that could be used to measure stigma in this population, as no such scale currently exists. This paper provides the results of psychometric testing of this new scale, known as the Opening Minds Provider Attitudes Towards Opioid-Use Scale (OM-PATOS), using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis. EFA findings showed a 15 item 2-factor solution, with subscales of 'attitudes' (6 items) and 'behaviours/motivation to help' (9 items). The confirmatory factor analysis provided some preliminary confirmation of the factor structure suggested by the exploratory analyses, but further research with larger samples is needed to fully confirm the factor structure. Overall, results support the use of the 15-item scale with health professionals and first responders, with factors used for descriptive value rather than as calculated subscales until further research can be completed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warming temperatures in the circumpolar north have led to new discussions around climate-driven frontiers for agriculture. In this paper, we situate northern food systems in Canada within the corporate food regime and settler colonialism, and contend that an expansion of the conventional, industrial agriculture paradigm into the Canadian North would have significant socio-cultural and ecological consequences. We propose agroecology as an alternative framework uniquely accordant with northern contexts. In particular, we suggest that there are elements of agroecology that are already being practiced in northern Indigenous communities as part of traditional hunter-gatherer food systems. We present a framework for agroecology in the North and discuss its components of environmental stewardship, economies, knowledge, social dimensions and governance using examples from the Dehcho region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Finally, we discuss several challenges and cautions in creating policy around agroecology in the North and encourage community-based research in developing and testing this framework moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this paper is to highlight current knowledge gaps that exist with regard to the factors which affect the supply chain, and the inventory management strategies that are utilized by hospital pharmacies in Canada which could lead to drug shortages. Subject and method: This research implements an optimal SLR (systematic literature review) method on drug shortages based on CHPSC (Canadian hospital pharmacy supply chain) literature and databases. This makes it possible to perform a wide review of Canadian hospital pharmacies and understand how continued disruption occurred in this process and caused drug shortages. Results and conclusion: The result of this research is contained in a systematic search methodology which consists of four main tasks, namely: a) building an optimal review process, b) defining search procedures, c) validating the search procedures, and d) conducting literature search. Furthermore, the researchers conducted a SLR which unveiled issues and factors such as raw materials availability and increases in demand which cause drug shortages. In conclusion, the proposed systematic methodology seeks to highlight possible solutions to the supply chain management issues which could cause drug shortages in Canada. Various solutions are proposed and explored, with the relevant information being obtained from studies conducted on how to mitigate the impact on supply chain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that forms of inequality are increasing in Canada. However, one often-overlooked form has been the inequality of retirement time, which is the period between labour market exit and the end of the life course. Divergences that persist in retirement time present opportunities for scrutiny given that they often mirror other forms of inequality across the life course. While racialized immigrants are reported to be less successful in the Canadian labour market, very little is known about their lived experiences navigating retirement time after they exit the labour market. This paper utilizes data from 20 Jamaican Canadian retirees (aged 60 and older) that follows their retirement time experiences after long-term labour market participation in Canada, in order to provide the first qualitative study focused on this significant life transition. Underscoring both precarity and agency as important facets of Jamaican Canadians' retirement time and later life, the paper highlights the interconnections of earlier life course trajectories, livelihood strategies, and their fears of perceived improvidence. It contributes to emergent scholarship on Jamaica's ageing diaspora, who are among growing cohorts of ageing Caribbean immigrants in Canada. Importantly, it foregrounds their strategic responses to the risks and opportunities that contour this lesser-researched phase of the migratory life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using five cycles of a large nationally representative Canadian health survey, covering 2008 to 2012, the present paper examines the extent of labour earnings and household income gaps among gays, lesbians, and heterosexuals. The data used in this paper has the advantage of allowing for a direct classification of sexual orientation, through respondent self-identification. In accord with previous reports, this paper finds that homosexual females holding fulltime employment earn statistically significantly above comparable heterosexual females. Homosexual males with fulltime employment, on the other hand, are found no different in their earnings, from otherwise identical heterosexual males. When household income is considered, data reveal that lesbian households have statistically significantly lower incomes compared with otherwise identical gay households, who outearn heterosexuals as well. This pattern, not previously reported for Canada but observed in some other countries, is likely due to the combined effects of the general gender wage gap, the fading of homosexual males’ wage penalty, and the existence of two male income earners in a gay male household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small cities tend to have modest immigrant settlement services and cultural amenities, engendering a distinct sense of place among immigrants and impacting their wellbeing differently from large cities. To study the impacts of place characteristics on settlement needs, this photovoice research examines the sense of place among immigrant women through their attribution of meanings to places of comfort and discomfort as they settled in a small city in Canada. Thirty-two immigrant women of different immigration admission statuses, i.e., economic, family, and refugee classes, ranging in age from 19 to 48, took photographs of places that they considered to be either comfortable or uncomfortable. Most participants were from Asia, Africa, and South America, and they had lived in Canada for less than 10 years. Findings indicated that these women appreciated the warmth and support extended to them by settlement services provider organizations, libraries, and faith-based organizations, attesting to the relational nature of the place. Nevertheless, immigrant women dreaded harsh winter conditions and felt unsafe in downtown areas. A close read of these women's photo stories revealed that their apprehensions about punitive winter conditions are closely linked to their role as primary household caregivers who take their children to public places. Their sense of vulnerability towards downtown areas demonstrates female subordination and their distaste for public spaces. Immigrant women sought comfort in locales that this paper terms "restorative space," showing their creative use of private and public spaces for relaxation. This study contributes to our understanding of the gendered and interwoven nature of the self, social, and physical spaces. The findings from this study call for settlement policies that attend to distinct characteristics of local places to better serve the settlement needs of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is unquestionably necessary for economic progress; nevertheless, it also produces CO2 emissions, which are the primary cause of climate change and environmental degradation. Renewable energy, which consists of non-carbohydrate energy sources that do not or seldom emit emissions, can assist the accomplishment of both ecological sustainability and sustainable development in this respect. Against this background, this paper takes into account political risk and assesses the impact of renewable energy use on CO2 emissions in Canada from 1990 to 2018 controlling economic growth and trade globalization. The present research utilized an innovative dynamic ARDL method that overcomes the limitations of the ARDL method. The results revealed significant evidence of cointegration. In the long run, we established that a surge in economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization mitigates environmental degradation. Furthermore, the outcomes of the frequency domain causality disclosed that in the long term, economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization can predict CO2 emissions in Canada. Since the political stability in Canada has helped to attract foreign firms to invest. Therefore, ensuring political stability will bring in more foreign investment, forcing the Canadian government to take its climate crisis problem more seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural, remote, and northern parts of Canada, the pre-existing vulnerability and risk for intimate partner violence has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The purpose of this commentary is to identify the unique impact of COVID-19 on intimate partner violence both in terms of the bearing on those experiencing abuse and on the service sector in rural, remote and northern communities where the rates of intimate partner violence and intimate partner femicide pre-pandemic are higher than in larger cities. The recommendations offered in this paper include enhanced safety planning, alternate housing for victims fleeing violence, and suggestions for service providers. We also offer ways to move forward with further research in the COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This concept paper builds on comparative work on sustainable agriculture in Canada and Cuba by exploring the role of agricultural co-operatives. Findings indicate that Canada and Cuba's agricultural co-operatives face the challenges of membership renewal and economic presence in their national economies. The paper argues that components of each agricultural co-operative system at the farm and tertiary levels could be adapted to the other nation's agricultural co-operatives in order to strengthen community control of local food systems. The paper further argues that a new approach to agricultural co-operatives must incorporate the state itself in any potential reform agenda in both countries. The paper calls for movement-to-movement contacts between the two countries, and the wider Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper places Latour's (2004) concept of "body talk" alongside literature on symbolic boundaries to consider how the symbolic judgements and evaluations that comprise body talk frame the impact of structural pressures on the body. Drawing from individual and focus group interviews with 36 first-generation Arab Canadian immigrant women, this study shows that the female body, and practices of feeding and exercising it, are sites where structural inequalities embedded in the immigration process are materially experienced, resisted, and managed. In constructing boundaries between Arab women's bodies in Canada and the Arab world alongside those of so-called "Canadian" women, we argue that women communicate their immigration and settlement struggles and recoup dignity otherwise compromised in the migration process—ultimately allowing them to frame their struggles as products of their moral integrity as immigrant wives and mothers. Through these findings, this paper demonstrates the role of body talk in framing the impact of structural pressures on the body, while simultaneously highlighting the centrality of boundary work to that framing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, numerous developed and developing nations have witnessed a remarkable shift from manufacturing-based economies to those that center around the service sector. This development has led to a staggering growth in the consumption of energy-intensive goods, and Canada has not been immune to this trend. Despite being home to abundant energy reserves, the country's economic expansion has manifestly relied on prodigious energy consumption. Within this context of symbiotic energy-economic growth, this study investigates the empirical relationship between energy consumption and economic growth using Canadian time-series data from 1980 to 2020. In doing so, this paper offers a vital contribution to the development of theoretical frameworks within the sphere of endogenous growth. Besides, to arrive at empirical findings, a model known as the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, renowned for its ability to discern both short- and long-term coefficients, is employed. The results reveal that economic growth has a significant positive long-run effect on energy consumption and other explanatory variables. All variables other than trade openness demonstrate a positive relationship with economic growth in the short run. From Toda-Yamamoto causality test, it is evident that there exist bidirectional causal links between economic growth and energy consumption and between economic growth and financial development. Several unidirectional causalities were also observed for other variables. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Canada boosts its investment in energy infrastructure, especially in rural and backward regions, to deliver necessary energy services. An optimal trade-off between Canada's vast energy resources and economic growth can perhaps be achieved by minimizing the disparity in access to energy services across all parts of the country. Other policy implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to capture the effect of environmentally related taxes on environmental quality in Canada while controlling economic growth, financial development, and energy consumption over the period of 1990Q1 to 2020Q4. The present study employs novel econometric approaches, namely, the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (N-ARDL) test and the gradual shift causality (GS-C) test. The outcomes of the study reveal that (i) there is long-run cointegration equation between environmental taxes (E-TAX), carbon dioxide emissions (CO2E), economic growth (ECG), financial development (FD), and primary energy consumption (PREC); (ii) E-TAX causes to decrease in environmental degradation in Canada; (iii) PREC and ECG increase (and cause) environmental degradation in Canada; and (iv) financial development also positively affect the environmental sustainability. This effort may also be of great importance for policymakers and decision-makers to better understand the factors of environmental degradation for developing effective tax policies that will alleviate human impacts and contribute to reducing environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minority entrepreneurs significantly contribute to Canada's economic development. This contribution to the Canadian economy comes in various forms, including setting up businesses such as convenience stores, ethnic restaurants, and financial services. This paper aims to explore the motivation for entrepreneurship among Black population in Alberta, Canada. Using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study shows that many Black entrepreneurs are "pulled" rather than "pushed" into entrepreneurship. Although some participants were pushed into entrepreneurship because of labor market exclusion, the majority were opportunity seekers who pursued entrepreneurship as a strategic response to opportunity structures in their environment rather than a reactive response to escape ethnic penalties. This study emphasizes the complex relationships between minorities' characteristics and resources and the opportunity structures that affect the ability to start a business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining the threshold separating poor from non-poor populations is one of the most influential choices when measuring poverty. Commonly used selection criteria leave considerable room for discretion or are not appropriate as academic standards. This vacuum in academic guidance leads to arbitrary and/or ideologically driven choices. This can greatly influence the measurement of a societal phenomenon, and thus research and public policy decisions over a period that extends well beyond the mandate of those making that threshold decision. This paper sets out an empirical validation method that contributes to reducing the range of thresholds and thereby aids decision-makers in making that normative decision. Our method uses an absolute concept of empirical validity and requires that the microdata for measuring poverty hold additional information closely associated with poverty. The method builds on insights from theory on measurement error that, for any given threshold, some persons are wrongly identified as poor (false positives) and others are wrongly identified as not poor (false negatives), and that the reduction of one error can only be attained by increasing the other. Our method uses the additional microdata to disaggregate the population into (likely) false positives and (likely) false negatives and analyzes marginal changes in this composition as the poverty threshold becomes stricter. Using Canadian data, we show that this approach substantially narrows the range of thresholds for two unidimensional poverty indicators, namely a material deprivation and an income poverty indicator. The underlying principle of the method extends to other (unidimensional) social indicators. The analysis itself can also serve other purposes, such as deepening our understanding of poverty and the cost-effectiveness of policies to reduce it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cities across Canada, suburbs have become important immigrant-receiving sites. This 'suburbanization of immigrants' is significantly affecting the housing situation in the Vancouver area, as the market responds to the preferences and requirements of new immigrant groups. This paper draws from a case study examining the settlement and housing experiences of recent immigrants from Mexico living in three Vancouver suburbs (Burnaby, Surrey, and Abbotsford). The findings from our survey of 129 Mexican immigrants and interviews with 60 key stakeholders reveal that housing affordability is a major issue for Mexican immigrant homeowners and renters. Almost half of the survey respondents spent more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. Renters used various strategies to afford housing, including sharing housing with relatives and co-ethnic friends (sometimes in overcrowded conditions), while some homeowners sublet rooms or rented out basement suites. The findings also revealed that in addition to facing employment and housing market challenges similar to other immigrant groups in Vancouver, Mexican immigrants experienced housing discrimination related to suspicions about undocumented immigration. Despite facing barriers to integration, the Mexican immigrants in our study were largely successful in improving their housing status in Canada. Policymakers and service planners must understand the 'ethnic refashioning' of major city suburbs and the housing issues faced by new groups of immigrants to better assist their integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The lack of attention to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people in undergraduate medical education (UME) is a point of concern, particularly among medical students. A project was undertaken to develop a UME curriculum framework for teaching the healthcare needs of TGD people. Methods: Using a modified Delphi methodology, four rounds of surveys were presented to an expert stakeholder group that included content experts, generalist physicians, UME teaching faculty, and medical students. Questions covered what content should be taught, who should teach the content, and how much time should be dedicated for this teaching. Once the Delphi process was complete, feedback on the provisional framework was sought from members of the TGD community to ensure it represented their needs and perspectives. Results: 71 panel members and 56 community members participated in the study. Core values included the scope of the framework, and topics such as inclusivity, and safety in practice and in teaching. The framework included terminology, epidemiology, medical and surgical treatment, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and routine primary care. There was also guidance on who should teach, time to be allocated, and the learning environment. Discussion: There is a clear need to train tomorrow's doctors to provide competent and respectful healthcare services to and for TGD patients. Although local factors will likely shape the way in which this framework will be implemented in different contexts, this paper outlines a core UME-level curriculum framework for Canada and, potentially, for use in other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential energy efficiency improvements have a great potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Evidences suggest that there is an underinvestment in residential energy efficiency improvements, pointing out the existence of "energy efficiency gap". To address this in Canada, the government has introduced home energy efficiency audit programmes since 1998, to encourage homeowners to get their homes audited professionally for energy efficiency and implement recommended upgrades. Using the 2011 and 2013 Household and Environment Surveys, this paper investigates whether household environmental behaviours have played roles in determining household participation in these audit programmes during the last 10 years. To the best of our knowledge, no study in Canada has examined the association between household participation in other pro-environmental activities and energy efficiency audit programmes. We find that pro-environmental behaviours such as water conservation, composting, recycling, participation in unpaid conservation activities, purchase of green goods, carrying own grocery shopping bags and lowering heating temperatures in winter nights are good predictors of household participation in energy efficiency audit programmes. Given that these other pro-environmental activities demonstrate environmental awareness of the households, our results suggest that besides the financial incentives, a more strategic and holistic approach to environmental programmes is both needed and possible when designing policies addressing residential energy efficiency gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of forests in national climate policies of two countries very rich in woods: Russia and Canada. Canada has made efforts to reduce direct CO2 emissions in the national economy, intensify forestry, and increase greenhouse gas sequestration by forests. Russia focuses on the verification and recalculation of the carbon sequestration capacity of its forests. Analysis of the Russian and Canadian stationary models used to assess the carbon sequestration capacity of forests (ROBUL and CBM-CFS, respectively) shows that both the Canadian model and the Russian one derived from it reflect the stationary dynamics of forest stands, which inevitably results in a downward CO2 absorption trend. Even if the forest inventory is updated on a regular basis, the predictive components of such models are unable to take into account the variability of forest ecosystems and their adaptation to climate change. Models that describe global carbon fluxes (e.g., ones using FLUXNET and remote sensing data) provide significantly higher net carbon sequestration values and indicate a nondecreasing net carbon accumulation trend in forests. It is concluded that stationary and remote sensing models should be used together to assess net carbon sequestration and formulate key principles of national climate policies in countries rich in forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the structures and trends of the establishment, growth, and transformation of the Jewish presence in the Americas. After outlining several fundamental characteristics of the general continental societal environment and its internal differentiation, we critically discuss several theoretical approaches to a comparative assessment of the Jewish experience. Conceptual formulations include globalization, diaspora studies, and transnationalism, aiming to highlight their achievements and drawbacks. Selected sociohistorical aspects relevant to the development of Jewish immigration, settlement, and community formation are analyzed. This is followed by the exploration of more recent patterns, outlining emerging configurations and challenges. The article focuses on the differences and commonalities between the North (United States and Canada) and the diverse Latin American experiences. The conceptual referents imply rethinking the relationship between societies, communities, individuals, territories, and sociopolitical spaces along the changing contours of dispersion. Lessons from the past may help outline future paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a narrative review of the existing literature on differences in demographic and biological features of breast cancer at time of diagnosis between Black and White women in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Electronic database searches for published peer-reviewed articles on this topic were conducted, and 78 articles were included in the final narrative review. Differences between Black and White women were compared for eight categories including age, tumour stage, size, grade, lymph node involvement, and hormone status. Black women were significantly more likely to present with less favourable tumour features at the time of diagnosis than White women. Significant differences were reported in age at diagnosis, tumour stage, size, grade and hormone status, particularly triple negative breast cancer. Limitations on the generalizability of the review findings are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings on future research, especially within the Canadian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines city growth patterns and the corresponding city size distribution evolution over long periods of time using a simple New Economic Geography (NEG) model and urban population data from Canada. The main findings are twofold. First, there is a transition from sequential to parallel growth of cities over long periods of time: city growth shows a sequential mode in the stage of rapid urbanization, i.e., the cities with the best development conditions will take the lead in growth, after which the cities with higher ranks will become the fastest-growing cities; in the late stage of urbanization, city growth converges according to Gibrat′s law, and exhibits a parallel growth pattern. Second, city size distribution is found to have persistent structural characteristics: the city system is self-organized into multiple discrete size groups; city growth shows club convergence characteristics, and the cities with similar development conditions eventually converge to a similar size. The results will not only enhance our understanding of urbanization process, but will also provide a timely and clear policy reference for promoting the healthy urbanization of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the motives and factors that drive entrepreneurship in Syrian refugee women in Canada and the differential contexts that may support or hinder these activities. Using a qualitative research design, a total of 29 in-depth interviews were conducted with Syrian refugee women, who had been in Canada for a minimum of 1 year and with key informants, including employment counselors and program managers who work closely with refugees during their resettlement. A feminist grounded analysis led to the identification of systemic challenges to entrepreneurship. Particularly, findings illustrate how the women were primarily interested in starting a small business in feminized industries such as food/catering or tailoring. However, these activities were challenged by economic, regulatory, and gendered contexts that appeared to push the women to operate these businesses in unregulated bounds, which was not financially rewarding. Key informants, on the other hand, seemed to promote feminized entrepreneurship as a "social enterprise" irrespective of the women's background and experience. The paper presents new empirical evidence of entrepreneurship at the intersections of refugee and gender in Canada and adds to the growing body of work that examines migrant contexts that impact economic integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research in Hamilton, Ontario has found that age and longevity of residence are positively associated with evaluations of sense of place (SoP); further, evaluations of SoP between immigrants and Canadian-born individuals have shown no clear pattern (Williams et al. ; Williams and Kitchen ). This paper builds on this work by further examining evaluations of SoP among both immigrants and Canadian-born residents and across gender in Hamilton, while expanding the study to two other small-to-medium sized cities: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This paper has two objectives: (1) to establish measures of SoP across immigrant status and gender in Hamilton, Saskatoon, and Charlottetown; and, (2) to determine how SoP varies according to immigrant status, length of residence in Canada, age, income, and neighbourhood length of residence across the three city sites. Telephone survey data (n = 1,132) was used to compare evaluations of SoP across various groups and to construct an ordered logistic regression model for SoP. Results suggest that immigrants tended to rate their SoP lower than their Canadian-born counterparts. Hamilton residents were found to rate their SoP lowest, followed by Saskatoon residents and, finally, Charlottetown residents. Younger individuals, those with lower income levels, and those with shorter neighbourhood residency in the cities concerned were more likely to have lower evaluations of SoP. This research suggests that greater attention is needed to nurture immigrants' connection with their new home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation to climate change impacts is a key research topic in business ethics that poses substantial implications on the good lives of human beings. The commercial port sector is a highly relevant study focus with its pivotal roles in supply chains and international trade. Hence, it is important to investigate whether the port planning system and practice is appropriate in tackling climate change impacts. But beforehand, we must thoroughly understand the attitude and behaviors of port planners and operators on ports’ climate adaptation planning. Through a survey towards 21 ports (seaports and dry ports) in Canada, the paper investigates the attitude and behaviors of port planners and operators on ports’ climate adaptation planning. Towards the end, we propose a new approach so as to enable port stakeholders to carry out climate adaptation planning effectively. The paper offers important insight to researchers to investigate the ways in developing effective climate adaptation plans and practice for ports and other business sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In evaluating effectiveness for collaborative environmental governance arrangements, a key concern is describing not just the processes and actors that are a part of these systems, but also the impacts that these processes have on ecological and social conditions. Existing research delineates an emphasis on process variables over outcome variables, as well as the difficulties of demonstrating causal relationships between collaborative governance processes and ecological outcomes. In this paper, we examined how process and outcome criteria are used by sponsors, industry practitioners, and participants of collaborative environmental governance (CEG) arrangements in Canada's forest sector to ascertain effectiveness. We explicitly sought evidence from sponsors and industry practitioners of self-described effective forest advisory committees, anticipating that sponsors or practitioners might place greater emphasis than participants on outcome criteria over process criteria. We analyzed data from a nation-wide survey of forest advisory committee participants, conducted interviews with sponsoring agencies, and completed two in-depth case studies. We found that sponsors and industry practitioners, like participants, perceived a strong relationship between process and effectiveness. The perspectives of all participants helped us articulate ten key process criteria that they determined as essential for CEG. By including the insights of sponsoring agencies, our study provides both on-the-ground and management interpretations of process and outcomes as well as a nuanced approach to understanding the relationship between the two. However, we conclude that systematic evaluation approaches involving outcome-based criteria are still necessary and would provide a clear step towards encouraging accountability in CEG decision-making, both for sponsors and members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial incentives have been introduced in several countries to improve diabetes management. In Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, a Diabetes Management Incentive (DMI) was introduced to family physicians practicing in patient enrollment models in 2006. This paper examines the impact of the DMI on diabetes-related services provided to individuals with diabetes in Ontario. Longitudinal health administrative data were obtained for adults diagnosed with diabetes and their family physicians. The study population consisted of two groups: DMI group (patients enrolled with a family physician exposed to DMI for 3 years), and comparison group (patients affiliated with a family physician ineligible for DMI throughout the study period). Diabetes-related services was measured using the Diabetic Management Assessment (DMA) billing code claimed by patient's physician. The impact of DMI on diabetes-related services was assessed using difference-in-differences regression models. After adjusting for patient- and physician-level characteristics, patient fixed-effects and patient-specific time trend, we found that DMI increased the probability of having at least one DMA fee code claimed by patient's physician by 9.3% points, and the probability of having at least three DMA fee codes claimed by 2.1% points. Subgroup analyses revealed the impact of DMI was slightly larger in males compared to females. We found that Ontario's DMI was effective in increasing the diabetes-related services provided to patients diagnosed with diabetes in Ontario. Financial incentives for physicians help improve the provision of targeted diabetes-related services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. elderly experience shorter lifespans and greater variability in age at death than their Canadian peers. In order to gain insight on the underlying factors responsible for the Canada-U.S. old-age mortality disparities, we propose a cause-of-death analysis. Accordingly, the objective of this paper is to compare levels and trends in cause-specific modal age at death (M) and standard deviation above the mode (SD(M +)) between Canada and the U.S. since the 1970s. We focus on six broad leading causes of death, namely cerebrovascular diseases, heart diseases, and four types of cancers. Country-specific M and SD(M +) estimates for each leading cause of death are calculated from P-spline smooth age-at-death distributions obtained from detailed population and cause-specific mortality data. Our results reveal similar levels and trends in M and SD(M +) for most causes in the two countries, except for breast cancer (females) and lung cancer (males), where differences are the most noticeable. In both of these instances, modal lifespans are shorter in the U.S. than in Canada and U.S. old-age mortality inequalities are greater. These differences are explained in part by the higher stratification along socioeconomic lines in the U.S. than in Canada regarding the adoption of health risk behaviours and access to medical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, the immigration selection process gives great importance to education level. However, studies find that given an equivalent level of education, immigrants have significantly lower literacy skills than their Canadian-born counterparts. This research shows the importance of accounting for literacy skills in the analysis of labor supplies. Made possible by survey data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and a microsimulation model (LSD-C), the Canadian workforce (labor supply) is projected by many socio-economic variables, including literacy skill proficiency. The projected workforce is then distinguished according to the five major occupational types as defined by the National Occupational Classification (NOC) of Canada. The parameters used for this distribution derive from multinomial logistic regressions stratified by education level and immigration status. These regressions first account for a slough of socio-demographic variables including level of literacy (N = 15,180). The procedure is then repeated omitting literacy. A comparison of the two breakdowns shows that by factoring literacy skills into the analysis, the projected supply of labor (and skills) is more conservative. In analyzing this refined reflection of labor force supply, we show how it is more balanced and how it better matches the labor demand. This paper highlights how traditional projections and analyses of labor supply and demand, which only account for education level, overestimate the number of workers who have a proper skillset for holding professional or managerial positions. Policy implications in terms of immigrants' selection and economic integration are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After migrating from Jamaica to Canada, many transmigrants eventually become retirees. With increased insecurity in later life, older adult transmigrants continue to experience the ever-shifting conceptions of identity and belonging. With most of their working lives spent in Canada, they now have multi-layered identities stemming from their transnational and diasporic experiences. These considerations remain important when they are faced with residential decisions about where to live when they retire. This paper illustrates the spatial and temporal contexts of the transnational ageing experience by exploring the findings of a multi-sited ethnographic study of Jamaican Canadian retirees (age 60 and over). The study aimed to foster an understanding of the transmigrant experiences of Jamaican Canadian older adults who live in and across Canada and Jamaica. Central questions were the following: How do retired Jamaican Canadian transmigrants perceive their experience of retirement? What are some of the considerations in selecting a final residence after they retire? How do they signal the end of their migration journey from Jamaica to Canada? Data collection took place in Toronto, Canada, and in Trelawny and Manchester, Jamaica. The study revealed opportunities and challenges associated with ageing across borders and the factors which determine where older adult transmigrants select as their final residence post-retirement, a process which signals the occlusion of their migration endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our world suffers. Some people suffer more than others. Since the first part of 2020, ours is justly described as a time of uncertainty, threat, and upheaval. In this article, we offer reflections threaded narratively, told from the specificity of our societal contexts in Iran, Canada, and Australia. What might we learn in the present and anticipated future from people living chronically within conditions of uncertainty and immobility and also those experiencing uncertainty and immobility for the first time? We argue that reflexive comparative analysis bridging social and visual analysis, anchored in embodied conditions of such people, offers a way to learn from responses to COVID-19 while also being an exercise in ethical research practice. This reflection builds on and extends from our scholarly collaborations that have been ongoing since 2015. Our title recognizes this specific virus as stealthy. Importantly, our choice of words identifies resident Iranians—whose experiences were the original impetuses for this paper, and whose lives provide its empirical basis (98 is Iran's country code)—as equally steely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness has negative implications for mental well-being and quality of life. This paper identifies the quality of life variables that contribute to positive or negative wellbeing, reporting on a regression analysis from 343 individuals experiencing homelessness in Canada. Results indicate that a lack of sleep duration and quality reduced mental well-being for both genders, not having access to food and/or hygiene facilities decreased men's well-being, and engaging in illegal subsistence strategies, such as selling drugs, negatively impacted women's mental well-being. For persons experiencing homelessness, mental well-being and quality-of-life are gendered outcomes of their limited access to social determinants of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]