Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rachel Engler-Stringer, Professor, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan

This spring, as part of a sabbatical project, I had the privilege of visiting school food programs and meeting with school food researchers in six cities in France, England and Scotland.

I got to eat school lunches, visit central kitchens in two cities where meals are prepared for thousands of children, visit school kitchens and discuss school food with the countries’ leading experts.

This visit intersects with my research with colleagues on promising food programs across Canada. This research offers insights for consideration as regions navigate the federal government’s first National School Food Program and National School Food Policy.

Government announcements about the program and policy were followed by negotiations with the provinces and territories, all of which have since signed agreements for a portion of the funding.

In most parts of Canada, officials are just beginning to plan for new approaches to school food (with a few exceptions especially in Atlantic Canada where school food programs have been transforming much more quickly).

Based on my research about international food programs, here are four key things Canadians should pay attention to:

1) In Canada we need to shift from thinking of school lunches as a safety net for kids living in poverty to thinking about them as benefiting the health and well-being of children and their families. In France, this shift in thinking is particularly clear.

School lunches in France are about teaching children about food and culture and all kids are encouraged to eat together with an adult facilitator who teaches them about the components of the meal and creates a family-meal context at each table. By contrast, if you ask many parents in Canada what school meals are for, they will tell you they are for kids living in poverty to make sure they have food to eat at school.

If Canada wants a national school food program that achieves the benefits of the best programs in the world in the areas of education, well-being and on the economy, we need to think of school meals as supporting young people to be the best students they can be.

2) One important benefit of school food programs globally is to encourage picky eaters to try new foods due to the social pressure of all kids eating the same foods together. In three cities in France I visited, and one in England, school lunches look like home-cooked meals. One main dish with meat is served (and in England, a vegetarian alternative), and kids can choose if and how much of the side vegetables and fruit to take.

In Canada, following a similar practice — one main and a vegetarian alternative when meat is served — might work well. But it’s also important that in developing a menu, the cultural diversity of Canadian school communities is reflected in the food on offer.

In the other two locations in England and Scotland, kids choose from multiple main dishes — something that adds cost to the program and does less to encourage kids to try new foods, given one choice is always something basic like a cheese sandwich.

Kids need to have some autonomy when it comes to eating, but school food programs should not be facilitating eating the same food every day. Nor should school food programs aspire to a model where broad choice is afforded from a large menu.

3) With care, planning and sufficient resources, centralized kitchens can prepare thousands of servings of a main dish daily. The French central kitchens I visited prepare 6,000 to 10,000 servings a day of high-quality food following strict food safety protocols.

I ate two simple yet delicious meals cooked in municipally owned central kitchens. In the three cities in France where I visited, they used central kitchens where main dishes were prepared and chilled to be delivered for heating at the school level. Central kitchens also delivered the salads and sides (like chopped veggies, bread, cheese and fruit) and dressings.

In the small school kitchens, the salads were dressed, and the cheese and fruit were cut for service.

The central kitchens were also used in at least one city to prepare food for daycares and for seniors who were home-bound — something to consider for Canadian cities.

Centralizing kitchens can reduce costs and provide a way for high-quality food to be produced from basic ingredients without commercial kitchens in every school capable of preparing meals for hundreds of children at a time.

4) When designed with requirements for purchasing foods from local farmers and other Canadian producers, school food programs can benefit the agricultural sector and multiply their benefits to communities beyond direct school food jobs. In France, for example, there are specific percentages to be purchased from local and sustainable sources. Percentage requirements for local and sustainable purchasing should be enacted now in Canada as its program establishes itself, perhaps beginning with 20 per cent and growing over time.

I have many more reflections from my visits, both positive and negative, but the four I have discussed are important for Canada to learn from as it begins to design the National School Food Program to meet the needs of diverse communities from coast to coast to coast.

Rachel Engler-Stringer receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and received a University of Saskatchewan International Travel Award for program visits. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Healthy School Food.

– ref. School lunches, the French way: It’s not just about nutrition, but togetherness and ‘bon appetit’ – https://theconversation.com/school-lunches-the-french-way-its-not-just-about-nutrition-but-togetherness-and-bon-appetit-259832

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Saira Bano, Assistant Professor in Political Science, Thompson Rivers University

In the wake of recent strikes by Israel and the United States on Iranian cities, military sites and nuclear facilities, a troubling paradox has emerged: actions intended to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may actually be accelerating its pursuit of them and encouraging other countries to follow suit.

On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear program. The operation began with a series of co-ordinated strikes targeting Iran’s top nuclear scientists, senior military officials and key members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Despite establishing air dominance, Israel did not possess the capability to destroy Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear facilities — especially the Fordow enrichment site, which is buried deep within a mountain.

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Read more:
Why Israel and the U.S. are sure to encounter the limits of air power in Iran

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On June 21, the U.S. carried out major airstrikes targeting Iran’s critical nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Using B-2 stealth bombers equipped with bunker-busting bombs, the operation aimed to cripple Iran’s deeply fortified nuclear infrastructure.

Three days later, Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, bringing the 12-day conflict to an end. While both sides declared aspects of the campaign successful, the war marked a dangerous escalation in regional tensions and raised renewed concerns over the future of nuclear nonproliferation and security in the Middle East.

History of nuclear negotiations

The U.S. has consistently asserted that Iran must never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. In 2006, Iran was subjected to international sanctions after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported the government was not in compliance with its nuclear energy obligations.

Under former president Barack Obama, the U.S. government pursued a diplomatic path, culminating in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to 3.67 per cent and allow intrusive IAEA inspections. In exchange, it received relief from some international sanctions.

In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, despite IAEA reports confirming Iran’s compliance. This decision undermined diplomatic trust and prompted Iran to scale back its commitments under the deal.

The Biden administration sought to revive the JCPOA, but Iran demanded binding guarantees that future U.S. governments would not again withdraw — an assurance Biden could not provide.

In the aftermath, Iran significantly escalated its nuclear activities. According to IAEA reports, Iran has more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium to 60 per cent — an amount that, if further refined to 90 per cent, could be sufficient to produce 10 to 12 nuclear weapons.

Iran has long used its nuclear program as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the U.S. While Iranian officials have maintained their program is purely peaceful, the country produces more highly enriched uranium than it needs for domestic power generation. Enriching uranium has been a way for Iran to raise pressure on the U.S. to lift sanctions.

The second Trump administration resumed negotiations for a new nuclear deal aimed at imposing stronger constraints on Iran’s nuclear program.

Although five rounds of negotiations were held, a sixth round scheduled for June 15 was disrupted when Israel conducted a military strike on Iran two days earlier. The attack escalated tensions and derailed the diplomatic process, further complicating the possibility of reaching a renewed agreement.

Strikes could lead to nuclear proliferation

Although Trump claimed the U.S. strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, initial intelligence assessments were more cautious, noting significant damage but not total destruction.

Although it maintains ambiguity about its nuclear program, Israel is seen to be the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. It has taken military action to prevent other countries in the region from developing nuclear programs.

In 2007, Israel bombed a suspected nuclear reactor under construction in Syria. In 1981, Israeli fighter jets bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq.

The Israeli government may have calculated that airstrikes could also effectively work against Iran. However, the difference is that Iran’s nuclear program is far more advanced than Syria or Iraq’s were. While the recent strikes may have set the program back by two years, Iran retains the knowledge and capacity to rebuild.

Ironically, the Israeli and U.S. strikes, which aimed to eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities, may instead encourage Iranian officials to accelerate their efforts. Following the war, Iran ended all co-operation with the IAEA, expelling inspectors and cutting off access to its nuclear sites. Without IAEA personnel on the ground, it has become extremely difficult to monitor or verify the scope of Iran’s nuclear activities.

Bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities each time it advances its nuclear program is not a sustainable strategy. Israel had hoped that a decisive military strike would trigger widespread unrest and potentially lead to the Iranian government’s collapse.

Instead, the opposite occurred: the Iranian public rallied around the flag, perceiving the attack as a blatant violation of national sovereignty. As a result, the government strengthened its domestic legitimacy and further suppressed political opposition.

For now, Iranian officials have maintained that they do not intend to develop a nuclear weapon. However, the Iranian parliament is preparing legislation to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which Iran is currently a signatory.

Exiting the treaty would remove a major legal and diplomatic constraint on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Should Iran decide to go down that path, it would likely trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.

Saudi Arabia has indicated that if Iran builds a nuclear weapon, it will seek to do the same.

The most effective way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is through sustained diplomacy and a renewed nuclear agreement. A credible deal that includes robust verification mechanisms and IAEA inspections and sanctions relief remains the most viable solution.

Military strikes, by contrast, tend to backfire, and will likely reinforce the belief in Iran — and elsewhere — that only a nuclear deterrent can shield them from external threats.

Saira Bano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran could fuel a new wave of nuclear proliferation – https://theconversation.com/u-s-and-israeli-strikes-on-iran-could-fuel-a-new-wave-of-nuclear-proliferation-260897

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Melise Panetta, Lecturer of Marketing in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University

For years, the expression “the robot took my job” has brought to mind visions of machines replacing workers on factory floors. But Gen Z is facing a new challenge: the loss of internships and other entry-level positions to AI.

Internships and junior roles have historically provided a predictable ladder into the workforce by providing new workers with the experience and skills needed for long-term career development.

But as artificial intelligence (AI) spreads to every corner of the modern workplace, these roles are susceptible to being replaced by automation.

Entry-level roles traditionally involve low-complexity, high-frequency tasks such as data entry, scheduling or drafting reports — tasks that generative AI can do significantly cheaper and faster than a human. This almost certainly means fewer traditional bottom rungs on the career ladder.

We are already seeing the impact of this: entry-level jobs are becoming scarcer, with candidates competing against a 14 per cent hike in applications per role, according to LinkedIn.

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No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.

Read more from Quarter Life:

• Why is it so hard for young people to get jobs?

• How to deal with being the youngest in the office

• How to handle difficult conversations in your early career, from salary negotiation to solving conflict

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AI is changing the workplace

The integration of AI across industries is fundamentally reshaping the job market.

Nearly half of professionals worry AI will replace their jobs. There is good reason for this: by 2030, it’s estimated that nearly 30 per cent of work could be automated by generative AI.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of executives say they are willing to use AI tools to drive up productivity at the expense of losing staff. Conversely, only one in three executives are willing to keep their staff at the expense of higher expected productivity.

It is also projected that declines in traditional entry-level or junior roles in sectors such as food services, customer service, sales and office support work could account for nearly 84 per cent of the occupational shifts expected by 2030.

Talent and entry-level role shortages in the future

Data on AI and the future of work also points to another potential problem: a talent shortage for certain skill sets. A 2024 report from Microsoft and LinkedIn found that leaders are concerned with shortages in areas such as cybersecurity, engineering and creative design.

Though this data might appear contradictory, it signals that in addition to fewer entry level positions being available, changes to job roles and skill sets are also on the horizon.

As a result, competition for entry-level roles is expected to increase, with greater value put on candidates who can use AI tools to improve their productivity and effectiveness.

Rather than simply eliminating jobs, many roles are evolving to require new capabilities. There is also growing demand for specialized talent where AI cannot yet fully augment human abilities.

AI literacy is the new entry requirement

As AI becomes more prevalent in the workforce, “entry-level” roles are no longer just about completing basic tasks, but about knowing how to work effectively with new technologies, including AI.

Employers are beginning to place immense value on AI literacy. Two-thirds of managers say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills and 71 per cent say they would prefer a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more experienced one without them.

With fewer entry-level positions available, young workers will need to figure out how to stand out in a competitive job market. But despite these challenges, Gen Z may also be the best-positioned to adapt to these changes.

As digital natives, many Gen Z are already integrating AI tools into their work. A report from LinkedIn and Microsoft found 85 per cent are bringing AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot into the workplace, indicating they are both comfortable and eager to make use of this technology.

This trend mirrors broader trends across the workforce. One report found 76 per cent of professionals believe they need AI-related skills to remain competitive. That same Microsoft and LinkedIn report found there has been a 160 per cent surge in learning courses for AI literacy.

This growing emphasis on AI skills is part of a wider shift toward “upskilling” — the process of enhancing skill sets to adapt to the changing conditions of the job market. Today, upskilling means leaning how to use AI to enhance, accelerate and strengthen your performance in the workplace.

A new kind of entry-level job

Since AI literacy is becoming a core career skill, being able to present yourself as a candidate with AI skills is important for standing out in a crowded entry-level job market. This includes knowing how to use AI tools, evaluate their outputs critically and apply them in a workplace context. It also means learning how to present AI skills on a resume and in interviews.

Employers also have a role to play in all this. If they want to attract and retain employees, they need to redesign entry-level roles. Instead of eliminating entry-level roles, they should refocus on higher-value activities that require critical thinking or creativity. These are the areas where humans outperform machines, and where AI can act as a support rather than a replacement.

But to make this work, employers need to re-evaluate their hiring practices to prioritize AI literacy and transferable skills over outdated experience requirements.

The future of work isn’t about humans being replaced by robots, but about learning how to use the technology to enhance skills and creating new entry points into the professional world.

Melise Panetta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. A robot stole my internship: How Gen Z’s entry into the workplace is being affected by AI – https://theconversation.com/a-robot-stole-my-internship-how-gen-zs-entry-into-the-workplace-is-being-affected-by-ai-260381

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Hossein Bonakdari, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Between July 3 and 6, Texas Hill Country experienced catastrophic flash flooding along the Guadalupe River system. The floods claimed at least 130 lives, with over 96 fatalities in Kerr County alone. More than 160 people were missing as of July 12, including children attending camps along the river.

Preliminary economic losses are estimated at US$18–22 billion, reflecting both residential and infrastructure damages.

Understanding the anatomy of this flash flood, and unravelling the complex interplay of meteorological, geomorphological and hydrological forces, forms the foundation for a comprehensive assessment of what happened. This information is vital to help prevent future similar tragedies from occurring.

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Read more:
What is a flash flood? A civil engineer explains

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Atmospheric conditions

The July 2025 flood event in central Texas was triggered by a rare and potent meteorological configuration.

Atmospheric anomalies are weather conditions that differ from what’s expected. Analysis of the July 2025 atmospheric anomalies reveals exceptional thermodynamic conditions that directly contributed to the flood’s severity.

The total precipitation over the core impact zone in the Hill Country during July 3 to 6 is estimated to have delivered more than 15 billion cubic metres of water — an extraordinary volume.

This deluge was supported by persistent temperature anomalies ranging from 5.4 to 6.9 degrees Celsius above the mean. Such elevated temperatures increased the atmosphere’s capacity to retain moisture.

At these anomaly levels, the air mass could store 35 to 50 per cent more water vapour than normal.

Simultaneously, specific humidity anomalies reflected a 60 to 70 per cent increase over July baselines for central Texas. Specific humidity, which quantifies the actual mass of water vapour per kilogram of air, provides a more direct metric of latent moisture available for precipitation.

The convergence of these extreme thermodynamic variables created an ideal environment for deep, moisture-laden convection, supporting prolonged intense rainfall.

Terrain impacts

While meteorological extremes initiated the July 2025 flood event, the morphology of the Guadalupe River — its shape, behaviour and flows — was pivotal in transforming heavy rainfall into a catastrophic flash flood.

The upper basin’s physical geography, drainage configuration and valley structure contributed to the rapid concentration and propagation of floodwaters.

Known as “Flash Flood Alley,” the terrain of the upper Guadalupe River basin amplified the July 2025 flood through a combination of steep slopes, shallow soils and karstic geology.

These steep slopes limited infiltration and led to rapid soil saturation under intense rainfall. The predominance of karstic limestone — limestone that has been shaped by water creating plains and sinkholes — further reduced storage below the surface, resulting in minimal delay between rainfall and discharge.

Additionally, narrow valley sections created hydraulic bottlenecks, accelerating flow and increasing flood depth, particularly affecting residential areas and campsites.

In contrast, broader valleys allowed for the water to spread laterally; there was still destructive momentum due to upstream forcing. These geomorphic traits, compounded by the extreme atmospheric moisture, created an environment where floodwaters accumulated rapidly and struck with devastating force, especially along confluence zones and densely occupied riverfronts.

Excessive runoff

Prior to the July 2025 event, central Texas had already experienced elevated soil moisture conditions due to above-average rainfall during June and early July. Antecedent moisture indices that measure how wet the ground is before rainfall approached 90 to 100 per cent saturation, meaning that the ground was effectively primed for rapid runoff generation.

The region’s karst terrain — characterized by shallow, rocky soils — offered less than five per cent effective porosity, severely limiting absorption into the ground. Simultaneously, regional groundwater tables had risen underground, further reducing the ground’s capacity to absorb water.

This set the stage for an outsized response to the incoming deluge. When intense rainfall arrived, the ground was quickly and completely saturated, resulting in immediate and rapid surface runoff.

The time of concentration is how long it takes rainwater from the farthest part of a watershed to reach its outlet, like a river or stream. In central Texas Hill Country (known for its steep slopes and rocky, shallow soils), that time is just one to two hours. This means that heavy rain can lead to dangerous river rises very quickly.

Water flows fast down the slopes and through underground limestone channels, leaving little time for it to soak into the ground. As a result, rivers such as the Guadalupe can swell rapidly, rising several feet in a short time, which causes fast-moving flood impacts in narrow valleys and low-lying communities.

Multiple forces

The July floods in Texas were devastatingly deadly. A confluence of various meteorological and topographical factors were to blame.

An overheated atmosphere, saturated with water vapour, unleashed record-breaking rainfall. The unique terrain of Texas Hill Country funnelled that rain swiftly into the river system, while the region’s hydrology, already primed by previous storms, converted nearly all of it into runoff.

By understanding how these atmospheric, geographic and hydrological elements combined, we can better anticipate future risks in “Flash Flood Alley” and improve early warning systems to save lives.

Hossein Bonakdari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The anatomy of a flash flood: Why the Texas flood was so deadly – https://theconversation.com/the-anatomy-of-a-flash-flood-why-the-texas-flood-was-so-deadly-260695

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ted Palys, Professor of Criminology, Associate Member of Dept. of Indigenous Studies, Simon Fraser University

The contemporary internet has been with us since roughly 1995. Its current underlying economic model — surveillance capitalism — began in the early 2000s, when Google and then Facebook realized how much our personal information and online behaviour revealed about us and claimed it for themselves to sell to advertisers.

Perhaps because of Canada’s proximity to the United States, coupled with its positive shared history with the U.S. and their highly integrated economies, Canada went along for that consumerist ride.

The experience was different on the other side of the Atlantic. The Stasi in the former East Germany and the KGB under Josef Stalin maintained files on hundreds of thousands of citizens to identify and prosecute dissidents.

Having witnessed this invasion of privacy and its weaponization first-hand, Europe has been far ahead of North America in developing protections. These include the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive, with protection of personal data also listed in the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Canada clearly took too much for granted in its relationship with the U.S. Suddenly, Canada is being threatened with tariffs and President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to make Canada the 51st American state.

This has fuelled the motivation of Canada both internally and in co-operation with western European governments to seek greater independence in trade and military preparedness by diversifying its relationships.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun promoting “nation-building projects,” but little attention has been paid to Canada’s digital infrastructure.

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Read more:
How Canadian nationalism is evolving with the times — and will continue to do so

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Three areas of concern

Three recent developments suggest Canada would be well-advised to start paying close attention:

1. The current U.S. administration has raised concerns about its reliability as a partner and friend to Canada. Most of the concerns raised in Canada have been economic. However, Curtis McCord, a former national security and technology researcher for the Canadian government, has said the current situation has created vulnerabilities for national security as well:

“With Washington becoming an increasingly unreliable ally, Mr. Carney is right to look for ways to diversify away from the U.S. But if Canada wants to maintain its sovereignty and be responsible for its national security, this desire to diversify must extend to the U.S. domination of Canada’s digital infrastructure.”

2. Silicon Valley is exhibiting a newfound loyalty to Trump. The photo of the “broligarchy” at Trump’s inauguration spoke volumes, as their apparent eagerness to appease the president brings the data gathered by the internet’s surveillance-based economy under state control.

3. Trump’s recent executive order entitled “Stopping waste, fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos” is alarming. The order became operational when the Trump administration contracted with Palantir, a company known for its surveillance software and data analytics in military contexts. Its job? To combine databases from both the state and federal levels into one massive database that includes every American citizen, and potentially any user of the internet.

Combining multiple government databases is concerning. Combining them with all the personal data harvested by Silicon Valley and providing them to a government showing all the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime sounds like Big Brother has arrived.

Civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Freedom Foundation, academics and even former Palantir employees have raised alarms about the possibilities for abuse, including the launch of all the vendettas Trump and his supporters have pledged to undertake.

The appeal of Eurostack

European governments have attempted to rein in Silicon Valley’s excesses for years. Trump’s re-election and his moves toward potentially weaponizing internet data have further boosted Europe’s resolve to move away from the U.S.-led internet.

One newer effort is Eurostack. A joint initiative involving academics, policymakers, companies and governments, it envisions an independent digital ecosystem that better reflects European values — democratic, sovereign, inclusive, transparent, respectful of personal privacy and innovation-driven.

Spokesperson Francesca Bria explains the “stack” arises from the idea that a digitally sovereign internet needs to have European control from the ground up.

That includes the acquisition of raw materials and manufacture and operation of the physical components that comprise computers and servers; the cloud infrastructure that has the processing power and storage to be operational at scale; the operating systems and applications that comprise the user interface; the AI models and algorithms that drive services and its policy and governance framework.

Prospective gains to Europe are considerable. They include greater cybersecurity, promoting innovation, keeping high-end creative jobs in Europe, promoting collaboration on equitable terms and creating high-skilled employment opportunities.

Canada receives no mention in the Eurostack proposal to date, but the project is still very much in the developmental phase. Investment so far is in the tens of millions instead of the billions it will require.

Canada has a lot to offer and to gain from being part of the Eurostack initiative. With the project still taking shape, now is the perfect time to get on board.

Ted Palys does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How Eurostack could offer Canada a route to digital independence from the United States – https://theconversation.com/how-eurostack-could-offer-canada-a-route-to-digital-independence-from-the-united-states-260663

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Colombe Nirina Sehenomalala, PhD candidate, Anthropology, Université de Montréal

Most people’s encounters with lemurs have occurred through their representations in popular children’s media, like Zoboomafoo or Madagascar. However, most people don’t know that lemurs play an important role in forest renewal and that they’re currently in grave danger from climate change.

In my home country of Madagascar, there is an amazing array of creatures that are not found anywhere else in the world. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, and approximately 90 per cent of plant and animal species on this island are endemic.

Among them are lemurs, a group of primates that are not only the flagship symbols of the island’s fauna, but also one of the key players in the health and stability of Madagascar’s ecosystems because they do the very important work of dispersing seeds.

I am a primatologist who researches the interactions between infant-and-mother lemur dyads in wild. Their bond is a reminder of what we stand to lose, as it shows care, learning and viability. When forests disappear, so does this fragile bond, and a whole way of life we can never replace.

Lemurs’ habitats and survival are increasingly being threatened by human activities such as deforestation, forest resource exploitation and hunting. There is an urgent need for conservation projects that involve local communities in preserving Madagascar’s unique biodiversity.

Charismatic animals

Due to their charisma, media attention and their biological significance, lemurs attract tourists and researchers to Madagascar. The viability of lemurs is essential to the island’s future, both economically but especially in terms of protecting biodiversity. As they eat fruits from trees like ebony, mammea and wild coffee and then scatter seeds through their droppings, they help new plants grow.

Among the 105 lemur species of Madagascar, Propithecus candidus, commonly known as the silky sifaka, is one of the most endangered species. Only around 250 of them are currently living in the wild.

As their name implies, silky sifakas have visually striking long white hair, and they can only be found in the misty, mountainous rainforests of northeastern Madagascar.

Silky sifakas are primarily active during the daytime, and can travel very quickly through the trees by vertically clinging to them and leaping from tree to tree using their powerful legs. They have highly specialized diets consisting of leaves, flowers and fruits like Diospyros pervilleana, a native ebony species from Madagascar.

Observing mothers and infants

I have spent 10 years studying and following lemurs daily. During my fieldwork in northeastern Madagascar, I closely observed how deforestation and habitat fragmentation affect silky sifaka females and their young.

I studied these females during their lactation season in three different forest contexts: Marojejy National Park (a mostly untouched primary rainforest), Makira Natural Park (a mix of old-growth and re-generating forest) and Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve (known as COMATSA-Sud, a primary forest with heavily degraded areas).

At each forest, the forest canopy, which provides both shelter and food for the lemurs, measured above 10 metres at all sites, but was semi-open, which is a sign of habitat degradation. A semi-open canopy allows more light to permeate the forest canopy, but it also exposes animals to predators and decreases the quantity of high-quality food.

Mothers’ movements and behaviours

One clear difference between the three sites is how mother–infant pairs move and use space. In Marojejy, where the forest is more continuous even if the canopy is partly open, mothers and babies stay within fairly fixed areas, following the same paths and resting spots.

But in places like Makira and COMATSA-Sud, where the forest is broken up into separate patches, mothers have to travel farther and more unpredictably, moving between these isolated patches. This extra travelling causes them to burn more energy and face higher risks from predators and hunters.

These differences show that fragmentation doesn’t just affect food availability, but also changes how these lemurs move and survive.

Forest fragmentation affects lemurs’ social behaviour and grouping patterns to deal with low food availability. It also impacts their health and development; a poor diet causes malnourishment in the lemurs.

Poor nutritional quality

While the food availability for silky sifakas in northeastern Madagascar during the lactation season is relatively abundant, it is of low nutritional quality.

This leads to increased stress and competition as dominant lactating females, desperate to feed their infants, attack subordinates to accumulate more nutrients to produce higher quality milk.

As offspring start to feed on non-milk foods, the poor nutritional quality of available plants after weaning can lead to poor health and stunted growth.

Engaging the community

The decline of lemur populations, particularly silky sifakas, shows the need for urgent conservation action. Continued monitoring — as well as sustained support and funding for Malagasy scientists — is crucial for long-term lemur and biodiversity conservation.

When it comes to the effects of human activity, this decline — habitat fragmentation, global climate change and deforestation — is the result of large-scale activites such as extraction, tourism and state infrastructural development.

Education and awareness campaigns are crucial, both in Madagascar and internationally, to inform people about lemurs’ habitat needs and what can be done to prevent their extinction.

Conservation will never be successful without building an appreciation of the environmental, cultural and economic value of lemurs and the forests they inhabit.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Lemurs can help save Madagascan forests, but first we need to protect them – https://theconversation.com/lemurs-can-help-save-madagascan-forests-but-first-we-need-to-protect-them-256300

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Andy Hira, Professor of Political Science, Simon Fraser University

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has made establishing east-west energy corridors a priority for Canada. He suggested that such corridors would include new oil and natural gas pipelines, designed to reduce dependence on the United States.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson has gone even further in pushing for subsidization of carbon capture and storage projects that would effectively underwrite the long-term continuation of the fossil fuel industry at taxpayer expense.

While there might be short-term political reasons for backing fossil fuels, such an approach goes against Canada’s long-term interests. Prioritizing fossil fuels undermines the country’s commitments to reduce emissions and takes away the investment needed for it to realize its potential to become a green energy superpower.

Creating energy corridors is in the national interest, and would allow Canada to take full advantage of its abundant and diverse energy and mineral resources. The government also needs to be involved, as the corridors are interprovincial and will require substantial investment. However, the government has limited resources and so Canada must think strategically about its priorities for such corridors.

Canadian taxpayers should not be subsidizing an already lucrative oil and gas industry. Instead, the federal government should prioritize funding clean energy supply solutions.

Oil and gas subsidies

Canadian governments have long faced opposition to building new pipelines. The provinces of Québec and British Columbia and many First Nations have strongly opposed new pipeline proposals. More recently, there is some signs of softening under the duress of U.S. tariffs.

Even if such shifts are lasting, it’s for the private sector to step up and invest into these projects. Previous federal investments, such as the Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX), were reflections of the private market’s unwillingness to invest in pipelines because they are bad investments. The 2024 Parliamentary Budget Office report estimated that selling the TMX would result in a loss.

There are reasons to question the soundness of fossil fuels on a purely financial basis. A 2022 Parliamentary budget office report found that climate change reduced GDP by 0.8 per cent in 2021, or around $20 billion. This number is expected to rise to 5.8 per cent per year by 2100 (or $145 billion in 2021 dollars).

By contrast, from 2017 to 2021, federal, provincial and territorial governments received an average of $12 billion annually in revenues from the the oil and gas industry.

The gap between the costs and benefits is only going to increase over time. The costs cut across all aspects of life, including food security, health care, global instability and threats to coastal cities due to sea level rise.

On the other hand, every dollar invested in adaptation today has an estimated return of $13-$15.

Furthermore, a recent study indicates a likely glut in global natural gas markets, and the future prospects for oil are equally questionable. For example, one of Canada’s target markets, Japan, has been reselling its liquefied natural gas imports to other countries, suggesting the glut of oil and gas is likely to continue as cheaper producers, including those in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, who are cheaper and closer to consumers, flood the market.

Cheaper and closer oil producers are also flooding markets in anticipation of declining prices.

There are important opportunity costs of investing money in fossil fuels that could otherwise be invested in the clean energy economy. When new technologies arise, there is a limited window of opportunity for global competitors to enter into an emerging industry.

In light of the shift to electric vehicles, heat pumps and artificial intelligence, it’s clear that energy demand is bound to increase significantly in Canada in the coming years. Canada can become a global competitor, but only if it enters the race now, while the window is open.

An East-West clean energy system

Solar and wind prices have declined by 83 per cent and 65 per cent respectively since 2009. However, they suffer from the fundamental issue of intermittency; the sun is not always shining and the wind isn’t always blowing.

While battery prices are declining, they remain an expensive solution. An easier solution is at hand: Canada’s hydroelectric resources. Québec, B.C. and Manitoba have abundant hydro resources that can reduce energy costs throughout the rest of the country.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have potential for significant geothermal power generation. Ontario and the Atlantic provinces could contribute wind and solar. Trading electricity through an integrated national grid increases the investment capital and reduces the need for batteries while diversifying the energy mix.

But we need an east-west electricity market to make this happen.

An east-west grid would reduce the need for every province to run its own power generation system. Creating a pooled market would allow provinces to trade electricity, giving consumers more choice and investors a larger market and potential return on their investment.

More valuable still is the fact that electricity capacity has to be built for the few peak hours and seasons. But most of the time demand is well below full capacity, such as the middle of the night or early summer, when neither heat nor air conditioning is needed in many areas. As peak times and seasons vary across the country, Canada can reduce overall costs by trading the electricity in the lowest cost producing province at a given time to where it’s needed in the other.

By locating some of the new clean energy in First Nations, Canada can also move reconciliation forward. There is potential for a win-win situation whereby Canada increases renewable energy generation while creating new jobs and income for First Nations wherever feasible.

The first step is for regulatory reform across the provinces to support a Canada-wide electricity market, and to provide the funding for the massive infrastructure investment required to connect provincial grids. This would be a federal investment with incredible long-term payoffs for employment, taxpayers and future generations.

Following this plan could truly make Canada an energy superpower on the right side of the energy transition, create thousands of jobs and give the country a global competitive edge — all while helping to save the planet in the process.

This article was co-authored by energy consultant Sheldon Fernandes.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Canada’s proposed east-west energy corridors should prioritize clean energy – https://theconversation.com/canadas-proposed-east-west-energy-corridors-should-prioritize-clean-energy-259530

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Caroline Pukall, Professor, Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Ontario

The orgasm gap — the consistent finding that men who have sex with women have more frequent orgasms than women who have sex with men — has been shown in study after study of cisgender, heterosexual participants.

The gap is a big one: Based on a recent Canadian study, approximately 60 per cent of women and 90 per cent of men reported reaching orgasm in their most recent sexual encounter.

In sexually diverse samples (samples that also include women who have sex with women and men who have sex with men), the pattern becomes more nuanced but still supports a gendered orgasm gap.

Research has shown that the gap in orgasm frequency is reduced (in other words, there is more equal orgasm frequency) in women who have sex with women (about 75 per cent), and this rate is significantly higher than in women who have sex with men (about 62 per cent). However, men as a group — regardless of who they were having sex with — still had significantly higher orgasm frequency (85 per cent) than women overall (63 per cent). Women are orgasm-disadvantaged overall and especially when they have sex with men.

Mind the gap

How far-reaching is the orgasm gap and what factors might be standing in the way of orgasms for all? We — a team of researchers and science journalists from the podcast Science Vs — examined orgasm frequency in a large diverse sample that included sexual (such as lesbian) and gender (such as trans) minorities and majorities, as well as racialized participants (there were no significant results with analyses focused on sexual orientation or race).

The good news? We found that many people overall were having lots of orgasms — about two-thirds reported having orgasms almost or every time they engaged sexually.

The not-so-great news? The orgasm gap persisted: cis men overall reported the highest orgasm frequency compared to women and gender minorities (who did not differ significantly from each other). In addition, we found that participants of all genders who engaged sexually with women reported significantly more frequent orgasms than those who engaged sexually with men. So being partnered with a woman is associated with an orgasm advantage.

More not-so-great news was that about 17 per cent of participants reported almost never or never having orgasms during sex and that there were many factors preventing orgasms in participants. For cis women, psychological barriers — such as insecurities, mental health struggles and distractions — were prominent, as were sexual obstacles (like not receiving adequate stimulation), difficulties inherent in having orgasms (for example, they take too long and require too much effort) and not knowing why orgasms are difficult for them to have.

Closing the gap

So why does the orgasm gap exist and persist? One main reason is that broad sociocultural norms prioritize men’s sexual pleasure over women’s. Indeed, these norms develop from the traditional (heterosexual, western) sexual script that defines the end of sexual activity as male orgasm; importantly, women’s adherence to this script has been associated with lower sexual satisfaction.

Another is that mainstream media feeds into narratives of sexual expectations based on gender, such that portrayals of women who do not have orgasms are much more — even readily — acceptable than portrayals of orgasmless men. This inequality is played out in sexual encounters, perpetuating the gap and contributing to complacency in addressing it.

But there is hope: Heterosexual men’s motivation to bring their partner to orgasm and their intentional incorporation of sexual activities that increase the chance of orgasm for their partner — such as clitoral stimulation and oral sex — can help narrow (and even eradicate!) the gap. Women’s own degree of familiarity with their partner has also been shown to be help narrow the gap. Higher familiarity (think of a long-term situationship as opposed to a casual hookup) was associated with higher orgasm frequency.

The simple act of prioritizing women’s orgasm — captured with an easy-to-remember phrase of “she comes first” — may be all that is needed to substantially narrow the orgasm gap.

Caroline Pukall receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, and Queen’s University.

– ref. Want more orgasms? Choose a woman partner – https://theconversation.com/want-more-orgasms-choose-a-woman-partner-259655

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Stéphane Leman-Langlois, Professor, School of Social Work and Criminology, Université Laval

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is making headlines. But not, as they probably hoped, for the renewed recruiting efforts they’re about to launch. Instead, they are once again confounded by a far-right scandal.

The latest episode is the arrest of four CAF members and ex-members. Three of them have been charged with taking concrete steps to facilitate terrorist activity and possessing prohibited firearms. A fourth man was charged with possession and storage of prohibited firearms and devices.

The crew had allegedly been under surveillance by the federal government’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team since 2021, most likely when equipment, weapons and ammunition began to go missing from military installations. The weapons were finally seized in January 2024, some in the personal vehicle of one of the suspects, but the group remained free for another 18 months.

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Read more:
Charges against Canadian Army members in anti-government terror plot raise alarms about right-wing extremism

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As is usual with these types of efforts, a certain degree of amateurism was present at multiple stages of the alleged scheme, which may have developed on the fly. The idea that a micro-militia might successfully seize and hold territory in Canada is far-fetched at best.

Recruitment efforts for the suspected mission, complete with propaganda and self-aggrandizing pictures of military training, took place on, you guessed it: Instagram. (We won’t publish the name of the account.)

It might be pointed out that any large organization like the CAF inevitably represents a microcosm of society, meaning that it can’t be expected to be free of various forms of undesirable behaviour, including political extremism. But this “rotten apple” theory of far-right extremism in the CAF falls somewhat short of explaining the situation.

Not just a ‘few rotten apples’

First, the rotten apples seem too numerous. Just days before the recent arrests, the CAF announced on July 3 it was investigating the participation of other soldiers in a private Facebook page named the “Blue Hackle Mafia.” The page disseminated openly racist, homophobic, misogynist and antisemitic content.

These events point to a phenomenon difficult to measure within western countries, even though it’s very real. The penetration of ideas associated with the far right within the military and law enforcement agencies is currently happening. Whether more or less structured, the emergence of underground small groups are more or less ready to “take action.”

Second, previous reports have identified a general laissez-faire approach within the CAF regarding far-right activities. In a 2022 independent report commissioned by the CAF, the presence of white supremacist and other far-right ideologies was identified not only as a growing problem for the Army, but also one that was not being addressed.

Similar conclusions were reached in the 1997 report on the behaviour of Canadian soldiers in Somalia, which had explicitly recommended that “the Canadian Forces establish regular liaison with anti-racist groups to obtain assistance in the conduct of appropriate cultural sensitivity training and to assist supervisors and commanders in identifying signs of racism and involvement with hate groups.” In other words, neither the concern nor the awareness is news.

Affinity between far right and military

At the root of the problem is a peculiar affinity between most forms of far-right ideologies and military or paramilitary/policing organizations.

It’s absurd to simply paint such organizations as inherently far right in their nature, of course. But strict authority structures and notions of defence, fellowship, honour — as well as the projection of power through physical strength and training and the accompanying symbolism of weapons, fatigues, uniforms and campaign-like deployments — are all very appealing to far-right extremists.

This nexus has been amply documented and leads to multiple practical implications: extremist groups trying to recruit active or retired soldiers; soldiers joining existing groups or setting up their own; veterans joining existing groups or creating their own, like the founders of Québec’s La Meute; professionally trained lone wolves, like Correy Hurren, who attempted to “arrest” Prime minister Justin Trudeau at Rideau Hall in 2020)

Members of extremist groups also routinely try to join the military to benefit from training, which elevates their standing within the group.

Military, former and active, and law enforcement members are to be found in multiple “militia” groups like the Three Percenters, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, Diagolon and the Boogaloo movement, for instance. Some are overtly anti-government and/or anti-system, like the Veterans 4 Freedom or The Base.

Far-right demons

It may sound strange to think of military personnel or veterans getting involved or creating an anti-government movement when they’ve served under the flag sometimes for decades. The apparent paradox quickly disappears once we understand the manifold individual motivations that underpin their actions.

They range from the feeling of having served a timourous government that failed to make proper use of the Armed Forces at its disposal. The absence of deployments to theatres of conflict also generates frustration among some in search of military adventure.

A lot of young men are quickly bored with exercises that never satisfy their expeditionary spirit. The role of camaraderie, of group dynamics based on mutual aid, honour and the presence of danger, as well as mental health issues, must not be overlooked. Not to mention the idea, strong in some units, of defending a singular idea of a “fatherland” endangered by government contempt and inaction.

What is striking in the light of the recent charges in Québec is not so much the racist and anti-semitic ideological ideas allegedly held by the accused group members. It’s the primacy given to a patriarchal ideology that explicitly targets women and gender. Fascination with Russia and the war in Ukraine waged by Vladimir Putin is also palpable.

In short, the CAF is still wrestling with far-right demons, though in a new context of social media acceleration and global loss of confidence in democratic institutions. The situation has a high potential to undermine confidence in Canada’s Armed Forces at a time when geopolitical tensions are calling for a strengthening of its military arsenal, and first and foremost, our military human capital.

Stéphane Leman-Langlois receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Samuel Tanner receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Aurélie Campana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Not just a few bad apples: The Canadian Armed Forces has a nagging far-right problem – https://theconversation.com/not-just-a-few-bad-apples-the-canadian-armed-forces-has-a-nagging-far-right-problem-260896

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Dilara Baysal, Research Fellow in Sociology, Concordia University

As companies face pressure to increase productivity, many are calling workers back to the office — even though there is limited evidence that return-to-office policies actually improve innovation or performance.

In cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where many major companies are headquartered, this is putting pressure on people to live near expensive downtown areas.

As of April 2025, average one-bedroom rents were $2,317 in Toronto and $2,536 in Vancouver, with North Vancouver even higher at $2,680. If return-to-office policies continue, more workers may be forced into these pricey city centres, adding pressure to already overheated housing markets.

Since early 2025, return-to-office policies have added to Canada’s housing stress. The Royal Bank of Canada, for instance, now requires staff in the office four days a week, and Amazon ended remote work in January. While rents haven’t jumped yet, similar policies in the U.S. have already pushed up demand, and may be a sign of what’s to come.

In Washington, D.C., rents rose 3.3 per cent after federal employees were called back to offices. Cities like New York and San Francisco also saw rent increases linked to companies like JPMorgan Chase, Meta and Salesforce reversed remote work policies.

The myth of office productivity

According to the Bank of Canada, Canada’s economy is being negatively affected by low productivity. Low productivity slows Canada’s economic growth and keeps wages low. It also makes inflation worse because supply can’t keep up with demand. A productive economy meets demand more easily, keeping prices stable.

In response, many companies are pushing return-to-office as the answer. RBC CEO Dave McKay endorsed a return to the office back in 2023, saying that “the absence of working together” has hurt innovation and productivity.

At Google, under mounting pressure to compete in artificial intelligence, co-founder Sergey Brin also pushed for full-time office work, calling a 60-hour week the “sweet spot” for productivity.

But recent research shows the story isn’t so simple. A University of Chicago working paper found that strict return-to-office rules can cause senior staff to leave, which hurts innovation.

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Read more:
Working one day a week in person might be the key to happier, more productive employees

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Another study of 48,000 knowledge workers in India found that hybrid setups — where some people are in the office and others work from home — can make it harder to share ideas and work together.

Meanwhile, a Stanford-led study found that working in the office just two days a week kept productivity strong and cut employee turnover by 33 per cent.

Where people live matters more

Return-to-office mandates also aren’t a guaranteed way to boost productivity. A 2023 study supported by housing organizations across Canada found that affordable, well-located housing helps people find better jobs and specialize in their work.

But when housing costs are high and commutes are long, productivity drops, especially for lower-income workers. Long commutes and high living costs create stress, limit mobility and cause people to miss out on job opportunities.

Studies show that investing in technology and training workers matters much more. Research from the Canadian Research Data Centre Network finds that workplace training improves productivity in most sectors.

A recent report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation also shows that high housing costs make it harder for many people to live in big cities, which ultimately reduces diversity in the workforce and weakens the economy.

Affordable housing could boost productivity

Housing in Canada is often viewed in two ways. One treats it as a commodity, where prices follow supply and demand. In this view, policies focus on increasing supply and offering market incentives. The other sees housing as a public need and a basic right, and calls for government action to ensure affordability and stability.

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Read more:
Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that’s the problem

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In practice, market forces can undermine policies designed to meet housing needs and ensure affordability. In Toronto, for example, developers resisted inclusionary zoning rules that require or encourage developers to include a certain percentage of affordable housing units within new residential developments. Instead, they delayed projects or chose to build high-end condos in different zones.

This tension between housing as a commodity and housing as a public good is central to Canada’s current housing strategy. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has pledged to build 500,000 new homes annually by 2035 using tools like public lands, modular housing and tax incentives.

While this supply-focused strategy targets long-term housing needs, it must also account for today’s complex economic realities such as inflation, increasing unemployment and economic stagnation due to lagging productiviy.

Without tackling affordability and access directly, building more homes alone won’t be enough.

The real foundation of a productive economy

Return-to-office policies often focus too much on one thing: how much each worker produces. But that narrow view of productivity ignores what really supports good work: access to affordable housing, time for training and flexibility to relocate for better job opportunities.

To address productivity challenges, companies should invest in job-specific training, digital skills and ongoing learning to help employees adapt to new tools and processes, and the should offer more flexibility. What workers need most are affordable homes, shorter commutes and real opportunities to grow — not added stress and rising costs.

Dilara Baysal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Returning to the office isn’t the answer to Canada’s productivity problem — and it will add pressure to urban housing – https://theconversation.com/returning-to-the-office-isnt-the-answer-to-canadas-productivity-problem-and-it-will-add-pressure-to-urban-housing-260395