Support staff contract ratification on horizon
Things are looking promising for the ratification of Camosun College support staff’s new contract. The board of the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA) recently ratified three other agreements for support staff at Capilano University, North Island College, and Vancouver Island University. Following the recent announcement made by advanced education, innovation and technology minister John Yap, Camosun’s CUPE vice-president Tony Nelson hopes the college’s support workers will be the next ones to get a signed agreement. “We’re still in bargaining at the local level,” he told Nexus. “A tentative date to meet with the college is at the beginning of February, and hopefully we can take the ratification vote to our membership around the middle of February.” Camosun’s support staff, along with the staff from 12 other institutions in BC, reached an agreement in principle with the provincial government back in December after targeted job action. The new four-year contract will see Camosun support staff without a raise for two years, and one-percent increases in years three and four.
BC kicks in bucks for Camosun equipment
The provincial government is investing in excess of $1.5 million toward new skills training equipment at Camosun College. The funding is part of a $17-million province-wide skills and training plan investment in order to allow postsecondary institutions upgrades on their equipment. “The Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) welcomes the investment in new skills training equipment at Camosun College. Camosun is constantly in need of updated equipment with which to train our students, so any contribution is welcome,” CCSS external affairs executive Madeline Keller-MacLeod told Nexus. “However, there is also a major gap in funding for the general operating costs at Camosun, so the CCSS also calls upon the government to add an inflationary lift to Camosun’s operating grant.” Camosun plans to use the funds to purchase equipment such as an industrial refrigeration trainer, air compressor, alignment lift, and overhead crane, presumably for trades programs at the Interurban campus.
New hiking trail in works
Local naturalists will soon have a new place to hike now that almost $2 million has been awarded to a local construction company working on two new sections of the E&N Rail Trail-Humpback Connector. The work is being done between Admirals Road and Maplebank Road, as well as from Hallowell Road to Island Highway at the 4 Mile Bridge. The construction is expected to take six months to complete and the result will be a commuting and recreational link between the City of Victoria and the Westshore communities.
UVic researchers awarded funding
Two teams of scientists at UVic have been awarded research grants funds via the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). University scientists will receive $1.8 million to study earth sciences and the role of nanomaterials in creating technological devices. The funding is part of a larger base of $7.7 million the CFI is putting towards their Leading Edge Fund, including the UVic money, but also funding scientists at Simon Fraser University, the University of BC, and BC Institute of Technology. “This will be a huge step toward taking our ideas to prototypes,” said UVic scientist Alex Brolo in a press release. “This investment will help improve the capacity to transform our research into useful applications.” UVic will also receive a further $1.6 million through the CFI for research in their School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.
Tibet group to hold AGM
Annual general meetings are always a hoot, so why not head out to the Canada Tibet Committee AGM on Sunday, January 27? It’s going down at James Bay New Horizons (234 Menzies Street) at 1 pm on Sunday, January 27. Refreshments are at 2, and at 2:30, Bazzi Irvine will give a photo presentation of his recent trip to the Amdo region of Tibet. Irvine, a member of the Canada Tibet Committee Victoria and UVic Students for a Free Tibet, visited Labrang Monastery and the surrounding townships on his trip. Head over to tibet.ca or email tdolma@shaw.ca for more information.
Idle No More protests hits Mayfair, Pat Bay Highway: leg is next
On Saturday, January 19, around 250 Idle No More protestors held a rally at Mayfair shopping centre. This followed a rally that shut down the Pat Bay Highway on Wednesday, January 16. On Saturday, January 26, another Idle No More rally will head from Centennial Square to the Legislature starting at 11 am.
Breakwater to get handrailed
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is planning to install handrails on the Ogden Point breakwater. This news was announced shortly before a woman fell off the breakwater on Saturday, January 19. The handrail announcement was met with some opposition, with those against the project saying the rails will impede the views that the breakwater offers. A local company, Zapco Welding and Fabricating, got the $425,000 contract to install the handrails, which are expected to be up by the end of March.
Diversity forum
UVic’s annual diversity research forum takes place on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 3, bringing all interested parties together to share and discuss groundbreaking research, as well as engage in discussion on equity and diversity topics. Keynote speakers are Canadian senator and retired journalist Jim Munson, who will talk about the rights of children and disabled persons, and UVic graduate Olivia Barr, the first woman elected as a student council president in a Canadian university. The event also includes panel sessions and takes place in the UVic Student Union Building, Graduate Students Centre, and the First People’s House. Go to uvic.a/diversity/forum2013 for more information.