Majority Of Canada Research Articles

Geologic feasibility of underground hydrogen storage in Canada

Electricity production in the majority of Canada's regions is characterized by high proportions of nuclear and renewable sources such as hydroelectricity. Future plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030 and decrease fossil fuel use in favor of increased integration of renewables highlight the need to develop strategies which can match intermittent and base-load electricity output with market demand. The use of hydrogen gas generated through off-peak electrolysis has been highlighted by the Canadian government as a potential avenue forward in managing electrical grids with surplus and intermittent electricity generation. This technology can be supported in a safe and cost-effective manner by underground hydrogen storage in geological formations. In this article, an overview of Canadian geology, as well as an assessment of the potential application of underground storage methods and associated safety concerns in Canada is presented. Favorable locations for pilot projects are found in the sedimentary basins of western and Atlantic Canada as well as southern Ontario, or the crystalline rocks of the Canadian Shield.

Multi-criteria decision analysis ranking alternative heating systems for remote communities in Nunavik

The majority of Canada's 300 remote communities must rely on petrol by-products for electricity and heating. However, alternative energy sources are gaining in interest. This paper presents a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis of four alternative energy systems for heating, that is waste gasification and three types of combustion. A systemic approach is considered based on environmental, social and economic aspects. A single-family house in Kuujjuaq is selected for a case study. Results from the preference ranking organization method for enrichment and evaluation (PROMETHEE) show that wood pellets are the most suitable fuel for heating in all scenarios. It is followed by local waste gasification for the base-case and environmental scenarios and by fuel oil for the social and economic scenarios.

Securing protection standards for Canada's marine protected areas

In 2015, the Government of Canada committed to protecting 5% of marine and coastal areas by 2017, and 10% by 2020. While admirable progress towards this target has been made, less attention has been given to improving the quality of protection afforded to marine areas. Extensive scientific study supports that several factors are critical to the success of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for marine biodiversity conservation and management objectives, including no-take areas and prohibitions on extractive and industrial activities. However, the majority of Canada's MPAs allow extractive uses within their boundaries. As Canada works toward international and national commitments to marine protection targets, it is critical to consider the degree of protection afforded by the legal designations used to create these areas. This paper reviews the current inconsistent standards of protection across marine protected areas (MPAs) designated under the Oceans Act, Canada's flagship legislation for marine protection. Recommended amendments to the law include standards of protection that would exclude all extractive industrial activities from MPAs in order to better guide the designation and decision-making processes for marine protection.

In Crisis or Decline? Selecting Women to Lead Provincial Parties in Government

AbstractThe majority of Canada's women premiers were selected to that office while their parties held government. This is uncommon, both in the comparative literature and among premiers who are men. What explains this gendered selection pattern to Canada's provincial premiers’ offices? This paper explores the most common explanation found in the comparative literature for women's emergence as leaders of electorally competitive parties and as chief political executives: women are more likely to be selected when that party is in crisis or decline. Using the population of women provincial premiers in Canada as case studies, evidence suggests three of eight women premiers were selected to lead parties in government that were in crisis or decline; a fourth was selected to lead a small, left-leaning party as predicted by the literature. However, for half of the women premiers, evidence of their party's decline is partial or inconclusive. As a result of this exploration, more research is required to draw generalizations about the gendered opportunity structures that shape how women enter (and exit) the premier's office in Canada.

How Do English-speaking Caribbean Immigrants in Toronto Find Jobs?: Exploring the Relevance of Social Networks

INTRODUCTION This paper draws from a doctoral dissertation that examined factors beyond human capital that influenced labour market outcomes for immigrants to Toronto from Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. The majority of Canada's immigrants from these three countries live in Toronto. In addition, these immigrants are primarily racialized individuals who possess strong English language skills and high levels of education, training and work experience, but have experienced higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than the Canadian-born population (Colin 2007; James 2009; Preston et al. 2010). The key argument is that for English-speaking Caribbean immigrants, social networks are as important, if not more so, as human capital, for securing meaningful employment in Toronto. Canada's immigration policy seeks to attract immigrants on the basis of their human capital, but largely ignores the demand side factors that relate to how immigrants actually find jobs and does not adequately address factors that allow high-skilled immigrants to find work. The study is based on critical policy research, an inter-disciplinary approach to research that has many dimensions, but this paper is primarily focused on critical race. Critical race theorists investigate notions of race, blackness, and whiteness in the production of societal biases. Traditional critical race theory is focused on an analysis of the social construction of race and racism, and the manner in which people of colour are ordered and constrained in society (Trevino, Harris and Wallace 2008). In the Canadian context, emphasis is placed on examining the manner in which structural and institutional arrangements operate at a disadvantage to racialized groups. Critical race theory, therefore, offers useful insights in how discrimination comes to be structured into Canada's labour market (Galabuzi 2006; James 2009; James, Plaza and Jansen 1999). A number of researchers have expressed concern that Canada's employers may be discriminating against immigrants on the basis of race (Aylward 1999; Block and Galabuzi 2011; Teelucksingh and Galabuzi 2007; Warner 2006). Others have documented that Canada's visible minority immigrants earn lower incomes and have higher unemployment rates than other immigrants and the native-born (Block and Galabuzi 2011; Cardozo and Pendakur 2008; Gilmore 2008; Pendakur and Pendakur 2011; Reitz 2001, 2007). Quantitative studies have also established that poor labour market outcomes for racialized immigrants are linked to racial and gender discrimination (Pendakur and Pendakur 1998; Pendakur and Pendakur 2011). Though not the focus of this study, there are also lessons to be learned from the labour market experiences of Canada's seasonal agricultural workers, live-in caregivers and other temporary foreign workers who have experienced wage discrimination and abusive recruitment practices (Faraday 2014; Satzewich 1991; Tilson 2009). Experimental studies have also found evidence of discrimination, in that resumes from applicants with non-English sounding last names are often excluded at early stages of the job application process (Henry and Ginzberg 1985; Oreopoulos 2011). Qualitative studies of the experiences of nurses in Ontario also found that African-Canadian nurses experienced racism, sexism and classism (Das Gupta 1996; Hagey et al. 2001). Many of Canada's Caribbean immigrants have reported experiences of discrimination in the labour market, which they believe have affected their labour market outcomes (Colin 2007; James 2009; Preston et al. 2010). In each census period from 1996 to 2006, immigrants from the Caribbean experienced higher unemployment rates and lower incomes than the Canadian-born population (Colin 2007). This is the context from which the study examined the lived-experience of English-speaking Caribbean immigrants in Toronto, focusing in part on the obstacles they faced and highlighting the relevance of social networks to their job search. …

Planning for food sovereignty in Canada? A comparative case study of two rural communities

In Canada, most local-governance level food system planning research has been conducted in larger, often urban communities. However, producers in small rural communities conduct the majority of Canada’s agricultural activities. Using case-study research, this paper documents how the rural communities of Saint-Camille (Québec) and Salt Spring Island (British Columbia) engage in food system planning. By investigating the background, key achievements, barriers and good practices, the case studies inform a comparative analysis of governance planning processes and community led project development. The results suggest an overlap between the community food system planning and the food sovereignty frameworks, a space discerned as food sovereignty planning.

Determining Public Values of Urban Forests Using a Sidewalk Interception Survey in Fredericton, Halifax, and Winnipeg, Canada

With the majority of Canada’s population concentrated in cities, it is important to determine what people consider important in urban nature. The concept of values can help illustrate what people consider important in urban nature beyond utilitarian considerations. This is the case for urban forests. However, many studies about public opinion on urban forests do not capture expressions of importance, focus on all the trees of the city, or provide respondents with a direct experience of urban forests. In Canada, most assumptions about Canadian urban forest values are based on results from the United States. In this study researchers present and analyze urban forest values data gathered with a sidewalk interception survey in the cities of Fredericton, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to address some of these limitations. Respondents were asked to rate the level of importance of urban forests and mention the reasons. Results show that respondents rate the urban forest at a high level of importance and the reasons for this are aesthetics, air quality, shade, and naturalness, among other themes. There was a tendency for older people, women, and non-students to rate urban forests at a higher level of importance. Weather, related to time of year of survey delivery, has a discernible influence on the way value themes are distributed in the data. The study authors infer that this method helps capture data on respondents’ psychological states instead of their intellectual awareness as to what they consider important about urban forests.

The Alberta Press on Ukrainians in Canada during World War II: Two Case Studies

This paper discusses the coverage given to Ukrainian Canadian topics in two Alberta newspapers, the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Bulletin , during the World War II years. Examples of the subjects included in the essay are Ukrainian Canadian participation in the war effort through enlistments in the Canadian armed forces and other ways, the banning of the Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association, the formation of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee, the raising of the matter of Ukrainian independence, and the Canadian conscription plebiscite of 27 April 1942. The two newspapers published in the provincial capital accorded significant attention to Ukrainian Canadian issues, a coverage that was paralleled by the many stories that related to Ukraine, a major battleground in the war. Cet article porte sur la couverture donnée à des sujets concernant les Canadiens ukrainiens dans deux journaux albertains, le Edmonton Journal et le Edmonton Bulletin , pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale. Y sont inclus par exemple: leur participation à l’effort de guerre en s’engageant dans les forces armées canadiennes et autrement, la proscription de l’Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association et la formation du Ukrainian Canadian Committee, la question de l’indépendance ukrainienne et le plébiscite du 27 avril 1942 sur la conscription au Canada. Les deux journaux, publiés dans la capitale provinciale, ont porté une très grande attention à tout ce qui touche les Canadiens ukrainiens. Ils leur accordèrent une couverture équivalente à celle des nombreux reportages sur l’Ukraine, un champ de bataille majeur pendant la guerre.

FightingFit? Diet, Disease, and Disability in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914–18

In spite of considerable period propaganda to the otherwise, the average member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was far from a northern superman. Some, in fact, were quite the opposite. A close analysis of enlistment records indicates that majority of Canada’s would-be warriors not only were — as one might expect — of average height and build, but also that many suffered from a wide variety of health concerns ranging from poor eyesight and dentition through to serious musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, evidence suggests that many recruits were poorly nourished. Indeed, despite the very real horrors and dangers that the Great War presented, the enlistment and discharge weights of CEF members suggests that joining the military was actually good for many Canadian males. This analysis is based on summary statistical examination of the medical and attestation papers of over 20,000 servicemen and a close textual analysis of the full file for a smaller number of men.

Access to patient services lacking: National Physician Survey

A majority of Canada’s family doctors are worried about their inability to access publicly funded physiotherapists and occupational therapists, hospital beds, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and positron emission tomography (PET) scanners for their patients, according to the 2013

Lilly Helps Boost Biotech In Canada

Eli Lilly & Co. is the latest global pharmaceutical maker to back early-stage life sciences firms in Canada. Last week, the drug company, Teralys Capital, and other partners invested in a $150 million venture fund managed by TVM Capital in Montreal. The fund intends to support small firms focused on single therapeutic projects. To provide further assistance, Lilly will also establish a Canadian division of Chorus, the early-phase drug development network it started in 2002. Drawing on Lilly and outside service providers, Chorus will help small Quebec-based companies advance drug candidates to the clinical proof-of-concept stage. A majority of Canada’s life sciences firms are in Quebec, according to the economic development group Investissement Quebec. Thanks to tax incentives and a skilled workforce, Montreal ranks eighth among cities in North America for pharma jobs, the group says. Merck & Co. targeted Quebec in March when it invested $35 million in the ...

Associations between the Autumn Arctic Sea Ice and North American Winter Precipitation

Associations between the autumn Arctic sea ice concentrations (SICs) and North American winter precipitation were examined using singular value decomposition. The results show that a reduced SIC in the majority of the Arctic is accompanied by dry conditions over the Great Plains, the southern United States, Mexico, eastern Alaska, and southeastern Greenland, and by wet conditions over the majority of Canada, the northeastern United States, and the majority of Greenland. Atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the SIC variability show a wave train structure that is persistent from autumn to winter and is responsible for the covariability between the autumn Arctic SICs and North American winter precipitation. This relationship suggests a potential long-term out-look for the North American winter precipitation.

Water Myths: The Illusion of Canada’s Endless Water Supply

This paper explores the common misconception that Canada has an infinite supply of freshwater. The true amount of water availability in Canada is explored, and the location of the majority of Canada’s water supply is described. As a consequence of a more precise assessment of Canada’s actual hydrologic situation the paper seeks to dash the dangerous myth of Canada’s water inexhaustibility, which is straining the country’s precious resource increasingly. Finally, this paper discusses the major threats to Canada’s water supply, which are from both external factors as well as its internal sociopolitical weakness. A solution to these problems is considered.

Swede Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Ten Years of Invasion of Crucifer Crops in North America

The Swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii Kieffer (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a common insect pest in Europe, is a newly invasive pest in North America that constitutes a major threat to cruciferous vegetable and field crops. Since its first identification in Ontario, Canada, in 2000, it has rapidly spread to 65 counties in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and has recently been found in canola (one of two cultivars of rapeseed, Brassica napus L. and Brassica campestris L.) in the central Prairie region where the majority of Canada's 6.5 million ha (16 million acres) of canola is grown. The first detection of Swede midge in the United States was in 2004 in New York cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.), but it has now been found in four additional states. Here, we review the biology of Swede midge, its host plant range, distribution, economic impact, pest status, and management strategies. We provide insight into this insect's future potential to become an endemic pest of brassica crops in North America. We also proposed research needed to develop tactics for handling this invasive pest in brassica crops.

Immigration and language policy and planning in Québec and Canada: language learning and integration

The connections between immigration and language policy and planning in Québec and Canada are long established. With the continuing upward trajectory in levels of immigration to Canada and Québec the linguistic integration of these new arrivals remains an important topic. In recent years, Asia has overtaken Europe as the leading source of immigrants; as a consequence there has been a further increase in Canada's linguistic heterogeneity. Demographic linguistic data (e.g. from Statistics Canada) provide evidence that the majority of Canada's newest immigrants no longer come from a European languages background but rather from diverse Asian language groups. This article discusses the approaches taken by Canada (federal level) and Québec (provincial level) as evidenced in the various language and immigration policies put in place to support and encourage language learning and integration among Allophones (speakers of languages other than English and French). The article focuses particularly on immigrants of Chinese origin as this group is now the leading source of immigrants to Canada and Chinese languages are the most spoken non-official languages among Allophones.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake In Canadian Ethnic Populations

We explored whether Canada's diverse ethnic population consumes an adequate daily amount of fruit and vegetables. We also examined the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and long-term diseases. The Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2 (CCHS 2.2), was used to determine the fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) of 13 racial groups, as well as of the entire population. Specifically, we determined median intake and proportions of the group consuming five or more daily servings. Multiple pairwise comparisons among the proportions were performed to detect ethnic groups with significantly low FVI. Logistic regression was also used to describe the risk of long-term diseases associated with FVI and ethnicity. The percentages of Southeast Asian, Aboriginal (off-reserve), and Chinese people who consumed five or more daily servings of fruit and vegetables were significantly lower than percentages in all other ethnic groups surveyed. Aboriginal people with the lowest FVI demonstrated the highest propensity for developing most of the long-term diseases. The majority of Canada's ethnic groups identified in the CCHS 2.2 fell short of the recommended FVI target. This low-intake status might be a risk factor for common long-term diseases.

How Much Diversity in Our Schools?

CANADIANS tend to see our country as demonstrating the possibilities of a society with high cultural diversity and low conflict. (1) We are officially a bilingual country, with guarantees of education for religious and language minorities, as well as the rights of Aboriginal people, embedded in our constitution. Since 1971, multiculturalism has been an established element of Canadian national policy alongside bilingualism. We are a country built on immigration from many parts of the world; Canada accepts about 250,000 immigrants and refugees per year, which is close to 1% of the population, among the highest rates in the world. The vast majority of Canada's immigrants today come from eastern and southern Asia. Many do not speak English or French as a first language. As a result, Canada's large cities are highly diverse. Toronto is nearly 50% foreign-born, while most other urban centers also have substantial immigrant and nonwhite populations. In recognition of these realities, Canada's public school system already embodies quite a bit of diversity and choice, even though the issue has not sparked the same sort of passionate debate as in the U.S. or a number of other countries. Consider some of the educational choices already available to Canadian families: * All provinces have a system of independently governed Francophone schools to meet the requirements for minority-language education in the Canadian constitution; in Quebec the situation is reversed, with a system of Anglophone schools established for the same purpose. * All provinces provide French immersion programs for non-Francophone students who wish to be educated in French. * Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario fund Catholic schools as part of their public systems, again as part of the constitutional arrangements under which they entered the Canadian confederation. * Many provinces provide substantial public funding to independent or private schools, typically at about 50% of the level of funding for public schools. * Most First Nations control their own education systems. * The three northern territories all recognize and support Aboriginal languages in their schools. In Nunavut, most primary teaching is carried on in Inuktitut, the Inuit language still spoken by almost all residents of the territory. * Within their public systems, most provinces support a variety of other alternative programs. Examples include Aboriginal-focus schools, black-focus programs, single-sex programs, religious schools within the public system, bilingual and heritage language schools or programs, multigraded programs, International Baccalaureate programs, and others. For the most part, this approach has worked reasonably well. Canadians feel we have done well compared with the challenges in European countries that suddenly face large numbers of foreign students; think Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland (yes, Switzerland, now 20% foreign-born), not to mention the well-known disputes over immigration in Germany, France, or the Netherlands. But there are definite signs of strain in Canada, too. Recent immigrants--those who have come in the last decade--are not faring as well as did earlier immigrants. (2) Their incomes are lower, and they are having more difficulty getting established, even though they are generally well educated in their home countries and Canada has experienced prosperity and declining unemployment for quite a few years. Canada has continued to struggle over recognition of the educational and labor-market credentials of immigrants, and many immigrants find themselves unable to use professional credentials from their countries of origin. There are worries that many second-generation Canadians feel alienated from Canadian society and continue to experience unacceptable levels of discrimination, especially with regard to employment. Meanwhile, Canada's nearly one million Aboriginal people--who are, of course, not immigrants--continue to lag significantly behind national averages in such areas as longevity, health, and education. …

Trends in physical activity research in Canada

The purpose of this study was to assess Canada's physical activity research productivity by (i) assessing Canada's contribution to global physical activity research, (ii) determining trends in Canadian physical activity research over time, and (iii) identifying research areas of greater or lesser representation. A Medline search was performed to identify physical activity research published between 1990 and 2005 from Canadian institutions or using Canadian data. Trends over time were plotted and compared with global physical activity research patterns. Original and review articles were sorted based on subject characteristics, nature of physical activity contribution, province and institution of origin, and research area or "pillar". A total of 5302 Canadian physical activity articles were identified for the period 1990-2005, representing 4.9% of global physical activity research. After manual sorting of abstracts, 3829 relevant articles were included for further analysis. A majority of Canada's physical activity research has come from Ontario (49%), followed by Quebec (21%), Alberta (10%), and British Columbia (10%). Where physical activity was the primary research focus, the biomedical and clinical pillars each accounted for 39% of Canadian research, with lesser contributions from population health (14%) and health services (2%). Physical activity research productivity in Canada has paralleled global trends over the last 15 years. There is currently less physical activity research being conducted in population health and health services than in the biomedical and clinical areas; however, these areas play an important role in the development of public health policy and programs targeted at reducing the burden of physical inactivity and obesity in Canada.

Francophone life satisfaction and civic culture: A meta-analysis of the Canadian case

Inglehart's notion that variation in civic culture accounts for cross-national differences in life satisfaction is tested for the case of Canadian Francophones. The data base is 15 national level surveys, containing in total 96 satisfaction questions asked between 1963 and 1991. It is contended that Quebec, the home of the majority of Canada's Francophones, historically has had a comparatively weak civic culture, which from Inglehart's hypothesis would predict low satisfaction. Using graphical analysis of general life satisfaction data this prediction is upheld, with the exception of a brief interval in the late 1970s. The same conclusion is reached using all 96 data points in a weighted least squares meta regression analysis, containing variables to denote five separate domains of satisfaction