funding
Science for profit: Conservatives target the National Research Council
In 2009, the then-minority Harper government smuggled a seemingly innocuous phrase into the federal budget: "Scholarships granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) will be focused on business-related degrees." Yet this humble sentence garnered a 20,000 signature-strong petition presented to Stephen Harper by MP and future NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton. For graduate students who signed the petition, the one-time funding increase doubled as a barely audible declaration of intent which sought to nudge Canadian arts research towards the interests of capital.
Africa Technology & Transparency Initiative
A joint venture of Omidyar and Hivos, the Africa Technology and Transparency Initiative (ATTI) is a fund that supports Africa-based organizations that utilize technology to empower citizens to advocate for responsibility in government. In particular, ATTI provides grants to projects that aim to increase public access to credible information regarding the actions and influence of their leadership.
By harnessing the power of technology, ATTI believes that government transparency and accountability can be improved.
The Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s national, arm’s-length arts funding agency. Our main areas of activity are:
![Murray Dobbin](http://rabble.ca/sites/rabble/files/imagecache/thumbnail/category_pictures/murray dobbin.jpg "Murray Dobbin is a guest senior contributing editor for rabble.ca. Murray has been a journalist, broadcaster, author and social activist for 40 years. A board member and researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, he has written five studies for the centre including examinations of charter schools, and "Ten Tax Myths." Murray has been a columnist for the Financial Post and Winnipeg Free Press and contributes guest editorials to the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and other Canadian dailies. He writes a regular "State of the Nation" column for the on-line journal theTyee.ca which is published simultaneously on rabble.ca.
Murray has written five books, including critical profiles of Preston Manning, Kim Campbell and Paul Martin. His "The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen" has been described as a citizens' guide to globalization. He has also prepared radio documentaries for the CBC Radio's Ideas series on subjects including taxes, human rights and the right-wing regime in New
Zealand.
A long time social activist Murray has been involved in many movements from the anti-nuclear movement, to the fights against so-called free trade and public private partnerships. He is the founder of Word Warriors, a project which co-ordinates letter-writing to the editorial pages of newspapers across Canada. He is a Senior Advisor to the Rideau Institute on International Affairs.")
Canada's aid troubles
Kudos to you, Stephen Harper, for not messing up on implementing Canadians' desire to lend a hand during this horrific crisis in Haiti.
But before you try to turn the blessings for responding to this emergency into a political asset, we need a little reality check. This crisis actually highlights more than ever why we need to put our anti-prorogue asses on the line on Saturday (Jan. 23).
Policy and prejudice: Defunding Canadian aid projects
