In August, I blogged about controversy surrounding Concordia University's Board of Governors. A report co-authored by Bernard J. Shapiro (Canada's first Ethics Commissioner) had concluded that an unofficial, inner circle of board members had been micromanaging some of the university's day-to-day operations, and undermining the president. This had apparently prompted the resignation of the previous two presidents before the midway points of their respective terms in office. It had also caused a public-relations disaster and "culture of contempt" on campus. The report in question had recommended, among other things, that the board be reduced in size from 40 to 25 members.

In June of this year, a report was released on governance at Concordia University. The 39-page report was written by the External Governance Review Committee, a three-person committee chaired by none other than Bernard J. Shapiro (Canada's first ethics commissioner).

Today the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a primer I wrote about the quiet erosion of regulations in Canada.

I had never anticipated wanting to write about such an innocuous topic but a series of focus group sessions made me look at regulation — and the role government has to play — in a whole new light.
The focus group research taught me that when it comes to regulation, Canadians trust their government is on the job.

U of T's Governing Council should watch its step -- there's a new challenger in the neighbourhood: The U of T General Assembly. January 19 marked the first meeting of this new body and the results were remarkable!

This collective of over two hundred students, professors, unionized workers, alumni, librarians, administrative staff and friends of the U of T community gathered for an inaugural strategy session at the Multi-Faith Centre on Spadina. The participants voted on procedural methods to be used for the evening and then built a list of subjects to be addressed by smaller discussion groups.

On Sunday, Toronto police lined Dundas as parents and children marched, waving Iranian flags and posters of political prisoners like Hojat Shariefi, who has been taken captive by his government. Here are scenes from the demonstration:

A middle-aged woman standing in the back of a pick-up truck leads them. She shouts into her megaphone, ‘Khamenei must be stopped,' and the crowd repeats.

"We are here to raise awareness and support the Iranian people uprising against suppression in their country: they want democracy. The government has killed many people over there in the last 6 months," says protestor Shakour Ghafouri, 58. "They're a religious dictatorship forcibly implementing their own religious decrees on the public. [Iranians] want a secular regime."

This entry is part two, following a look at the executive and legislative branches of Afghanistan's government, also found on this blog.

Provincial Councils

The Provincial Council Law of 2007 is unclear about the authority of these Councils. This has left room for debate. Mainly, the Councils have to elect members to the Mishrano Jirga (Assembly of Elders); "advise and cooperate with the provincial administration on a variety of issues, including development planning;" and "participate in the development of the provinces and the improvement of administrative affairs." (2)