Articles by author: Brock University

• Brock Chancellor launches Indigenous film festival

  Thursday, July 12, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 12 July 2018 – R00140

  A strong lineup of films from around the world will highlight a new Indigenous-focused event this weekend on Manitoulin Island.

  The Weengushk International Film Festival (WIFF), a joint venture between Weengushk Film Institute (WFI) and Brock University, was created to highlight Indigenous talent including actors, writers, directors and filmmakers from around the world.

  It was created by WFI founder and Brock Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo to explore Indigenous topics while breaking down stereotypes and racial barriers. WIFF creates an important venue where emerging talents and varying perspectives can be exposed to audiences, and where people can become educated about First Nations, Métis and Inuit issues in Canada and around the world.

  “I am proud that our people have a new platform to showcase their work and for all cultures to come together and share in this wonderful opportunity celebrating community and film,” said Cheechoo, an acclaimed filmmaker, writer, director and artist who has dedicated herself to highlighting and promoting Indigenous voices through film and bringing cultures together in the north.

  WIFF opens Friday, July 13 and will wrap up with a closing gala Sunday, July 15 at Aundeck Omni Kaning’s Four Directions Complex on Manitoulin Island.

  A wide range of films will be screened from emerging and experienced filmmakers, including feature, documentary and student films. These short student films include works from graduates of the Brock Certificate in Film Production and Television Production that are offered at Weengushk.

  The internationally acclaimed film Wind River opens the festival. The lineup also includes the award-winning documentary Rumble and closes with the powerful Canadian film Indian Horse.

  In addition to Cheechoo and Brock University President Gervan Fearon being in attendance, VIPs include Brenda Lintinger, a Tunica-Buloxi Council member, whose tribe helped produce Wind River, acclaimed filmmaker Jennifer Podemski, filmmaker and actor Nathaniel Arcand and Juno award winning singer/songwriter Crystal Shawanda.

  For more information, visit the WIFF website at weengushkfilmfestival.ca

  WIFF Media contacts:

  Ellie Poirier, 705-377-6011, epoirier@weengushk.com

  Gloria Panacheese, 705.923.8988, gpanacheese@weengushk.com

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock to co-host international seminar on parental leave policies

  Wednesday, July 11, 2018 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 11 July 2018 – R00139

  Eight out of 10 fathers in Quebec take paternity leave, compared to one out of 10 fathers in the rest of Canada.

  Under the Quebec Parental Insurance Program (QPIP), a woman earning minimum wage works up to three times fewer hours to qualify for parental leave benefits compared to women under Canada’s Employment Insurance (EI) system.

  “Why is Quebec a leader on these issues?” says Brock University Professor of Sociology and Canada Research Chair in Gender, Work, Care and Community, Andrea Doucet. “How can Quebec’s successes be translated into lessons for the rest of Canada?”

  Doucet is among a group of international experts who will be exploring these and other questions at the 15th annual International Seminar of the Network of Leave Policies and Research, to be held in Toronto Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14. It’s the first time the annual seminar has been held outside of Europe.

  This year’s theme is The Fit and Future of Parental Leave and Other Care Policies: Design, Equality, Impacts, Measurement.

  Co-hosted by Brock University, the University of Guelph and the l’Université du Québec and funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the seminar will address key topics in parental leave such as:

  • How parental leaves fit with other care policies.
  • Policy designs that maximize equality and impact.
  • Measuring and assessing broad social impacts and progress towards gender and social equality.

  The Leave Policies and Research Network is a consortium of policy experts from 42 countries, whose members produce cutting-edge research on parental and other leave policies.

  Paid parental leave is currently a hot topic for governments, policy-makers, researchers and activists in Canada and internationally, says Doucet.

  “Paid leave supports families by providing parents with time and financial resources to care for their newborn infants, but some policy designs deepen social and class inequalities. A strong economic case can be made for implementing inclusive policies that support all parents,” she says.

  For instance, Canada’s two parental leave benefit programs — EI and QPIP — have huge disparities, according to 2016 research headed by then-Brock postdoctoral fellow Lindsey McKay.

  McKay and her team (Sophie Mathieu and Doucet) found that 38 per cent of all mothers across Canada — with the exception of Quebec — were excluded from maternity or parental benefits under the EI program.

  In contrast, only 10 per cent of mothers in Quebec were excluded from QPIP, formed in 2006 when Quebec exited the federal EI parental leave program. The research also found mothers in households earning more than $30,000 receive disproportionately more access to benefits than lower-income households, especially under EI.

  Strong family-work policies, such as parental leave, are integral for a country’s social and economic health, says Doucet.

  Canada is the first location outside of Europe to host the annual seminar. Giving the opening address will be Toronto MP Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.

  Key speakers and presentations include:

  • Marian Baird (University of Sydney Business School, Australia), who was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in gender policy around the world.
  • Experts from 22 countries will speak about their national parental leave policies.
  • A team from the World Bank, who will share a new report and present a paper entitled Women, Business and the Law: Comparing leave policies across 189 economies.
  • The Better Life Lab and Slate magazine of U.S. think tank New America, who will present Paid Family Leave: How Much Time is Enough?

  The Canadian members of the International Network on Leave Policies and Research will also be featured on a Canada/Quebec panel. They include Brock’s Doucet and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow Sophie Mathieu; McKay, who is now with Thompson Rivers University, Donna Lero from the University of Guelph; and Diane Gabrielle Tremblay from l’Université du Québec.

   For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Maryanne Firth, Writer/Editor, Brock University maryanne.firth@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x4420 or 289-241-8288

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  Categories: Media releases