Media releases

• Brock celebrates groundbreaking of Canada Games Park

  Tuesday, December 17, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 17 December 2019 – R00190

  Canada Games Park will be a lasting legacy of the 2021 Canada Games and, as a key partner in the project, Brock University is proud to have the athletic facility being built on its campus.

  Brock Board of Trustees Chair Gary Comerford summed it up well during the Canada Games Host Society’s groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Dec. 16 when he said getting to this point was a team effort.

  “As we started this journey, it was a thought, a little crystal of an idea,” said Comerford. “We had no idea it would end up where it has, but it takes people with vision, stamina and guts to make it happen. At the end of the day, everyone came through.”

  The complex is being built by Aquicon Construction on the southeastern corner of Brock’s main campus. The land, valued at approximately $12 million, is part of Brock’s in-kind donation to help stage the Games. It has previously housed part of Brock’s parking lot, baseball diamonds and unused green space.

  “This new legacy facility is going to bring our community onto the Brock campus. It’s going to share with our community here in Niagara the spirit and the education that can only be realized on a campus like Brock’s,” Comerford said.

  Brock has partnered with the Niagara Region, City of St. Catharines and City of Thorold to own the building, and will join St. Catharines and Thorold in operating it.

  In addition to housing two ice rinks, a gymnasium, an outdoor track, cycling centre and beach volleyball courts, Canada Games Park will also have room for Brock research activities and will be home to the Brock-Niagara Centre for Health and Well-Being.

  During the Games from Aug. 6 to 21, 2021, Brock will be heavily involved as a host of the Athletes’ Village, where the competitors and coaches will be housed, as well as hosting swimming and other events.

  But the University is also taking an academic approach.

  “We’re making this a research games in a way that no Canada Games has been before,” said Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon. “It’s about the community, about Brock University and about bringing the talent and insight of our researchers into the entire games ecosystem.”

  Funding is now available to help Brock faculty members who either want to take on Games-related research projects or teach related content in their courses. The University has also created the Brock University Volunteer Association as a way to encourage students to get involved in the 2021 Canada Games and other community events.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

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

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio. 

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  Categories: Media releases

• Expert available for comment on Brexit and the European Union

  Wednesday, December 11, 2019 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 09 December 2019 – R00189

  The UK’s general election on Thursday, Dec. 12 could have a major impact on the protracted process known as Brexit, or the departure of Great Britain from the European Union (EU).

  Paul Williams, lecturer in the Department of Political Science, recently completed a dissertation on migration and the movement of people within the EU in Brock’s Interdisciplinary Humanities doctoral program.

  Williams, who also studied External Relations of the European Union at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Université D’Europe, was not surprised when the deadline for Brexit was extended into January, an EU decision which gave Boris Johnson and the Conservatives time to enact legislation allowing an early general election in the UK in advance of the deadline.

  “I don’t think either the EU or the UK want a ‘no-deal’ Brexit,” says Williams.

  On the UK side are well-documented concerns over free trade, tariffs and the land border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. But the key priorities of the EU have not been as widely discussed.

  “The EU wants a deal in order to ensure the UK maintains similar environmental and social regulations as EU member states,” Williams says. “If the UK begins dismantling these regulatory practices, there is a fear that this may make businesses more interested in the UK than the EU.”

  Williams notes that the EU promotes consensus-building and efficiency, and that the departure of a member state could create or deepen divisions among other member states.

  However, he also points out “the UK has always argued for intergovernmental decision making as opposed to deeper authority given to EU institutions. So there may be a feeling that once an obstructionist member has left, it is a time for renewed optimism that European integration can solve the problems plaguing Europe.”

  Other issues in the UK election, including criticisms of the major parties’ failure to root out anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic sentiment within their ranks, are reflective of broader political concerns of migration, integration and nationalism, the last of which is the most pressing concern for the EU, according to Williams.

  “The global migration crisis and the rise of a new nationalism in Europe illustrates the importance that the migration of peoples plays on European politics,” says Williams. “Nationalist leaders shape their discourse for their national audience, but now also have a wider European message.”

  Paul Williams is available for media interviews, and can be reached at pwilliams@brocku.ca.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  • Michelle Pressé, Brock University Communications, mpresse@brocku.ca or 905-688-5550 x4420 or 905-246-1963

  • Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock Universityddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases