Media releases

• Brock U set to help fuel a digital economy as high-speed broadband announced for Niagara

  Tuesday, July 26, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: R00162 – 26 July 2016

  Brock University officials welcomed today’s news that the Federal and Ontario Governments will provide up to $180 million to help bring ultra-high-speed Internet to homes and businesses in the Niagara region and across southwestern Ontario.

  The announcement was made on the Brock campus today by Jim Bradley, MPP for St. Catharines, together with Chris Bittle, MP for St. Catharines and Vance Badawey, MP for Niagara Centre.

  The funding means work could begin later this year on the $281-million Southwestern Integrated Technology (SWIFT) Project, which will deliver fibre optic coverage to more than 300 Ontario communities with a population of 3.5 million people.

  Brian Hutchings, Interim President of Brock, said the University has been working for months with Niagara Region and other partners to pursue the SWIFT initiative.

  “The demand for broadband connectivity in the University environment is endless, from supporting teaching and learning to advancing research,” said Hutchings. “We need access to high-speed, reliable networks.”

  Steven Renzetti, Brock’s incoming Interim Vice-President of Research, called the announcement “a huge step in the right direction for Niagara’s economic, social and cultural future.”

  “Broadband is essential public infrastructure in the 21st century,” said Renzetti. “Government and non-governmental organizations have an unprecedented need for faster connectivity over more robust networks in order to access and develop products and services.”

  Wendy Cukier, who in September will become Brock’s President and Vice-Chancellor, is a leader in emerging technologies and networks and the author of Innovation Nation. As Vice-President of Research and Innovation at Ryerson University, she led projects to support high-tech startup companies in the DMZ incubator as well as strengthening the innovation ecosystem though the Incubate Innovate Network of Canada (I-INC).

  “Strong technological infrastructure is critical to Canada’s Innovation agenda and keeping us globally competitive,” said Cukier. “By expanding the Region’s broadband capacity, SWIFT will enable growth across all sectors of the economy, from health care to tourism. I am confident Brock University will work with key stakeholders to advance research and develop the talent critical to building the Region’s innovation ecosystem.”

  Brock University is a comprehensive undergraduate and graduate institution whose transdisciplinary digital researchers address many issues relevant to the digital economy, from developing new applications and services, to fuelling digital entrepreneurship, exploring consumer behaviour and technology adoption, and examining policy and privacy issues.

  Brock develops the skills and expertise needed for a highly skilled workforce that will drive economic development, in fields ranging from computer sciences and digital humanities to analytics and how businesses make optimum use of big data.

  Many of Brock’s leading-edge programs include experiential learning opportunities that further build the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the digital economy. Brock’s new degree/diploma program in gaming, launched in partnership with Niagara College, pairs students with academic and industry experts, to develop graduates ready to work in the growth industry of gaming.

  For more information:

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

  Categories: Media releases

• Brock labour expert releases first study of animal cruelty investigation work in Ontario

  Tuesday, July 26, 2016 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: R00160 – 25 July 2016

  Enforcement officers with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) are underequipped compared to their police service counterparts and face many instances of disrespect on the job, says new research by Brock University and the University of Windsor.

  “OSPCA officers have the same legal authority as police to enforce animal cruelty legislation, yet key elements of their working conditions are quite shocking,” says Kendra Coulter, associate professor in Brock University’s Centre for Labour Studies, and lead author of the report.

  The report, “Difference Makers: Understanding and Improving the OSPCA’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Work,” which can be found at humanejobs.org is a first-of-its-kind study of animal cruelty investigators and their work in Ontario.

  Coulter and co-author Amy Fitzgerald, a criminologist at the University of Windsor, collected data from cruelty investigators working with the OSPCA through a survey and focus groups. Policy and financial analysis are also included within the report.

  The OSPCA has 91 officers, 62 per cent of whom are women, investigating some 18,000 complaints of animal cruelty all across Ontario each year.

  The researchers note the irony of OSPCA investigation officers being empowered to obtain warrants, seize animals, lay charges and perform other enforcement duties while the agency they work for has charitable status.

  “No other law enforcement agency in Ontario is reliant on donations for operations, or staffed by more women than men,” says Coulter.

  Key findings include:

  •    Most OSPCA officers must work alone, and some are responsible for geographic regions that take five hours to cross
  •    Officers do not have two-way radios and those in remote regions are regularly without even cell phone service
  •    Officers experience many kinds of disrespect, including verbal and physical abuse, on the job
  •    The $5 million that the Ontario government provides the OSPCA each year only covers less than one third of the agency’s protection budget. “Animal cruelty investigation work in Ontario is still dependent on private donations,” says the report, adding that police, conservation, fisheries and food inspection officers are fully funded through public funds, “and are understood to be providing a public service.”

  Despite the obstacles and difficulties they face, many cruelty investigators — who Coulter says are required to be part police officer, part social worker and part nurse — go to great lengths to find compassionate solutions, most of which go unrecognized.

  “The fact that so many officers make animal cruelty investigation their career, and stay for years or even decades despite the very challenging conditions, is a clear indication of their commitment. But these workers and the animals of our province deserve better,” says Coulter.

  The report makes several recommendations to government, industry and the OSPCA on how to better support cruelty investigation officers and the animals they’re trying to protect, as well as improve workers’ safety and effectiveness.

  Kendra Coulter, associate professor, Centre for Labour Studies, Brock University is available for media interviews at kcoulter@brocku.ca

  Windsor-area media are asked to contact Amy Fitzgerald, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, University of Windsor at afitz@uwindsor.ca

  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

  – 30 –
   

  Categories: Media releases