Awarded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's (SSHRC) Insight Grants program, the funding supports medium- and long-term research initiatives over four to six years.

The projects, led by 91亚色 researchers across multiple Faculties and research units, address issues affecting communities in Canada and around the world with research topics that explore a range of issues with local, national and global significance.

"SSHRC Insight Grants enable researchers to pursue ambitious, long-term programs of inquiry that deepen understanding of complex social issues and generate knowledge with real-world relevance," says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. "This year's funded projects demonstrate the remarkable breadth of 91亚色's research strengths, spanning health and well-being, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, Indigenous knowledge and cultural resurgence, education, labour markets, environmental and climate challenges, social inclusion, governance and public policy. Together these projects will generate new insights that help inform policy, practice and public dialogue in Canada and around the world."

Among the largest grants is a six-year, $463,646 project led by Stephanie Ben-Ishai () examining the financial and psychological effects of insolvency. Ann Marie Murnaghan (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) received $459,784 for a six-year project focused on cultural resurgence in Witsuwit'en territories, while Michael Kalu () received $456,501 for research examining the needs of Black older adults and developing Afrocentric-informed strategies.

Other significant awards include Andrea Emberly's (LA&PS) six-year study exploring community connection and musical arts among young people, funded at $435,379, and Shital Desai's () six-year, $417,127 project investigating approaches to strengthening communication and relationships in dementia care. Enakshi Dua (LA&PS) received $411,890 for a five-year project that explores the changing landscape of diversity, equity, inclusion and decolonization initiatives.

Several funded projects examine the social implications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Christo El Morr (Faculty of Health) received $396,562 for Mapping Workplace Racism in Canada: A Community-Driven AI Platform Grounded in Ontario, while sava saheli singh's (LA&PS) Machine Learning or Learning Machines: Critical AI Futures in Education received $111,678. Isha Sharma (LA&PS) received $123,659 to study the adoption and impact of agentic AI in financial crime compliance.

Health and social well-being are also prominent themes. Mary Fox (Faculty of Health) received $400,708 to develop an e-learning intervention aimed at disrupting ageism in social work education, while Nazilla Khanlou's (Faculty of Health) $390,389 project will examine supports for racialized families of children and youth with developmental disabilities. Kerry Scott (Faculty of Health) received $286,282 to investigate public trust and engagement with Ontario's health system.

Other projects, listed below, explore immigrant inequality, labour market barriers, disability and education policy, climate and energy transitions, Indigenous resurgence, entrepreneurship in the age of AI, anti-human trafficking and cultural heritage, and more, reflecting the breadth of 91亚色's research strengths.

Russ Patrick P. Alcedo, AMPD
Project: From Field to Stage: Choreographing for Theatre Philippine Folk Dance Practices through Ethnographic Research
Funding: $163,951

Lalaie Ameeriar, LA&PS
Project: We Inherit Each Other: Racialized Care Work and Reproductive Labour during and after COVID-19
Funding: $109,580

Ilya Archakov,
Project: Measuring and Modeling Economic Correlations: Robust, Valid, and Large-Scale
Funding: $59,770

Godfred O. Boateng, Faculty of Health
Project: A Cross-Cultural Validation of Housing Insecurity Scale in Slums and Informal Settlements
Funding: $362,992

Rebecca Caines, AMPD
Project: Interfacing, Playtesting, Resetting: Reframing Technology Use Through Improvised Creative Technologies
Funding: $118,750

Barnali Choudhury, Osgoode Hall Law School
Project: Improving Modern Slavery Reporting in Canada: Legal Ripple Effects and Insights from Australia
Funding: $185,789

Elicia A. Clements, AMPD
Project: Interventions in Early Twentieth-Century Opera: Gender, Race, Coloniality
Funding: $104,553

Matias Cortes, LA&PS
Project: The Role of Firms in Lifecycle Earnings Growth and Inequality
Funding: $109,052

David B. Goldstein, LA&PS
Project: Imagined Tables: Eating and the Articulation of Community
Funding: $111,875

Luann M. Good Gingrich, LA&PS
Project: Places and Spaces of Social Inclusion: A Contextual Analysis of Immigrant Inequality in Canada
Funding: $254,831

Philip A. Harland, LA&PS
Project: Criminalization of Minorities and Subject Peoples in Antiquity
Funding: $116,231

Robert J. Heynen, LA&PS
Project: Mediations of Anti-Human Trafficking: Technology, Securitization, and Policing at the Border
Funding: $218,627

Alice J. Hovorka,
Project: Animal Performativity: 鈥楤ecoming Primate鈥� in Human Society
Funding: $207,650

Hong Kal, AMPD
Project: Grievable Images: Visualizing State Violence and Resistance in South Korea Since 1948
Funding: $115,556

Magdalena J. Kazubowski-Houston, AMPD
Project: Performing Eco-Grief: Youth, Theatre, and Climate Mourning in Canada and Poland
Funding: $217,657

脡tienne Lal茅, LA&PS
Project: Foot Traffic, Consumer Spending, and Employment: New Insights from Cell Phone Data
Funding: $105,346

Margaret E. MacDonald, LA&PS
Project: Governing Reproduction in Senegal: Discourses and Images in the Postcolonial Archive
Funding: $105,490

Raymond A. Mar, Faculty of Health
Project: Learning Social Content from Stories
Funding: $124,843

Yuka Nakamura, Faculty of Health
Project: Community and Connection: Understanding the Growth and Social Impact of Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Sport Organizations in Toronto
Funding: $172,229

Lilian K. Ng, Schulich School of Business
Project: Giving Where They Operate: Biodiversity Governance and Corporate Philanthropy
Funding: $161,035

Ken Ogata, Schulich School of Business
Project: Legitimacy and the Hierarchy of Artefacts Along the Entrepreneurial Journey: Evidence from the Introduction of Third-Party Certification Agencies into the Collectible Comic Books Industry
Funding: $101,646

Nathanael Ojong, LA&PS
Project: Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals in the Age of AI
Funding: $286,219

Salewa Olawoye, LA&PS
Project: Towards An Inclusive Monetary Theory: African Entrepreneurship and Money Creation
Funding: $124,927

Oyemolade Osibodu, Faculty of Education
Project: Navigating Blackness: Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Parents' and Youth's Perspectives on the Racialization of Mathematics Education
Funding: $106,237

Gillian Parekh, Faculty of Education
Project: Constructing Disability in Education: Disability Identity, Policy Enactment and Academic Outcomes
Funding: $342,757

Jennifer R. Pybus, LA&PS
Project: Extracting Intimacy: FemTech, Surveillance, and Sovereignty
Funding: $98,892

Amanda Ricci, LA&PS
Project: At the Heart of the City: A History of the Garment Industry in Montreal, 1930鈥�1990
Funding: $81,855

Perry Sadorsky, Schulich School of Business
Project: Energy Transition Systemic Risk in Times of Uncertainty
Funding: $109,082

Akolisa Ufodike, LA&PS
Project: Gatekeeping Growth: Immigration, Credentialing, and the Hidden Drivers of Canada's Productivity Decline
Funding: $375,300

Daniel J. Wigfield, Faculty of Health
Project: Systemic Integrity: Institutional Logics and Misconduct in Federated Sport Governance
Funding: $242,431

91亚色 researchers are also directly involved as co-applicants for 15 other projects awarded a total of $3.85 million. See the of projects and recipients.

The post SSHRC invests $9.3M in 91亚色-led social sciences, humanities research appeared first on YFile.

The Partnership Grants funding, announced by SSHRC on July 21, supports large-scale partnerships that bring together universities, governments, community organizations and international collaborators to address complex social, environmental and policy challenges.

The funded projects focus on issues ranging from refugee rights and climate resilience to healthy aging, youth well-being, homelessness and human-animal connections.

Leading 91亚色's participation is Sean Rehaag (), whose seven-year Algorithmic Justice for Refugees Research Network project received $2,499,995 to investigate the growing use of algorithms, AI and other digital technologies in refugee and migration systems.

The international partnership includes researchers and organizations across Canada, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Middle East and will examine how emerging technologies affect refugee rights, access to protection and government accountability.

91亚色 Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps says the project shows the impact that long-term investment in interdisciplinary reseach can have. "The project grew from years of interdisciplinary research and the strong foundation provided by the Centre for Refugee Studies, one of 91亚色's Organized Research Units to make it possible. 91亚色 is proud to stand with Professor Rehaag and his partners on this meaningful project."

91亚色 researchers are also co-applicants on five additional partnership grants that received funding ranging from $2.4 million to $2.5 million each. Together, the projects position 91亚色 researchers within some of Canada's largest and most ambitious social sciences and humanities research collaborations.

"91亚色 researchers continue to demonstrate leadership in building research partnerships that聽bring together聽scholars,聽governments and organizations to address聽complex challenges facing communities in Canada and around the world,鈥� says聽Amir Asif, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淭hese聽projects聽reflect 91亚色's聽strengths in interdisciplinary, community-engaged research and聽demonstrate how collaboration can聽generate聽knowledge that informs policy, supports聽decision-making聽and聽contributes to聽positive social change."聽

The funded partnerships involving 91亚色 researchers include:

鈥� Aging in the Margins: Building Inclusivity and Goodwill (AIM BIG), funded at $2,500,000 over seven years, with Natalia Balyasnikova (Faculty of Education) serving as a co-applicant. The project will examine the experiences of aging among marginalized populations in Canada and internationally.

鈥� (Re)Thinking Sustainability: Research Network for Global Environmental Humanities, funded at $2,499,814 over seven years, with Andil Gosine () and Jean-Thomas Tremblay (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) as co-applicants. The network will explore environmental challenges through humanities-based research and public engagement.

鈥� Connecting to Place Through Disaster Response: New Opportunities for Community-Campus Partnerships, funded at $2,417,600 over five years, with Ali Asgary and Eva Bogdan (LA&PS) serving as co-applicants. The project focuses on strengthening community resilience and disaster response through collaborative research.

鈥� Establishing a Network for Human-Animal Connections Research and Collaboration, funded at $2,500,000 over five years, with Cheryl van Daalen-Smith (Faculty of Graduate Studies) serving as a co-applicant and Leesa Fawcett (EUC) as a collaborator. The partnership will examine the role of human-animal relationships in health and well-being across diverse settings.

鈥� Pathways from Child Welfare and Community Services to Stable or Precarious Living Conditions, funded at $2,500,000 over seven years, with Stephen Gaetz (Faculty of Education) serving as a co-applicant. The project will investigate the experiences of young people transitioning from child welfare systems and community services and identify pathways to long-term stability and well-being.

The post 91亚色 researchers help drive close to $15M in SSHRC partnership funding appeared first on YFile.

For nearly five days, the heavy blanket of smoke trapped toxic particles over Toronto, drastically increasing health risks while the wildfires caused catastrophic damage in communities across northwestern Ontario. 

The unprecedented devastation has 91亚色 experts debating whether Canada should explore a new national agency to manage wildfire response 鈥� or revamp the system in place. 

The recent fires in northwestern Ontario are now accelerating conversations about how Canada manages wildfires, which have gained momentum since fires tore through Jasper, Alta. two years ago consuming about a third of the town鈥檚 buildings.  

Since then recovery has remained painfully slow, highlighting the longterm impacts of the shorterm devastation of wildfires. As of March 2026, only 4 per cent of the 374 properties lost to fire have been fully rebuilt. Meanwhile, insured losses have swelled from early projections of $900 million to an estimated $1.3 billion, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Those numbers have made Jasper a test case for a broader question facing Ottawa: should the federal government overhaul how it manages wildfires 鈥� perhaps by creating a national agency 鈥� or focus on fixing the system it already has? 

Across Canada, opinions diverge sharply on what that change should look like. The debate runs straight through 91亚色鈥檚 Disaster and Emergency Management program at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, where two professors studying wildfires stake opposing positions. 

After a major fire, 鈥渋t is all left to individual communities impacted to manage it themselves,鈥� and a federally mandated framework would be beneficial, says Ali Asgary, 91亚色 professor and director of the Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM) Lab, which uses large-scale simulations to model disasters and test emergency responses. 

His colleague, Professor Eric B. Kennedy, studies the human dimensions of fire and how people and institutions use evidence to make decisions in wildfire and other emergencies. Like Asgary, Kennedy shares 鈥渢his sense that we need transformative thinking,鈥� but argues that Canada should focus on transforming the systems and programs it already has, rather than building a new national agency from scratch. 

Both agree recent seasons have revealed how fragile Canada鈥檚 wildfire system becomes under extreme pressure 鈥� and that Jasper stands as one of the starkest examples. 

A system under pressure

When the Jasper wildfires erupted in July 2024, scarce resources and confusion over jurisdiction hampered early firefighting efforts, despite what officials described as a well-oiled crisis response. 

Ken McMullen, chief of emergency services for Red Deer Emergency Services and president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), served as an incident commander on the scene. One fire burned to the northeast of Jasper, while three fires to the south merged into a singular inferno racing toward town. 

Inside the blaze, the heat and winds acted like a convection oven, generating gusts as powerful as an EF-5 tornado with wind speeds exceeding 300 km/hr, uprooting trees and hurling flames up to 50 metres into the ir. When mountainside trees gave way, embers rained down on the town, setting homes and businesses ablaze. 

McMullen and his team coordinated the wildland, municipal and volunteer firefighting teams in evacuating 20,000 people, and deploying high-volume sprinkler systems, a rotating air fleet for water drops and hotspot detection, and continuous fuel removal to steer the flames鈥� path. 

Still, when air tankers were needed that first night, none of Canada鈥檚 106-plane fleet was available 鈥� already committed to fires burning in other provinces. By the next day, the blaze had grown too large for water drops to make a difference. By the third, the wind and smoke made flying unsafe. 

It would take 47 days before the fires were declared under control. By the end of the 2024 fire season, two Canadian firefighters had died, including one in Jasper. 

Now, with wildfires raging across northwestern Ontario, McMullen, Kennedy and Asgary all agree that Canada is not ready, and they鈥檙e urging swift, systemic change at the federal level. 

鈥淎t the height of a wildfire season, everybody鈥檚 interested. Politicians are interested. Industry is interested to learn, what do we do differently?鈥� McMullen says. But once major fires are extinguished, they鈥檙e on the back burner until spring. 

鈥淲e forget in January what we talked about in July,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have to make it a 365-day conversation.鈥�

A changing risk landscape

For Kennedy and Asgary, that conversation requires starting with fire itself and how it has evolved. 

Climate change has generated hotter temperatures and drier landscapes, altering fire behaviour and lengthening wildfire seasons around the world. Kennedy leads YEMERGE, a pan-University research network that studies how people, communities and institutions prepare for and respond to crises such as wildfires. His lab examines how local governments adopt mitigation programs such as FireSmart Canada, and how bureaucratic processes and staff turnover in government can hamper fire mitigation efforts. 

鈥淭he big challenge is the magnitude of what we鈥檙e facing,鈥� Kennedy says. 鈥淲e have huge forested areas. We have a lot of the [urban] interface at risk of exposure, we have a lot of historic building stock that is not necessarily fire adapted, and we鈥檝e got challenges 鈥� like how to make housing more affordable that can, at times, be at odds with doing well on fire.鈥� 

The 2023, 2024 and 2025 seasons were among the top five worst in Canada鈥檚 wildfire history. With 16.5 million hectares of land burned from coast to coast, 2023 was the most destructive on record, followed by 2025 at 8.9 million hectares. 

鈥淲hen you have three consecutive years, you can鈥檛 say 鈥榰nprecedented鈥� anymore,鈥� McMullen says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 say it was 鈥榰npredictable.鈥� So if [fires] are predictable, that means that they are preventable.鈥� 

91亚色鈥檚 Disaster and Emergency Management program is instrumental in making those predictions. Asgary鈥檚 team at ADERSIM forecasts the behaviour of existing wildfires with AI modelling, develops drone-based wildfire sensing tools for water quality assessments, and uses virtual reality to help residents make changes related to wildfire. 

鈥淲e can provide a lot of research and training capacities, especially when it comes to the use of new technologies in this area,鈥� Asgary says. 

However, resources have been stretched to capacity across the country, burdened further by a complicated chain of command. In Canada, emergency management for any hazard is usually executed first at the municipal level. As a disaster grows, communities call on their provincial or territorial ministries for more support. 

Fire management in Canada also involves all 13 provincial and territorial wildland fire agencies. Those agencies own and聽operate聽the non-profit Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), a collaborative body that coordinates resource sharing and mutual聽aid聽but聽does not function as a federal agency itself.聽

Federal emergency management currently falls under the purview of Public Safety Canada and its Government Operations Centre (GOC), which focuses on preparedness and response. In the case of Jasper, the GOC provided humanitarian and logistical support for residents, and coordinated the deployment of Canadian Armed Forces heavy-lift aircraft with the team on the ground. 

There are gaps between existing agencies: CIFFC mobilizes personnel but does not hire or train firefighters, and the GOC鈥檚 activities stop short of the other two tenets of emergency management: prevention and mitigation, and recovery. 

Jurisdictional responsibility for wildfires is further complicated by fragmentation at each level of government. If a wildfire occurs on federal lands managed by the Department of National Defence or Parks Canada, those agencies coordinate the firefighting efforts, not the province.

That was the situation with the Jasper wildfires. A 2025 report commissioned by the Municipality of Jasper cited the provincial government鈥檚 interference as a slowdown to response operations. The report found the province of Alberta repeatedly requested information from the command team and attempted to make decisions, even though it had no jurisdictional authority because the town is located within a national park. 

A year prior, the National Risk Profile (NPR), a national disaster risk assessment published by Public Safety Canada, had warned that jurisdictions are not aligned in their emergency management approaches and programming. The NPR identified further challenges, including information-sharing bottlenecks between the health and emergency management systems. 

Asgary says the current system isn鈥檛 working like it used to. Even well-resourced provinces such as Ontario or B.C. have been overwhelmed in recent years, leaving little capacity to support neighbours. Without a top-down framework, Asgary says, municipalities hire consultants and end up with equipment and software incompatible with other stakeholders 鈥� a problem that only surfaces when operations scale up during a disaster. 

鈥淭he time has passed to do reactive policy making,鈥� Asgary says. 鈥淲e are now in the middle of a major climate change-related crisis. It should be clear for everyone that the current system is not sufficient.鈥� 

The resource challenge

As a disaster unfolds, resources are often assigned based on availability rather than what is best suited for the job, Asgary says. 

鈥淭he wildfire is not going to tell us, 鈥業鈥檓 going to happen now,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淭hese resources may be already deployed somewhere else.鈥� 

A national reserve firefighting force is an oft-cited solution, but unlikely without a systemic change in recruitment, says McMullen, who represents fire chiefs across Canada in his role as president of the CAFC. Of Canada鈥檚 126,000 firefighters, about 90,000 are volunteers 鈥� a pool that has shrunk by nearly 29 per cent since 2016. McMullen correlates the drop with recent wildfire seasons that have strained volunteers, who are normally called upon an average of 22 minutes a week to provide support in their local communities. 

If provinces were to increase investment in attracting and recruiting new firefighters or equipment to the pipeline, Kennedy says there would be 鈥渆nough slack in the system to keep trading and sharing and providing mutual aid.鈥� 

The provinces and territories currently own and share an aging fleet of water bombers. The federal government hasn鈥檛 committed to investing in a national fleet, but did announce $316.7 million over the next five years to contract additional aircraft from third parties for the 2026 season and beyond. Provinces, meanwhile, are moving ahead on their own: Alberta announced in February that it would invest $400 million to purchase five De Havilland Canadair 515 firefighting aircraft, with the first delivered in 2031. Manitoba is also in line to acquire three of the new water bombers, with the first to arrive by 2031.

Two paths forward: the debate

Calls for a national wildfire agency surface every year during the height of wildfire season as another potential solution to the resource problem. 

Kennedy says a wildfire agency is a 鈥済reat buzzword,鈥� but notes CIFFC is already working effectively at pooling resources between provinces and navigating equipment procurement with the federal government. 

鈥淭hese 15 fire agencies have been working for decades to build trust with communities, to build relationships, to develop infrastructure and get their systems working well. Why would we want to create a 16th fire bureaucracy?鈥澛燢ennedy says.聽鈥淭his call [acts as] a code word for,聽鈥榃e need more co-ordination,鈥櫬爋r,聽鈥榳e need more collaboration.鈥欌�澛�

He says Canada鈥檚 approach would be better served with continuous injections of funding to existing systems. He sees the Government Operations Centre as a potential springboard for building a solid operational framework for all emergencies, including wildfires. 

Asgary envisions an emergency management agency that also covers floods and earthquakes. He says the current system 鈥渋s not really able to help to the level that these provinces expect, because they don鈥檛 have [the resources]鈥� during the time of the actual emergency. 

He points to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency as an example of an agency with a wide mandate to do anything required to manage a disaster and its aftermath, including waiving bureaucratic processes and pulling resources from governmental departments. 

McMullen and the CAFC have been lobbying for more of a hybrid role in the form of a national fire commissioner or liaison, who would act as point person for all federal fire-related conversations. 

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) echoes Asgary鈥檚 call for a central emergency management agency so communities can avoid creating a new 鈥減laybook鈥� after every disaster. The IBC, which oversaw $2.4 billion in insured loss claims related to weather in 2025, has called on the federal government to discuss their response to emergency management. Talks are underway: Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience Eleanor Olszewski led public and industry consultations through March 2026, with a report forthcoming. 

Canada remains the only G7 country without a national emergency management agency or a national fire administration. 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

A future with fire

Central to whatever comes next is mitigation 鈥� the actions taken before a fire. 

鈥淲e have to accept that we will live with fire,鈥� Kennedy says. 鈥淗ow do we make the landscape less attractive for that fire to spread?鈥� 

One way is to focus on improvements to the wildland itself. Containing every fire means the forest becomes overburdened with healthy trees that act as fuel. Controlled burns can encourage regeneration of the landscape, and clearing long strips of land to form built-in firebreaks can slow the spread of wildfire. 

Another approach is to work within communities on updating building codes so new structures use fire-resistant materials 鈥� which the town of Jasper is doing 鈥� and on educating residents about wildfire-proofing measures they can make to their homes. 

Disaster response already costs the federal government about $1.8 billion a year. However, the National Risk Profile estimates a return on investment of $4 to $10 for every dollar spent on mitigation, with the highest returns related to risk assessment, hazard analysis and mitigation planning. 

Canada is nowhere near international investment benchmarks established by the European Union that suggests governments spend between 0.66 and 1.25 per cent of their GDP annually on climate adaptation, which includes fire mitigation activities. For Canada, that would fall between $21.5 and $40.7 billion. In 2026, the federal climate adaptation spend is $7.1 billion. 

Investments start and stall with shifts in government, which further complicate consistent action, and are often targeted at firefighting instead of systemic change, Kennedy says. 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

鈥淭here is simply no number of firefighters that would be enough in Canada. We will never have enough air tankers. We will never have enough hoses. We will never have enough firefighters. That is a black hole of investment,鈥� says Kennedy. 鈥淲e could pour as much money into firefighting as we want, and it will never be enough, because the root causes of this are not fire suppression alone, but are ecosystem management, addressing climate change and building more resiliently.鈥�

With files from Kristina Urquhart 

鈥�&苍产蝉辫;

The post Playing with fire: Is Canada's wildfire strategy working? 91亚色 scholars debate appeared first on YFile.

Earlier this year, Bronson was in his basement doing something he had never done before: memorizing lines for his first one-person show, The Last Hornblower, which debuted at the Hamilton Fringe Festival this month.

Written and performed by Bronson, the show reflects his career specializing in existentialism, world religions, literature and philosophy by pairing the Norse mythological story of Ragnarok 鈥� a final battle in which the gods knowingly march toward their fate 鈥� with a contemporary story about a pilot living with Alzheimer disease.

By linking modern and ancient narratives, Bronson wants audiences to see themselves as part of a much longer human story.

"It's important to feel your roots and to feel that you're connected, not just to your parents or your background, but to stories stretching back thousands of years, with themes we're still drawn to today 鈥� whether we recognize it or not," says Bronson.

Helping people discover those connections is also central to Bronson's work as an educator in 91亚色's Department of Humanities.

Among his courses are 鈥淕ods and Humans,鈥� which examines interactions between gods and humans in literature, art and philosophy, and 鈥淭he Modern Age: Shapers & Definers,鈥� which explores influential figures who defined modern artistic and intellectual traditions.

Both draw on stories, beliefs and ideas from different eras, cultures and religious traditions 鈥� but rather than treating them as historical artifacts or texts belonging to someone else's belief system, Bronson encourages learners to look for relevance to contemporary life, and to their own lives.

One way he does this is by pairing ancient texts with modern examples from popular culture to illustrate how older works continue to inform the art, narratives and ideas that resonate today.

A discussion of movement and dance in a Hindu scripture, for instance, might lead to a contemporary film, documentary or other example of dance in modern culture, allowing students to consider how similar ideas continue to surface in contemporary life.

"The scripture might be 2,000 years old. That's not changing," says Bronson. "But what's changing is the ways that we see it today."

Those moments when "a light goes on" are among Bronson's favourites. A student who may have had little exposure to a particular religion, philosopher or cultural tradition suddenly recognizes something familiar in an ancient story and, in turn, sees themselves reflected in it.

For Bronson, those realizations can be transformative.

"When they see that their interests or their experiences are connected to something larger, longer, more longstanding, it adds a kind of dignity to it," says Bronson.

It was those moments of recognition that unexpectedly led Bronson toward theatre.

During a visit to the Hamilton Fringe Festival last year, he attended several storytelling-based performances and recognized something familiar: people gathering around stories, wrestling with big ideas and discovering meanings they might not have arrived at on their own.

The experience got him thinking about how those kinds of conversations might take place outside the University and how theatre could provide a space for them.

鈥淭hat's often what we do in academia 鈥� make those connections for students,鈥� says Bronson. 鈥淏ut there are people who aren't going to university, or who have been out of university, or just haven't had that experience.鈥�

Through The Last Hornblower, Bronson hopes audiences encounter something similar to the moments he values most in the classroom: recognizing that ideas they may have thought belonged only to philosophers, religious traditions or ancient myths are also present in their own lives.

More than anything, he hopes they leave with a renewed sense of where they fit within the larger human story.

鈥淲e all appreciate that in art. We all look to art for that,鈥� says Bronson. 鈥淎nd when it happens, we come back to our everyday world, if not elevated, at least slightly changed.鈥�

runs at the Hamilton Fringe Festival until July 26.

The post From lecture hall to stage: 91亚色 prof uses storytelling to connect past, present appeared first on YFile.

Over more than two decades at 91亚色, McNab built a reputation as a leading researcher of Indigenous history and Aboriginal land and treaty rights. As a faculty member at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, he taught Indigenous and Canadian studies and helped strengthen understanding of Indigenous perspectives through both teaching and research.

McNab鈥檚 scholarship focused on Indigenous history and literature, Indigenous thought, land and treaty rights, Canadian studies and Ontario history. His work frequently bridged academic inquiry and community knowledge, reflecting long-standing partnerships with First Nations communities and organizations.

Throughout his career, he served as a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., the Walpole Island Heritage Centre of Bkejwanong First Nation, while also advising a range of First Nations and Indigenous organizations in Ontario and Newfoundland on land rights, treaty and governance matters. His advisory work included collaborations with the Mohawks of Akwesasne, the Algonquins of Golden Lake, the Teme-Augama Anishnabai and several other Indigenous communities.

In addition to publishing more than 80 scholarly articles, McNab authored and edited numerous books that contributed to the fields of Indigenous history and ethnohistory. Notable publications included Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory; Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario; Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89; Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations; and The Long Journey of Canada鈥檚 Forgotten People: M茅tis Identities and Family Histories.

His academic journey began with an honours degree in history from Waterloo Lutheran University, followed by a master鈥檚 degree in history from McMaster University and a PhD in Indigneous imperial policy from the University of Lancaster.

At 91亚色, McNab contributed extensively to university governance and academic development. He served as co-chair of the Aboriginal Council and was a member of the Aboriginal Caucus. He also participated in numerous Faculty and departmental committees, including the Academic Petitions and Appeals Committee, curriculum committees and initiatives supporting the development of Indigenous studies and public history programs.

His leadership extended to organizing scholarly gatherings that brought together researchers and communities. Among them were the 2007 Algonquian Conference at 91亚色 and an international environmental history workshop developed through a partnership between 91亚色 and Bkejwanong First Nation.

Beyond 91亚色, McNab was active in historical and cultural organizations, including the Champlain Society, the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto and the Friends of the Archives of Ontario. Through these roles, he supported public history initiatives and the preservation and documentation of Indigenous and Canadian histories.

He was elected a Fellow of the聽Royal Society of Canada in 2017, for his bodies of work that "promote First Nations鈥� and M茅tis鈥� stories in Canada鈥檚 narratives."

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Ute Lischke, his sons and grandson and will be missed by his brothers, sisters, relatives, friends and colleagues. on how to celebrate his life and legacy.

The post Passings: David T. McNab appeared first on YFile.

, the only literary journal devoted to contemporary Canadian Jewish writing, has been relaunched by Associate Professor David S. Koffman at 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

Founded in 1992, Parchment published fiction, poetry, essays, reviews and translations. It was originally published by 91亚色 Libraries before moving to Toronto Metropolitan University, where the last issue was released in 2014.  

With support from 91亚色's Koschtizky Centre for Jewish Studies, the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry and the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies (ACJS), which is housed at 91亚色, the publication has been revived with its first issue released in June. 

鈥淭he return of Parchment marks an important step toward reviving a publication that has helped showcase Canadian Jewish literary voices,鈥� says Koffman, who holds the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry at 91亚色. 

The journal is published by the  under the editorial leadership of Orly Zebak, the managing editor of Brick: A Literary Journal, and a national editorial team that includes Koffman and Joshua Tapper, as co-executive editors. 91亚色 faculty members on its advisory board also include Professor Sarah R. Horowitz and instructor Olga Stein. 

Published twice a year, Parchment features poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction, while also welcoming other literary forms including reviews, interviews, translations and visual storytelling. The journal aims to provide a national forum for contemporary Canadian Jewish writing and creative expression. 

鈥淭his relaunch builds on the University's longstanding connection to the publication,鈥� says Koffman. 鈥�91亚色's support helps sustain a platform dedicated to celebrating and advancing contemporary Canadian Jewish writing for readers across the country. The literary journal now joins its sibling-journal, , our more traditional academic journal, which is platformed through 91亚色 Digital Library鈥檚 Open Journal System and is open access, bilingual and multi-disciplinary.鈥� 

New print editions are available through bookstores and online retailers every spring and fall. 

The post Jewish聽literary journal relaunch highlights 91亚色 U roots appeared first on YFile.

Gapen was born in Nipigon, Ont., on May 19, 1955.

His academic pursuits led him to earn a bachelor of arts, a bachelor of social work and a master鈥檚 of social work, after which he spent more than 30 years working as a social worker and systems consultant.

His work centred on youth and adults living with mental health and developmental challenges. Individuals in this population often have both a developmental disability and a mental health condition 鈥� a combination known in the social services sector as dual diagnosis. Gapen published widely on the subject and presented his research at conferences across Canada and the U.S. He also consulted on the development of community partnerships and support networks in social services across North America.

Gapen spent many years at Griffin Centre for Mental Health Services in Toronto, where he served as director of community development and education. In that role, he helped establish several regional support networks in Ontario: the Griffin Community Support Network, the Peel Crisis Capacity Support Network, the 91亚色 Region Support Services Network and the Dufferin Crisis Community Support Network.

Each unit was built to support people living with serious and complex mental health needs through crisis and transitional services.

Beyond this work, Gapen taught as a part-time instructor at 91亚色's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies as well as George Brown College, sharing his knowledge of mental health, addictions, developmental disabilities, social policy, social administration and community development with the next generation of practitioners.

He leaves behind his partner, Richard Nolan, and will be missed by his family, friends and former colleagues.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sept. 16 at the Columbus Centre, 901 Lawrence Ave. W., North 91亚色, from 1 to 4 p.m. Those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP to gabcap@sympatico.ca.

The post Passings: William (Bill) Gapen appeared first on YFile.

As a member of 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon College, where she works closely with current and future FSL educators, P茅guret has seen a clear trend emerge in recent years: growing strain and burnout among educators who face increasingly complex classroom demands.

鈥淢uch of that strain comes from the time it takes to find and adapt classroom resources,鈥� says P茅guret, who is jointly appointed to 91亚色's Faculty of Education. "Teachers often navigate a mix of textbooks, digital platforms and supplementary materials that may be outdated, costly or not aligned with Ontario鈥檚 curriculum."

These challenges are compounded by a fragmented online landscape, where materials vary in quality and rules around how they can be used and shared are not always clear. This can result in an overreliance on American-based marketplaces, says P茅guret, which rank materials by popularity instead of quality or local relevance, leading educators to resources that can be inappropriate or ineffective.

To address this, P茅guret collaborated with co-lead and research associate Mirela Cherciov to create , an open, Canadian platform for teachers to share, discover and adapt classroom materials. Educators can upload their own materials, find resources created by colleagues and adapt them for their classrooms, with clear guidance on how content can be used and reshared.

The goal, says Cherciov, is to ensure 鈥渢eachers no longer need to reinvent the wheel before each class.鈥�

The building of K鈥�12 Studio began after introduction to the open education movement by 91亚色鈥檚 Associate Dean (Digital Engagement and Strategy), Sarah Coysh, and Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Associate Professor Dominique Scheffel鈥慏unand.

To better understand what could work in an Ontario K鈥�12 context, the team of linguists, educators and librarians examined similar initiatives and connected with Learnful Labs, a technology company with experience developing open education tools.

An early prototype, funded by Ontario Ministry of Education and Canadian Heritage, was developed to clarify specific needs of K-12 FSL teachers. Through consultations and testing, the team gathered insights to guide how the system should function and feedback to help define guiding principles.

The result is a platform built for instructor preparation, with clear licensing, straightforward language and quick access to Ontario鈥慳ligned resources. Features such as an AI鈥慳ssisted submission process, and tools to support collaboration, make sharing and adapting materials faster and more accessible.

The effort was not without its challenges. Because K鈥�12 Studio relies on teachers contributing and sharing their materials, it required a shift in how those resources are typically managed. Resources stored within internal school board systems limit access, and creates accessiblity challenges for others.

As well, some educators hesitate to share lesson plans more widely, unsure how to do so in ways that allow reuse while still crediting their work. This uncertainty 鈥� particularly around Creative Commons licensing 鈥� can limit participation and slow collaboration on the platform.

To address these barriers, the team focused on building educators鈥� confidence and capacity to share resources more openly. They offered training on open education tools and Creative Commons licensing, and partnered with school boards 鈥� including Halton and Thunder Bay Catholic 鈥� to support broader contribution and sharing, helping build early momentum for a more collaborative approach.

Since launching in March 2026, K鈥�12 Studio has gained traction. The repository reports more than 1,000 teacher鈥慶reated lessons covering upwards of 80 topics. The team reports hundreds of resource downloadeds as educators begin to build on and adapt these shared materials.

The platform continues to evolve based on how it is used. 鈥淲e made it a priority to develop an AI鈥憇upported submission form that takes teachers less than a minute to complete. This element is crucial if we want teachers to start contributing and building the sharing system,鈥� says P茅guret.

Partnerships have also played a key role in the platform鈥檚 development. The team collaborated with the international non鈥憄rofit competition Manie Musicale 鈥� which brings together thousands of French teachers to explore French鈥憀anguage songs 鈥� to create a dedicated hub on K鈥�12 Studio, making it easier for the Manie Musicale community to distribute and access content.

School boards are also increasingly partnering with the team and inviting them to present the platform to teachers. 鈥淪eeing school boards become more open to new ways of sharing and publishing resources is one of our recent successes,鈥� says Cherciov. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a significant step toward changing how resources are created, used and shared.鈥�

Future work on K鈥�12 Studio could include new AI applications and building partnerships with school boards and professional associations. Over time, the team hopes to extend the initiative beyond Ontario, and into other subject areas, while working toward a sustainable funding model.

鈥淎bove all, we would like to pioneer open education for the K鈥�12 community in Canada,鈥� says P茅guret. 鈥淭his includes adding our voice to federal and provincial policy discussions around the role of open education in K鈥�12 contexts.鈥�

Ultimately, the goal is to address pressures documented in FSL classrooms. 鈥淲e hope to have a positive impact on the K鈥�12 teaching community, so that teachers feel more valued by their colleagues and supported in their day鈥憈o鈥慸ay course preparation,鈥� says P茅guret.

The post 91亚色鈥慸esigned tool eases pressures facing French-language teachers appeared first on YFile.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies recognizes outstanding research annually through its thesis and dissertation prizes.

The annual prizes 鈥� valued at $2,000 for doctoral dissertations and $1,000 for master鈥檚 theses 鈥� honour work defended in the previous calendar year that demonstrates originality, excellence and impact.

This year鈥檚 awards highlight six projects that explored pressing questions with implications for food security, AI, public health, aging, air quality and workplace accessibility. Together, the projects show how graduate research at 91亚色 connects scientific inquiry with real-world challenges.

Doctoral recipients 鈥� dissertation prize

Jie Lin (PhD, biology) examines how phytoalexin biosynthesis is regulated in soybean plants in her dissertation, Identifying missing glyceollin transcription factors in soybean.

Her research identifies and characterizes a network of transcription factors that control plant defence responses and introduces an improved soybean root transformation protocol that supports gene expression studies and research tools to the plant science community.

鈥淎ltogether, her work transformed the current views of regulatory networks controlling phytoalexin biosynthesis and introduced better tools that benefited the plant research community at large,鈥� says Associate Professor Peter Cheung.

Matthew Kowal (PhD, electrical engineering and computer science) studies how computer vision models interpret images and video in relation to AI.

His dissertation, Disentangling visual concepts across space and time: from image hierarchies to video dynamics, examines how visual concepts are represented, connected and evolve across data and time. His work introduces new frameworks for analyzing learned representations, helping researchers better understand how AI systems make decisions.

鈥淗is dissertation represents an exceptional and cohesive body of groundbreaking work on interpretable and concept-based representations in modern computer vision models,鈥� says Professor Michael Brown.

Congjie Shi (PhD, mathematics and statistics) developed the Information鈥揅ognition鈥揈pidemic (ICE) model, a multilayer network framework that integrates mechanisms of information flow, including rumour transmission and correction. Her dissertation, Integrating cognitive factors in network models of epidemiology with applications to disease control, examines how these dynamics affect disease spread.

The findings show that warning individuals and correcting misinformation can improve epidemic control while accounting for variation in behaviour and access to information.

鈥淚n every way 鈥� originality, methodological skill, academic impact and relevance to societal challenges 鈥� Dr. Shi's thesis surpasses expectations,鈥� says Professor Dong Liang, graduate program director.

Master鈥檚 recipients 鈥� thesis prize

Yashar Ebrahimi-Iranpour (MSc, chemistry) developed a one-dimensional atmospheric chemistry model to investigate the origin and distribution of nitrous acid, a key factor in air quality.

His thesis, Vertical structure and surface interactions of nitrous acid using a 1D model, integrates surface interactions, meteorology and atmospheric transport to better understand atmospheric processes.

鈥淭his thesis substantially exceeds the normative expectations of an MSc degree and approaches the level of our strongest doctoral work,鈥� says Professor Ryan Hili, graduate program director.

In psychology, Patrick Hewan (MA) examines how age-related differences in brain structure affect decision-making in older adults. His thesis, Prefrontal brain microstructural integrity is related to an exploitation bias in older adulthood, explores the relationship between prefrontal brain microstructure and exploitation bias using cognitive neuroscience approaches.

The findings contribute to understanding how brain changes influence behaviour in ageing.

鈥淗is committee went so far as to say this was 鈥榞roundbreaking and even paradigm-shifting for the broader field of cognitive neuroscience,鈥欌�� says Professor Adrienne Perry, graduate program director.

Grace Pawliw-Fry (MA, geography) studies how neurodivergent workers navigate precarious labour markets in Ontario. The thesis, Teetering on the edge of surplus: neurodivergent work, social reproduction and bodyminds in the Ontario labour market, examines the intersections of work, disability and social reproduction.

It contributes to scholarship in labour geography, critical disability studies and workplace accessibility.

鈥淭his is a sophisticated and beautifully argued MA thesis, which integrates several literatures with very rich empirical data,鈥� says Professor Alison Bain, graduate program director.

The post Graduate research at 91亚色 U drives real-world discovery appeared first on YFile.

Gupta is chairman and CEO of Sunray Group, one of the largest privately owned hotel operators in Canada. From humble beginnings as an immigrant, Gupta transformed his company into one of Canada's fastest growing hospitality and development enterprises. A dedicated philanthropist, Gupta along with the Sunray Foundation has donated more than $1 million in recent years to numerous causes, including the Scarborough Health Network, Northumberland Hills Hospital and Positive and Progressive Educational Support Canada, which funds girls' education in rural India.

Kathryn McPherson, interim dean, LA&PS, introduced Gupta as 鈥渁 true embodiment of the values represented by a 91亚色 honorary doctorate,鈥� during the June 16 convocation ceremony.

鈥淲hat sets Mr. Gupta apart is that his success extends far beyond business achievements. It is his deep commitment to philanthropy and community impact that truly defines his legacy,鈥� she said.

Gupta鈥檚 speech reflected on his journey immigrating to Canada in 1976. He shared how he arrived from India with limited resources, no clear plan and a strong work ethic.

鈥淚 did not arrive with a master plan," he said. "I was simply trying to figure out how to take the next steps."

In his early years, Gupta worked multiple jobs across Ontario, often taking on any task available. From retail jobs to manual labour, these experiences shaped his discipline, humility and deep appreciation for opportunity, reinforcing his belief that hard work can build a better future.

He noted that success rarely follows a predictable path, and encouraged graduates not to feel pressured to have everything figured out.

鈥淟ife rarely works that way. Most of us move forward one opportunity at a time, one difficult day at a time,鈥� he said.

Gupta also spoke about the importance of taking risks, and recounted his first time overseeing the construction and operation of a hotel 鈥� a career he had no experience in. This endeavour taught him that growth often comes before confidence, and it takes a leap of faith and trust in your abilities.

鈥淪ometimes life throws you into the deep end before you feel ready,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you wait until you feel 100 per cent prepared, you鈥檒l be waiting forever.鈥�

As his career progressed and his company, Sunray Group, grew into a leading hospitality and development firm, Gupta turned his focus toward giving back. He explained that his philanthropic efforts centered on three pillars: education, community and health care.

Notably, the Gupta family strongly supports 91亚色鈥檚 Markham Campus, describing it as a place where future leaders, community builders and innovators can come together.

Throughout his address, Gupta returned to the idea that success is rooted in people and relationships, not individual achievement. Drawing on his experiences in leadership, he emphasized that the way individuals treat others leaves a lasting impact.

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 remember the outcome, they remember how you make them feel,鈥� he said. 鈥淭rue leadership is never about authority; it is entirely about people.鈥�

He also credited his family, colleagues and mentors as central to his success, emphasizing that no accomplishment is achieved alone. He highlighted the importance of showing gratitude for those who opened a door, offered guidance and believed in his potential.

鈥淪uccess is never an individual sport. No successful person builds a monument entirely alone,鈥� he said.

In closing, Gupta encouraged graduands to focus not only on achievement, but on character, and reminded them that long-term success is shaped by values as much as ambition.

鈥淵our degree will open doors, but it is your character, your resilience, your humility and the way you treat others that will determine what happens after those doors open,鈥� he said.

He urged graduating students to move forward with confidence, kindness and a willingness to create opportunities 鈥� not only for themselves, but for others.

鈥淭ime changes, technology evolves, but the human connection remains the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淧lease remember that your journey does not need to be perfect.鈥�

The post Ray Gupta reminds 91亚色 grads to put people at centre of leadership appeared first on YFile.