The 91亚色-affiliated recipients are among 61 new appointments announced this year. The Order of Canada recognizes individuals whose service and contributions have had a lasting impact on communities across Canada and beyond.

Officers

Niv Fichman, alumnus and honorary degree recipient
A film producer and founder of Rhombus Media, Fichman has helped shape Canadian cinema over nearly five decades. His body of work includes internationally recognized films such as The Red Violin, Enemy and BlackBerry, reflecting a career marked by innovation and mentorship in the screen industries.

Duke Redbird, alumnus
An Elder of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Redbird has spent more than 60 years advancing Indigenous arts and ways of knowing through poetry, visual art and performance. His work has influenced artists, educators and communities across the country, foregrounding the relationship between people and the land.

Mayann E. Francis, honorary degree recipient
Francis is a former lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia and a long-standing advocate for human rights. In 2006, she became the first African Nova Scotian and the second woman to serve in the role, and has since continued her public service and writing, including publishing a memoir.

Members

Tim Whiten, professor emeritus
Artist and member of the (AMPD), Whiten has built an influential career spanning five decades. Working across sculpture, drawing, performance and installation, his practice explores spirituality and transformation while his teaching has shaped generations of students.

Nancy Nicol, professor emerita and senior scholar
Nicol (AMPD),聽is a documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer whose work documents the history of 2SLGBTQIA+ activism in Canada and internationally. Through her participatory research project, Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights, she fostered international collaboration and advanced equity and human rights.

Duane D.O. Gibson, alumnus
Gibson is a hip-hop artist, author and educator who engages students through music and literacy-focused programming. Through his initiative Stay Driven, he has reached thousands of young people with messages centred on perseverance, leadership and positive decision-making.

Harvey Skinner, professor emeritus
Skinner, founding dean of the Faculty of Health, has made significant contributions to the study of behaviour change and addictions. He is known for developing the Drug Abuse Screening Test, a widely used tool that has informed clinical practice, policy and broader approaches to health innovation.

For more information about the Order of Canada or to view the full list of this year鈥檚 appointees, visit the .

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Sarah Flicker, professor and 91亚色 Research Chair in Community-Based Participatory Research in the , is the principal investigator on the project, titled "Theatre Making Impact (TMI): Scaling-Up a Youth-Led HIV Prevention Play Across Ontario." Shira Taylor, adjunct professor at 91亚色 and director of TMI, is co-applicant and the program's founder. The OHTN funding will support the next phase of the program's expansion across Ontario, extending its reach into urban centres and northern Indigenous communities where HIV rates remain disproportionately high.

TMI 鈥� formerly known as SExT, or Sex Education by Theatre 鈥� is a trauma-informed, culturally responsive not-for-profit that uses peer education and theatre, alongside music, dance, rap and poetry, to engage youth in open conversations about sexual health, HIV prevention, mental health and healthy relationships.

Taylor founded the program in 2014 in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park neighbourhoods as part of her doctoral thesis, and later expanded it through a postdoctoral fellowship at 91亚色 in collaboration with Flicker. To date, it has reached more than 12,000 young people across Canada, with a focus on communities most affected by HIV 鈥� including newcomer, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth.

"I really wanted to build an evidence-based program that put the youth voice centre stage on these topics," says Taylor.

What sets TMI apart is how it delivers that education. Instead of pamphlets or classroom lectures, the program uses peer-led performance, humour and storytelling to model difficult conversations and build skills in a lower-stakes environment 鈥� one that engages young people both intellectually and emotionally.

鈥淟ack of awareness usually isn鈥檛 the reason people don鈥檛 use condoms," says Taylor. "There's a peer pressure element, there's an emotional element. Theatre is uniquely positioned to take into account our full humanity."

The program also benefits from an intergenerational model that, over the last decade, has deepened. Many of the original cast members who joined as high schoolers 鈥� initially, Taylor jokes, for the free pizza 鈥� have stayed on and trained as trauma-informed peer mentors. They now co-facilitate the program alongside a new generation of youth from the same community, sharing similar cultural backgrounds and immigration experiences.

The evidence from a recent Toronto District School Board (TDSB) tour, co-led by Taylor and Flicker and supported by a LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health Catalyst Grant at 91亚色, underscores the approach's impact. Across eight performances at five TDSB high schools, 61 per cent of student audience members reported improved sexual health knowledge, 49 per cent felt more confident managing their own sexual health and 46 per cent reported greater awareness of where to access HIV and STI testing.

Mental health outcomes were also significant: 49 per cent reported improved mental health knowledge, 44 per cent indicated feeling more comfortable seeking help and 41 per cent reported using new coping strategies.

While the student audience feedback provides crucial insights, the program鈥檚 impact extends beyond statistics. During a tour to an Indigenous community in Saskatchewan, a youth performer's rap about navigating her identity and her family's cultural expectations moved a young audience member to share a poem she had written but never shown anyone.

"She had it stuffed in the back of her locker," Taylor recalls. "She'd been too scared to share it publicly. And we all gathered around as this young Indigenous girl read us this poem. I still remember the words."

With OHTN support, the project will reach youth beyond Toronto by bringing performances to urban centres and northern and Indigenous communities across Ontario over the coming year.

Taylor and Flicker are thrilled that the award allows the program to continue to reach young people across the province.

"It's really validating how much impact arts-based approaches can have in this sector," says Taylor, "and how important it is to empower community-based, culturally responsive, trauma-informed programs around these topics, which has been historically lacking in sex education."

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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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.

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The recognition are among 91亚色鈥檚 highest academic honours, recognizing achievement that strengthens teaching and advances research across the institution.

This year鈥檚 recipients represent a wide range of disciplines and approaches, demonstrating excellence through innovative pedagogy, mentorship, research impact and a dedication to inclusive, engaged learning.

Distinguished Research Professorship

This title is awarded to a faculty member whose research has made a significant and lasting impact at 91亚色 and beyond. It recognizes a sustained record of scholarly distinction and leadership that has shaped fields of study and strengthened the University鈥檚 academic reputation.

This year鈥檚 recipient is Professor Poonam Puri of , who holds the 91亚色 Research Chair in Corporate Governance, Investor Protection and Financial Markets.

Puri is an internationally recognized scholar of corporate law and governance, securities regulation and investor protection whose research has shaped law, policy and practice in Canada and across the world. Over three decades at 91亚色, she has produced more than 100 publications, advancing understanding of corporate accountability, financial markets and the role of law in society.

Puri is also the co-founder and director of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic, which provides free legal assistance to people who have suffered investment losses and cannot afford a lawyer. This model has secured millions in external funding, expanded access to justice and trained more than 100 students, while generating research that informs policy in real time.

Puri also founded and co-leads the Business Law LLM at Osgoode Professional Development, bringing academic, regulatory and practical expertise into a professional learning environment.

Beyond academia, Puri's expertise has been sought out by regulators, governments and international organizations, and continues to influence global conversations on corporate governance, investor protection and business responsibilities.

At 91亚色, Puri has made a significant institutional impact, having served as Osgoode鈥檚 associate dean and associate dean of research, graduate studies and institutional relations. She has also chaired Osgoode鈥檚 Faculty Council several times and served as Chair of 91亚色鈥檚 Senate.

鈥淚 am touched and honoured to be recognized as a Distinguished Research Professor,鈥� says Puri. 鈥淢y home faculty, Osgoode Hall Law School, and 91亚色 have been tremendous environments for pursuing meaningful work for close to 30 years.鈥�

President's University-Wide Teaching Awards

These awards, selected by the 91亚色 Senate, recognize faculty and teaching assistants who have made significant contributions to student learning through excellence in teaching. They span four categories: full-time senior faculty with 10 or more years of teaching experience; full-time faculty with less than 10 years of experience; contract and adjunct faculty; and teaching assistants.

Each recipient was honoured during a Spring Convocation ceremony and will have their name engraved on plaques in Vari Hall on the Keele Campus.

Full-time tenured faculty with 10 or more years full-time teaching experience

Nicole Nivillac, associate professor in the Faculty of Science, was honoured for her commitment to student learning, inclusivity and reflective teaching practice.

Nivillac, who primarily teaches first- and third-year courses in cell, molecular and microbiology, was praised by nominators for her evidence-based pedagogy, including interactive lectures, peer discussion and real-time feedback, alongside thoughtful curriculum design and mentorship that makes biology accessible, engaging and relevant.

Students, in particular, highlighted her ability to treat every question as a learning opportunity, working through areas of confusion to make complex ideas clear from multiple angles.

Professor Paula Wilson, who nominated Nivillac, stressed that this is all the more impressive given the scale of her classes. 鈥淪he has an ability to talk to 500 students as if she is talking to each person individually,鈥� says Wilson.

Nivillac was also singled out for her mentorship of teaching assistants. As undergraduate program director in the Department of Biology, she co-designed and co-hosts the department鈥檚 annual TA training to promote instructional consistency, equitable grading and student success across courses.

For Nivillac, the award represents a recognition of the teaching values she brings to the classroom. 鈥淚t reinforces my belief in the transformative potential of teaching and the privilege of supporting students in their intellectual and personal growth,鈥� she says.

Full-time faculty (tenured/tenure stream/CLA) with less than 10 years teaching experience

Andrew Skelton, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the Faculty of Science, was recognized for his ability to engage students and create a welcoming learning environment.

Student nominators, in particular, praised Skelton for fostering a classroom environment where students feel comfortable asking questions, working through confusion and taking initiative in their learning.

They also described a teaching approach that emphasizes collaboration and discussion, with small-group work and multiple ways of approaching problems to enable different styles of learning.

He was further cited for teaching initiatives that support first-year students in their transition to university, including the integration of learning skills modules that address study habits, motivation and academic confidence.

He is particularly dedicated to mentoring undergraduate students, having supervised 72 in research and leadership roles.

Reflecting on the award, Skelton expresses gratitude for 91亚色, as well as the space and encouragement he has received to explore his teaching practice and grow as an educator.

He adds: 鈥淚鈥檓 thankful for the students I have had the pleasure of working with. I have taught, supervised, mentored and coached many students in and out of the classroom during my time at 91亚色, and I am consistently inspired and encouraged by their capacity.鈥�

Contract and adjunct faculty

Wahid Khan, a course director in the Faculty of Education and a doctoral student in Kinesiology and Health Sciences, was selected for his commitment to creating inclusive learning environments where every voice, identity and experience is valued.

Supporters of his nomination highlighted his ability to foster deep learning by challenging deficit-based narratives and empowering teacher candidates to develop confidence, critical thinking and a strong sense of ethical responsibility as they prepare to enter the profession.

Across courses in mathematics education, health and physical education and professional studies, he connects theory to classroom practice through experiential learning, reflective inquiry and community-based activities, including practicum advising and real classroom scenario analysis, helping students see teaching as both a pedagogical and social responsibility.

For Khan, the honour reflects his focus on teaching as a relational practice. 鈥淭his award affirms my belief that teaching is fundamentally relational. Some of the most meaningful moments in my career have come from students who have shared their stories, identities and experiences with courage and honesty,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 am grateful to work alongside remarkable students and colleagues whose curiosity, resilience and commitment to social justice inspire me every day.鈥�

Teaching assistants

Prilly Bicknell鈥慔ersco, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, was selected for recognition for her work as a teaching assistant supporting courses in Black studies focused on the experiences of Black communities.

Students and colleagues noted her inclusive, discussion-based approach to teaching. In tutorials, she creates spaces where students feel comfortable engaging in complex discussions, often guiding conversations in large classes of 150 to 200 students, about power, race and identity, while prioritizing diverse learning needs and encouraging active participation.

She was also commended for contributing to course development, including advocating for the integration of disability-focused content and delivering guest lectures that connect theoretical frameworks to real-world issues.

She is especially valued for presenting complex material in ways that are accessible without sacrificing intellectual rigour.

鈥淭o be recognized for creating classrooms where students feel seen, supported and empowered is an honour I will carry with me always,鈥� she says.

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鈥淎chieving Candidate status is a crucial step forward for our School of Medicine,鈥� says David Peters, dean of the  and School of Medicine. 鈥淚 am deeply grateful to our accreditation leadership team, advisors, faculty and staff, as well as partners and community members from across Ontario for the tremendous effort, dedication and collaboration that made this success possible. I鈥檓 confident in the foundation we鈥檝e built together and excited to move into this next phase as we continue to work hand-in-hand with our health system partners to educate doctors differently and build the health system Ontario needs for the future." 

CACMS serves as the official body responsible for evaluating and accrediting Canadian medical education programs that lead to an MD degree. It ensures these programs meet established national standards to maintain the quality of medical training. This designation was awarded after CACMS reviewed and determined that the program had made sufficient progress on accreditation standards. Candidate status is a required pre-accreditation stage for any new Canadian medical school; it qualifies 91亚色鈥檚 program to proceed to a preliminary accreditation site visit 鈥� the next step toward full accreditation. 

鈥淥ntario is facing a primary care crisis. This accreditation milestone brings us one step closer to launching a medical school built from the ground up to help address it 鈥� training physicians who are educated to serve our changing, diverse population and are rooted in the communities where they practice, from North Toronto to Muskoka,鈥� says Lisa Philipps, 91亚色鈥檚 interim president and vice-chancellor. 鈥淭his achievement reinforces our commitment to ensuring a healthier, more sustainable future for Ontarians, while advancing academic excellence in service of the public good.鈥� 

Unlike traditional, four-year models centred on short-term clinical rotations, 91亚色鈥檚 accelerated three-year MD program brings learners into communities as early as their first year of study and anchors their education in longer, deeper community-based clinical experiences. In collaboration with key affiliates 鈥� including Mackenzie Health, Oak Valley Health, Southlake Health, and developing partnerships with Collingwood General and Marine Hospital and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare 鈥� learners will follow patients over time and learn with teams across primary care, hospitals and community settings. 

This structure is powered by the Integrated Community-Based Learning Network (ICLN), which establishes the first fully integrated learning health system at scale in Canada by uniting primary, generalist and interprofessional care partners to deliver continuous clinical education for students.  

The school aims to welcome its inaugural cohort in August 2028 at 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus, with a vision for a future home in the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct next to the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. 

鈥淲ith our Candidate status secured, we are eager to turn our attention to the next phase of the evaluation process, with an anticipation of receiving preliminary accreditation status in spring 2027,鈥� Peters says. 

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BuildHER Future: Newcomer Women in Construction, developed by non-profit organization Newcomer Women鈥檚 Services Toronto (NEW), brings together post-secondary and community partners to support workforce development, improve access to employment and strengthen pathways into the construction industry.

NEW is a non-profit organization that provides settlement, employment and language services to immigrant and refugee women and their families and will deliver the program in collaboration with Schulich ExecEd and Humber Polytechnic.

It aims to bring together expertise in executive learning, workforce development and applied, hands-on training to ensure learners benefit from industry-informed curriculum design, practical skills and pathways opportunities.

鈥淪chulich Executive Education is proud to partner with Newcomer Women鈥檚 Services Toronto on BuildHER Future,鈥� says Rami Mayer, executive director of Schulich ExecEd. 鈥淏y contributing our expertise in construction project management, we are supporting newcomer women in accessing meaningful career opportunities in a sector that will benefit from their skills.鈥�

Funded in part by the Government of Canada鈥檚 Foreign Credential Recognition Program (FCRP), BuildHER Future aims to improve labour market integration, advance gender equity and address critical workforce shortages while expanding access to construction careers for internationally trained women.

It responds to the growing demand for skilled workers across Canada鈥檚 construction industry and the persistent systemic barriers that many newcomer women face related to credential recognition and limited access to industry networks.

鈥淲ith the support of the Government of Canada, we are equipping highly skilled newcomer women with the training, mentorship, and work experience needed to succeed in the construction sector,鈥� says Sara Asalya, executive director of Newcomer Women鈥檚 Services Toronto. She adds the program is focused on creating opportunities for employment and recognizing the value of internationally trained professionals.

鈥淲e look forward to the impact this initiative will have on participants and the broader workforce,鈥� says Mayer.

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Building on past participation and renewed community engagement, 91亚色 invites faculty, staff, instructors, students and alumni to join a dedicated 91亚色 Pride group walking in the parade. Participation is open to those who wish to take part in a shared, visible expression of support and inclusion alongside colleagues and peers from across the University.

The 91亚色 Pride group will walk together in 91亚色-branded t-shirts and will have the opportunity to contribute to a long-running show of support for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and communities.

Space is limited to 100 participants. Register to participate through

Pride Month at 91亚色 recognizes the contributions of these communities while underscoring the ongoing work to address systemic barriers and build a more inclusive and equitable environment. Visit 91亚色鈥檚 Pride Month website for more.

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And, that pressure is not limited to global and limited-time events. Across concerns, festivals and sports, getting through the venue gate has become a costly and frustrating experience for fans as tickets vanish instantly only to reappear at inflated prices.

Recent examples illustrate the scale of the problem. When Coldplay performed in Toronto in July 2025, fans watched seats disappear on Ticketmaster while waiting in online queues, only to reappear on resale sites for up to $1,600. During the Blue Jays鈥� World Series run later that year, game tickets surged from roughly $400 to $2,000 within hours.

The trend has proven significant enough that earlier this year the Ontario government stepped into the fight over soaring ticket prices.

鈥淲e鈥檙e putting ticket scalpers on notice: your days of ripping people off are done,鈥� Premier Doug Ford posted on social media, announcing the proposal of new consumer protections that would make it illegal to resell tickets above face value. The Putting Fans First Act, he proposed, would apply to any platform handling ticket sales 鈥� Ticketmaster, StubHub and SeatGeek, for instance 鈥� ending what he called the 鈥渄igital wild west.鈥�

For fans, the message resonated with feelings of being exploited 鈥� and not just by the resale market driving up the price of admission.

Pollstar reports that average ticket prices for the top 100 global concert tours rose from $96.17 in 2019 to $132.62 in 2025 鈥� an increase of nearly 38 per cent, compared to average inflation in Canada of about 21 per cent over the same period.

91亚色 scholars say that outrage over ticket prices touches something deeper 鈥� a marketplace built to capitalize on scarcity, not serve audiences. Their research on cultural economics and digital labour shows the real bottlenecks sit with the ticketing system itself, where platform algorithms feed the frenzy they claim to fix.

While policymakers continue to debate how to respond, there is no clear consensus on how to rein in costs without disrupting the system that funds live events.

Scalpers are part of the equation, but they are not the whole story. Large promotors, ticketing platforms, artists and even fans all play a role in sustaining the current model.

So what caused the market to move in this direction?

Markus Giesler, a professor of marketing at 91亚色鈥檚 and former music producer who studies how markets shape human behaviour, points to a shift in how the industry makes money.

Prior to the death of the CD and birth of streaming services like Spotify, concerts were largely viewed as a way to promote and support record sales. As streaming platforms reshaped the economics of music 鈥� where artists went from earning tangible revenues from CD sales to making a fraction of a penny per stream 鈥� touring and selling 鈥渕erch鈥� became the primary source of income for many artists.

Giesler says this shift in economics, paired with a growing popularity over the last decade of 鈥渟caled-up, social media-mediated, massive concert spectacles,鈥� also explains the rising cost of live entertainment.

鈥淭he industry noticed large festivals and live music events could be priced differently and be designed at a much larger scale,鈥� he says, noting the bigger the event, the higher the cost, which translates to more dollars in the pockets of artists.

His observation is backed by data from the American Economic Liberties Project, which shows touring rose from 82 per cent of artists鈥� income in 2010 to roughly 95 per cent in 2022.

However, as touring revenues increased, so did the complexity of how tickets are priced; artists, agents, event promotors, venues and ticketing companies all take a share. Promotors compete for tours based on projected sales, while players like Live Nation 鈥� the largest concert promoter worldwide that not only promotes shows, but also operates venues and owns Ticketmaster 鈥� can capture revenue at multiples stages of the transaction.

What this means in practice is that the same company can book the show, control the venue and manage ticket sales. Regulators in Canada and the U.S. are now scrutinizing that concentration of power, arguing it may limit competition and continue to drive up costs.

Within this system, ticket prices are set by the artist and their management team. Ticketing platforms sell those tickets on the venue鈥檚 behalf and add service fees. A 2019 Competition Bureau review found that, in Canada, those fees exceeded 20 per cent and, in some cases, reached 65 per cent of the original price.

Additional pricing tools have further influenced the market, including Ticketmaster鈥檚 鈥渄ynamic pricing鈥� model introduced in 2022. This tool 鈥� framed as a way to deter scalpers 鈥� adjusts prices in real time based on demand, and is widely used for large scale tours.

91亚色 economist Matthew Brzozowski, an associate professor at the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, says limiting resale markets does not eliminate financial risk 鈥� it shifts it.

The risk has to land somewhere, he says, noting if it cannot be absorbed through resale, it may show up as higher base prices, additional fees or premium tiers.

Those premiums increasingly are seen at the checkout as priority access, VIP packages and add-ons that resemble insurance.

Despite higher costs, demand remains strong. Researchers say the for many fans, live events can be tied to identity and belonging, making price sensitivity less predictable.

鈥淒esirability is the be-all-end-all,鈥� Giesler says. 鈥淲e have to get tickets... life is short. Everybody wants to go and everybody wants to be able to talk about it and post about it.鈥�

That dynamic helps explain why costs continue to soar. Even when fans recognize prices as excessive, the draw of shared cultural moments keeps them in the queue.

That kind of momentum is hard to break, even if dynamic pricing is outlawed or companies like Live Nation are taken to task.

鈥淎 fan鈥檚 identity has always been about devotion,鈥� Giesler says.

And increasingly, showing that devotion means paying the price.

With files from Andrew Seale鈥�

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In 2018, OHIP+ was launched to provide public drug coverage for youth, helping overcome financial barriers to prescription medications for those under 25.

For Antony Chum, an associate professor in 91亚色鈥檚  who studies how public policy shapes health outcomes, it also created what he describes as a "natural experiment" 鈥� an opportunity to track differences before and after free drug coverage was introduced. He examined this "experiment" alongside postdoctoral researchers Peiya Cao and Yihong Bai, as well as PhD student Kristine Ienciu.

鈥淲e wanted to see if removing financial barriers and providing free prescriptions to those under 25 actually translated to a reduction in acute, life-threatening mental health crises,鈥� says Chum, who is also a Canada Research Chair in Population Health Data Science, adding the team focused on emergency department visits of suicide-related behaviours.

The study, published in , draws on linked census and health care data to analyze emergency department visits between 2016 and 2020 that document suicide and self-harm behaviours among Ontarians aged 19 to 24.

The researchers tracked monthly rates of these visits before and after OHIP+ was introduced, using statistical models to isolate the policy鈥檚 impact from underlying trends. They compared outcomes between lower- and higher-income individuals to assess who was most affected, and applied matching techniques and additional tests to ensure the results were robust.

At the conclusion, Chum says he and his team were surprised by the results, which showed that after OHIP+ was introduced, there was a significant and immediate drop in emergency department visits related to suicide and self-harm 鈥� a change that was faster and larger than expected.

Looking more closely at the results, the researchers also found notable reductions among young people considered high risk, including those with a history of mental health diagnoses or prior suicide-related behaviours. The effect was also more pronounced among lower-income youth, who are more likely to face cost barriers to medication, and among young women, who tend to use mental health services at higher rates and may be more likely to benefit from improved access to treatment.

The findings suggested OHIP+ had its strongest influence on those who needed it most, says Chum.

鈥淚t shows that public investments in drug coverage pay off in profound ways,鈥� he says, adding the most notable impact may be in prevention of mental health emergencies. 鈥淏etter access to medication may help stabilize symptoms earlier, reducing the likelihood that someone reaches a crisis point requiring emergency care.鈥�

Chum notes the findings require further study to understand the effect of changes to the system. In April 2019, OHIP+ was revised to restrict eligibility to youth without private insurance, shifting the program from universal to more targeted coverage. That change raises important questions about how it may have influenced the results observed here and whether the early gains seen under full coverage were sustained, weakened or reversed.

Nonetheless, he hopes the study clarifies how reducing cost barriers can improve health outcomes, particularly as Canada advances pharmacare legislation, including plans to provide universal, first-dollar coverage for certain contraceptives and diabetes medications.

鈥淲e hope this research provides timely evidence as Canada moves forward with broader national pharmacare reforms,鈥� says Chum. 鈥淲e want policymakers to see that expanding pharmacare is an essential, effective part of Canada鈥檚 youth mental health strategy.鈥�

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Espinosa, a member of the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health and the Connected Minds program, is among researchers working to better understand dogs as a global species within the fields of comparative psychology and canine science. Her work examines how animals think and behave, and how those processes shape their relationships with people in different environments.

Across scientific fields, researchers aim to draw conclusions that are consistent in different populations and contexts. That requires studying a wide and representative range of subjects. In canine science, however, that breadth is often limited, Espinosa says.

Most studies on dog behaviour and cognition tend to focus on companion canines in affluent regions of the Global North, whose lives are shaped by specific cultural and economic contexts. That leaves out a large portion of the world鈥檚 dog population 鈥� especially free-living canines and those in the Global South 鈥� as well as the many different ways humans and their pets interact across cultures and environments.

That narrow focus also shapes how studies are built. In many cases, participants are recruited through university communities or social media, which can skew toward people with the time, resources and interest to take part. Those same factors can influence the kinds of dogs being studied, favouring well鈥憈rained, highly socialized pets while excluding others.

鈥淲ith research drawing mostly from similar types of dogs and guardians, it becomes harder to know whether the results reflect the species as a whole or just a specific subset,鈥� says Espinosa.

Espinosa has observed this kind of variability in her own work. In studies examining how dogs respond to human pointing gestures, she and her collaborators found that results can differ depending on where the they are studied and the conditions they are raised in. For example, canines in Toronto respond differently to pointing gestures than those studied in Vancouver and Nebraska.

Findings like these, she says, highlight how much remains unknown and point questions that may be overlooked if results were broadly representative.

鈥淥nce we understand that there are these gaps in how we do our science 鈥� and even our individual ability to address them 鈥� we can start collectively working on ways forward,鈥� she says.

In an article published in , Espinosa offers an analysis of current canine research and proposes a shift in approach to improve the relevance of the field. Through large鈥憇cale collaborative studies, researchers from multiple sites and countries can better capture the diversity of dog ecology and dog-human relationships using shared methods and larger, more diverse samples.

鈥淭he main goal is to propose how we could make science more representative and equitable, both in the type of dogs that are studied and the people who do the research,鈥� she says.

One example is the ManyDogs Project, founded by Espinosa in 2018, which brings together collaborators from different locations and populations to study canine behaviour across contexts. By combining data and comparing results across sites, researchers can test findings across diverse groups.

In practice, this could lead to better inform human-animal relationships, animal welfare and ecological interactions. It could also offer a clearer picture of how dogs adapt across environments, including when they move between them.

Espinosa points to the growing practice of bringing canines from other regions, such as the street of Mexico, into Canadian communities as one example. Understanding how dogs from different backgrounds behave, she says, can support more effective training when they struggle to adjust to new environments.

Espinosa stresses that what she calls 鈥渂ig team science鈥� is not intended to replace the work done by individual groups, but rather to complement those efforts and broaden understanding and research practices through international collaboration, diverse viewpoints and scientific traditions and ways of knowing.

鈥淯nderstanding that what we know is just a drop in the ocean and only applicable to a small subset of very particular dogs can help us appreciate the value that diverse perspectives can add to the conversation,鈥� Espinosa says.

By widening its lens, canine research has the potential to produce more reliable findings while deepening peoples鈥� connection with one of its oldest and most widespread companions. 鈥淯ltimately, the goal is improving dog well-being and supporting healthy dog-human relationships,鈥� says Espinosa.

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