For a decade, Gulseren, who teaches human resource management in 91亚色's School of Administrative Studies, has researched chronic pain in the workplace. During that time, one issue kept surfacing.

鈥淪ubstance dependence is far more common among employees than most people realize,鈥� says Gulseren. 鈥淥pioids kept coming up as an important and often overlooked part of that picture.鈥�

The impacts of opioid dependence can be significant for both workers and organizations, she says. For personnel, it can contribute to anxiety, reduced concentration and chronic health challenges. For employers, it can mean increased absenteeism and presenteeism, reduced productivity, higher turnover and rising disability and health care costs.

Despite the effect dependence can have on workers and companies, Gulseren and frequent collaborator Zhanna Lyubykh, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, have found many employers remain unprepared to respond.

鈥淢any organizations still lack effective and practical strategies for addressing opioid-related challenges at work,鈥� says Gulseren. 鈥淭hey often don鈥檛 know how to approach it.鈥�

That gap led to a paper, , which aims to provide organizations with a clearer understanding of what contributes to opioid use in the workplace and what employers can do to address it.

In order to do so, the researchers reviewed a broad body of literature on opioid use disorder, workplace injuries, job stress, culture, drug-testing policies and recovery programs. They also examined evidence on accommodations and other measures designed to help employees manage substance-use challenges and return to work successfully.

Across the literature they reviewed, several themes emerged. According to Gulseren, one of the most notable findings was that employment setting conditions themselves can contribute to opioid dependence.

A common assumption is that opioid use disorder is primarily a personal issue rooted in an individual's own circumstances.

鈥淥ur research points to something different: conditions like poor ergonomics, high stress, pressure to return to work too soon after an injury or heavy physical demands with little control over one's work can push employees toward dependence,鈥� says Gulseren.

Across the literature, another theme emerged: workplace responses can be just as important as workplace conditions. When organizations addressed opioid use through measures such as drug testing or strict disciplinary policies, the evidence suggested those approaches often fell short.

Punitive measures such as drug testing and strict disciplinary approaches were often found to have limited success. Some studies reviewed by Gulseren even identified links between punitive policies and higher rates of opioid use. She and Lyubykh found such approaches can increase employee distress, create perceptions of unfairness, discourage people from seeking help and encourage workers to conceal substance-use problems.

Instead, the researchers found strategies focused on reducing stigma, providing accommodations and helping staff through treatment and recovery were often associated with better outcomes.

Across the studies they reviewed, these approaches were linked to lower rates of substance use, safer workplaces, greater willingness among employees to seek help, improved retention and more successful recovery and return-to-work outcomes.

For Gulseren, the review was about more than identifying insights from existing research. It was also an opportunity to explore practical ways organizations could better assist personnel.

鈥淚t was important to us that the work translate into applicable, practical recommendations that people in HR and management roles could actually put into practice,鈥� says Gulseren.

The published paper offers recommendations split into two categories: prevention and response.

On the prevention side, it encourages employers to focus on reducing workplace injuries, improving ergonomics, lowering job-related stress, creating psychologically safer spaces and ensuring employees have adequate opportunities for rest and recovery.

For those already struggling with opioid dependence, they recommend non-judgmental conversations, reducing stigma, recognizing signs of distress, providing appropriate accommodations and facilitating treatment and recovery. The researchers also emphasize the importance of structured return-to-work plans and ongoing support after treatment.

The recommendations, Gulseren says, are intended to give organizations the tools and understanding they need to better respond to staff needs while improving outcomes for companies as a whole.

鈥淲e hope it gives managers concrete, evidence-based tools both preventive (how to minimize the likelihood of opioid-related harm in the first place) and reactive (how to support employees through opioid use disorder and recovery when it does occur) ways,鈥� says Gulseren.

For her, that work is especially important because conversations about opioid use in the workplace are often oversimplified.

鈥淥pioids can be a necessary part of chronic pain management for many employees, so this isn't a simple 鈥榦pioids are bad鈥� story,鈥� says Gulseren. 鈥淥rganizations need better ways to manage and respond to this reality. We hope our work encourages organizations to move away from punitive responses and toward more supportive approaches.鈥�

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More than 1.5 billion people worldwide live with a hearing disability, a number projected to rise significantly in the coming decades as the workforce ages. Yet many workplaces remain poorly equipped to understand or address the challenges employees with hearing disabilities face every day.

Lyons of the researches hearing diversity and workplace inclusion. He also has lived experience with hearing disabilities and says many organizations continue to overlook an important reality.

"Hearing disabilities are often misunderstood and treated as a single, uniform experience. In fact, they are quite diverse," says Lyons.

When employers fail to recognize that variation, well-intentioned efforts to support workers can fall short.

"Without recognizing this diversity, this can lead to ineffective accommodations, communication barriers, stigma and missed opportunities for employees with hearing disabilities to contribute their skills and expertise."

Lyons wanted to draw attention to the reality that these workers do not all experience the workplace in the same way. To that end, he partnered with David Baldridge of Oregon State University, another researcher with lived experience of hearing disability and years of experience studying its effects on employment. Together, they authored a paper, now published in Organizational Dynamics, that explores hearing diversity in the workplace and outlines practical, research-informed strategies for creating more inclusive work environments.

To inform the paper, Lyons and Baldridge reviewed research from a range of disciplines, including hearing science, audiology, disability studies and human resource management. They combined those findings with their own work and lived experience to identify common themes across the literature, including workplace obstacles, barriers to inclusion and strategies shown to support communication.

The scholars identified a range of recurring obstacles, from difficult-to-follow meetings and noisy work environments to conversation breakdowns and reluctance to seek accommodations. They also found that hearing experiences are far more diverse than many people realize, with employees differing in their hearing experiences as well as the communication tools and strategies they rely on.

The review further highlighted how everyday activities can become hurdles. Meetings, telephone calls, conferences, social events, work travel and even hiring processes can present obstacles for employees with hearing disabilities. Hybrid meetings can be particularly difficult because participants may struggle to see and hear everyone clearly, while social gatherings often take place in noisy environments that make conversations harder to follow.

One finding that Lyons believes receives too little attention was feels does not receive enough attention: how much mental energy people with hearing disabilities often devote to following everyday conversations, and how frequently that burden is underestimated by both others and the individuals experiencing it.

"The extensive effort that goes into keeping up with everyday conversations can be invisible to others," Lyons says.

The researchers also drew a distinction between hearing and understanding. Employees with hearing disabilities may catch parts of a conversation while missing others, particularly in noisy settings. That can make it difficult for staff to know when important information has been missed or misunderstood, helping explain why everyday interactions can require so much mental effort.

But documenting those challenges was only part of what the researchers set out to do. Recognizing the diversity of hearing experiences, Lyons and Baldridge sought to provide practical, evidence-based guidance that organizations can adapt to individual workers鈥� needs and create more inclusive workplaces.

Among their recommendations is making accessibility part of everyday practice rather than treating it as a special accommodation. Simple measures such as enabling captions, sharing written agendas and meeting summaries, encouraging one person to speak at a time and reducing background noise can make interactions easier for many employees. The authors also stress the importance of regular conversations between managers and team members about communication needs, recognizing that hearing experiences can vary widely from person to person and even from day to day.

More broadly, the researchers advocate a layered approach that combines accessible workplace design, supportive management practices and appropriate technologies, including captioning services, remote microphones and sign-language interpretation where needed. While emerging tools such as AI-powered captioning and speech-to-text services offer new opportunities to improve accessibility, Lyons and Baldridge say technology alone is not enough. Meaningful progress, they argue, comes from recognizing hearing diversity and building accessibility into everyday workplace interactions.

"We hope this work helps organizations move beyond generic accommodations toward more individualized, inclusive practices, while empowering people with hearing disabilities to share their own experiences and advocate for their communication needs," Lyons says.

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Announced July 21, SSHRC will provide funding through three of its programs: Insight Development Grants: February 2026 Competition; Partnership Development Grants: 2025 Competition; and Connection Grants: May 2026 Competition.

More than $2.5 million will support 33 91亚色-led Insight Development Grants for early-stage projects and help researchers pursue innovative questions, methods and approaches that can lay the groundwork for larger research programs.

Close to $1 million will support five 91亚色-led Partnership Development Grants, helping researchers build new collaborations with universities, community organizations, governments and industry partners. Knowledge mobilization will also be supported through Connection Grants, with close to $50,000 for a 91亚色 initiative.

The projects cover a wide range of topics, including Indigenous health and decolonization, democratic discourse, climate adaptation, financial vulnerability, labour and social justice, migration, cultural identity and AI.

"These investments in research are investments in our collective future," says Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. "These projects empower researchers to test new ideas, forge meaningful partnerships and generate knowledge that addresses complex societal challenges. Together, they are laying the foundations for discoveries and innovations that will create meaningful benefits for communities in Canada and around the world."

The projects reflect 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to community-engaged research, interdisciplinary collaboration and generating knowledge that addresses real-world challenges.

Insight Development Grants

The 33 Insight Development Grants demonstrate the diversity and breadth of emerging research underway across the University. Among the funded projects are those that examine topics such as Indigenous knowledge systems, public health, democratic discourse, AI and financial vulnerability:

• Dayna Scott () 鈥� Visualizing Cumulative Effects: Anishinaabe Counter-Mapping on the Extractive Frontier
• Emily Kuang () 鈥� Multicultural and Multilingual Family Bonding and Knowledge Sharing Across Generations: A Culturally Responsive Approach to Generative AI Application
• R茅mi Viv猫s (Glendon College) 鈥� Measuring Populist Discourse: Canada in Comparative Perspective
• Ashley Day () 鈥� Wiisokotaatiwin 鈥� gathering to re-imagine decolonial health education
• Peiya Cao (Faculty of Health) 鈥� Intergenerational Minority Stress and Child Well-Being in LGBTQ+ Families: A National Census-Linked Study in Canada
• Zissis Paraskevas Poulos (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies) 鈥� Risk-Sensitive Learning and Tacit Coordination in Algorithmic Financial Markets

Other initiatives examine corporate accountability, Black Canadian history, labour law, climate resilience in public infrastructure, machine ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship, disability rights, migration, Indigenous knowledge systems and social inclusion. View the of recipients and their projects.

Partnership Development Grants

The six 91亚色-led Partnership Development Grants will support collaborations focused on financial vulnerability, youth in care, planetary health, workers鈥� education and Canadian computing heritage and include:

• Ida Ferrara 鈥� (LA&PS) Addressing Financial Vulnerability Through Inclusive Insurance
• Jennine Rawana (Faculty of Health) 鈥� Exploring the Needs of Youth Transitioning Out of the Care of Child Welfare Agencies
• Kate Tilleczek (Faculty of Education) 鈥� Planetary Health Partnership: Mapuche-Williche Youth-Led Research as Practices of K眉me Mogen
• Katherine Nastovski (LA&PS) 鈥� Re-Imagining Workers鈥� Education in the 21st Century
• Mark Hayward (LA&PS) 鈥� Preserving, Promoting and Researching Canadian Computing Heritage
• Sarah Rotz (Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change) 鈥� Confronting Financialization, Consolidation, and Settler-colonial Agri-food Land Governance in Canada

91亚色 researchers are also directly involved as co-applicants for six other Partnership Development Grants totaling $1.19 million. See the of projects and recipients.

鈥淭he awards underscore 91亚色's leadership in advancing research that connects disciplines, sectors and communities in pursuit of positive social change. By fostering collaborations across local, national and international networks, our researchers are generating knowledge and solutions that help build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future for all,鈥� says Asif.

Connection Grants

SSHRC鈥檚 Connection Grants competition, which funds short-term knowledge mobilization initiatives, will provide $49,974 to Richard Saunders (LA&PS) to examine the social and environmental dimensions of critical mineral extraction through knowledge-sharing and public engagement activities through his project Image as Voice: Perspectives on Lithium Extraction in Argentina and Zimbabwe. 

Two other projects that focus on aging and Asian Canadian studies include co-applicants from 91亚色. View the  of recipients. 

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is an AI platform built for real estate and asset management co-founded by Gaurav Madani and Arunabh Dastidar, who met as Schulich MBA students in 2017 and graduated together in 2019. The tool鈥檚 third co-founder, Zain Nathoo, is also a Schulich alum.

The platform was created to solve fragmented data challenges in real estate investing by using AI to organize information and provide customizable systems that help investment teams analyze data, automate tasks and make faster decisions. These were challenges both Dastidar and Nathoo encountered while working in real estate investment and helping to manage more than $1 billion in property assets.

Frustrated by delays in financial reports 鈥� which often arrived in spreadsheets weeks late and slowed decision-making 鈥� they turn to Schulich for guidance and support to bring their solution to market.

Early on, the founders brought their idea to Chris Carder, executive director of Schulich's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Madani recalls approaching Carder, who at the time was alone in the Schulich cafeteria, and sharing the team鈥檚 idea. Carder offered the team direction, facilitated important connections and amplified the company within his own network.

"He was a sounding board, which is what founders need in the early days," Madani says. "Especially in the early days when no one knows you, those kinds of things are really important."

Beyond Carder, the company drew on other forms of support at Schulich. Andre Kuzmicki, retired professor, introduced the team to senior professionals at large Canadian institutions who would become some of Leni's first clients.

As well, Schulich's Entrepreneurial Studies program has partnered with Leni to create student internships.

"Schulich gave us a community of people who believed in what we were building and opened doors that would have been much harder to access on our own," says Dastidar. "That early support was instrumental in helping us gain traction and credibility as we scaled."

While Leni began by connecting industry systems to track performance in real time, it evolved to integrate AI, which became central to its development from 2022 onward.

Today, it helps investment teams evaluate deals, conduct research and automate reporting tasks that would otherwise take days.

Madani says Leni stands out for its focus on accuracy. It is trained to break complex questions into parts, route them across multiple AI models, evaluate whether the responses meet its threshold, and surfaces an answer only when it passes 鈥� along with the reasoning and source data behind it.

"Leni will always treat any output as a hypothesis that needs to be proven," he says.

As the company expands, the relationship with Schulich continues in both directions. Leni's founders now serve as mentors, judges and guest lecturers with Schulich Startups, where they contribute to the same ecosystem that helped them get started.

For students who are thinking about building their own tool, Madani's advice is simple: "No two entrepreneurial journeys look the same," he says, adding that Schulich鈥檚 support was instrumental to Leni鈥檚 success.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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For many people across the Greater Toronto Area, commuting is a significant part of daily life. "Toronto is a city where there can be a lot of traffic congestion and many people's commutes are quite long," says Shen, whose research explores worker health and well-being.

For many of those commuters, the trip back and forth is one of the least enjoyable parts of the day, triggering stress, fatigue and lost time. Researchers have traditionally focused on those challenges, often emphasizing objective measures such as distance and travel time.

Shen, however, has in, as she puts it, 鈥渉ow commutes may have benefits rather than only the 鈥榮tress鈥� and 鈥榖urden鈥� that a lot of research describes.鈥�

In collaboration with researchers in Israel and the U.S., Shen set out to better understand why some people are more satisfied with their journeys to work than others, focusing on a key psychological factor: predictability.

Two commutes that take the same amount of time can feel very different if one is consistently reliable while the other is plagued by unexpected delays, she notes. The study theorizes that predictability might improve the commuting experience in two ways: by reducing stress and by giving workers a greater sense of control over how they spend their time.

To test the idea, researchers conducted a three-week study involving 379 full-time employees who commuted to work at least twice a week. Across three surveys, participants answered questions about how consistent their daily journeys are, their levels of stress and autonomy during the journey and their overall enjoyment of the experience.

The results, published in the , found that commuters are more satisfied with their trip when they could reliably predict how long it would take, regardless of length. The study also finds that this relationship is driven by a greater sense of autonomy or control over how commuting time was spent.

This desire for control may stem from the ability to plan how commuting time will be used, the researchers say. Someone who knows their travel time will take 45 minutes can decide in advance whether to listen to a podcast, mentally prepare for the workday, unwind after work or simply enjoy a few moments to themselves. In this way, the commute can become a psychological buffer between work and home life. By contrast, a commuter facing uncertainty and unexpected delays may be more focused on the possibility of disruptions than on what they can do with the journey.

This distinction matters, says Shen, because commuting experiences do not necessarily end when the journey is over. Previous research has shown the effects of a commute can spill over into other areas of life, influencing well-being, job satisfaction and experiences at home.

"We know that people can bring the stresses of their commute with them to work and also into their homes in the evening," says Shen. "Given this, we are interested in how to make commutes less stressful and more beneficial for workers."

In the paper, Shen and her co-authors suggest transportation planners and employers can help improve commuter well-being by investing in more reliable transportation systems, accurate real-time travel information and flexible work arrangements that increase reliability. More broadly, they argue that commuting should not be viewed simply as lost time; when people can reliably anticipate how their trip will unfold, they may be able to use that time in ways that support well-being.

Additional work is needed to understand the relationship between predictability and commuter well-being. Future studies, says Shen, could incorporate physiological measures of stress such as cortisol levels, examine more diverse populations and transportation systems, include larger numbers of public transit users and test interventions such as flexible scheduling policies. The authors also suggest exploring whether the way trip information is presented influences how commuters experience consistency and control.

"We hope that this work will help people to consider how to make their commutes more enjoyable and useful to them, perhaps for recovery or to get ahead with work or family responsibilities," says Shen. "Although commuting may be inevitable, it does not have to be 'wasted' or an unpleasant time.鈥�

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After two years of inactivity, the Google Developer Group (GDG) chapter at 91亚色 has been revived by a first-year student focused on hands-on learning and long-term leadership.

Soroush Baraouf, a computer engineering student at the , was appointed by Google's regional program team as the founder and organizer of the newly relaunched GDG on Campus at 91亚色 chapter earlier this year.

Part of a global Google-supported network, GDG chapters are student-run organizations that host workshops, project-based learning experiences and hackathons, giving students hands-on exposure to technologies such as cloud computing and AI. The 91亚色 chapter shut down after previous student leaders graduated or moved into upper-year studies.

Baraouf, who moved to Canada from Iran where he had spent years following the GDG network, hoped to be a part of 91亚色鈥檚 chapter. When he arrived at the University, however, he learned the chapter was inactive 鈥� so he took action to relaunch it.

"I could feel the bulb kind of turn on in my mind," he says. "Maybe I can be the person who can build this community."

Beyond his own ambitions, Baraouf saw a broader need: a stronger technical community that could help 91亚色 students make their work more visible to employers 鈥� especially in a competitive recruitment landscape.

"There are so many students at universities like U of T or Waterloo who just get more exposure simply because they attend those schools," he says. "What I wanted to fix was to create a serious community and do serious stuff so recruiters and employers can understand that people at 91亚色 can also get things done."

The chapter's programming is built around that goal. Rather than hosting speaker panels that students leave with little to show, Baraouf is centring the group on what he calls a builder mindset: workshops that begin with a real problem, guide participants through Google tools like Firebase and Google Cloud Platform, and end with a working project students can add to their portfolios.

First-year students are a particular focus, since many are entering the workforce without practical project experience.

"We want to help people actually build solutions 鈥� real-world stuff that solves real problems that they can showcase," he says.

The chapter's scope extends beyond engineering students. Baraouf sees tools like Google's Gemini AI models and cloud hosting as relevant across disciplines 鈥� for business students exploring fintech ideas, arts students using image generation tools or students who want to build and host a portfolio without a technical background.

"No matter what discipline you're in, what level you're at, there's still something you can do with AI," he says.

To keep the chapter from repeating the previous group's fate, Baraouf has built in structural safeguards. The executive team of approximately 23 students is organized into five groups 鈥� technology, academics, operations, finance, and outreach and growth 鈥� each deliberately staffed with both junior and senior students. If upper-year leaders graduate, there are always newer members ready to step into leadership roles.

The relaunch would not have happened without external support. Professor Jeff Harris helped Baraouf navigate 91亚色's club ratification process, while Adeola Omojola, former student and the previous chapter lead, shared key documents and guidance on the Google application process. Becky Phan, Google's regional program lead for North America, helped guide the Google collaboration.

For Baraouf, long-term success of the program means helping 91亚色 students build a stronger technical profile with employers and creating a club that continues well after he graduates. He envisions the club as one that contributes to students鈥� academic experience by partnering with professors on hands-on course projects.

On July 3, the group hosted the Engineering & AI Innovation (EAII) Case Competition at Google's Toronto headquarters 鈥� an event where students learn how Google is evolving in engineering, and then pitch AI-based solutions to Google engineers for feedback and discussion.

"We set out to prove GDG 91亚色 U is different: a club built on real technical depth, real ambition, real standards," says Baraouf. "Judging by the room that day, we made our case."

Students interested in joining can become members through the chapter's website at .

Executive applications for the current cycle are now closed, but general membership is open and a new round of leadership recruitment is planned for September.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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Recent work led by bachelor of science in nursing (BScN) students Hadier Kandil and Yucheng (Chuck) Wang examines how health care systems can better support providers and patients.

鈥淪tudent research reflects a strong culture of inquiry in the School of Nursing, where projects align with Faculty priorities and health system needs,鈥� says Professor Larnes Joy Nabarreti, who supervised the work.

Kandil鈥檚 project explores a proposed paid residency model for nursing students completing their integrated practicum. The research considers how structured financial and clinical support could strengthen the transition from education to professional practice while contributing to workforce stability.

The study examines strategies aimed at improving preparedness for clinical roles and addressing ongoing pressures in Canadian health care systems. The findings point to the importance of structured transition supports in preparing students for professional responsibilities. By examining how a residency model could be implemented, the research highlights potential pathways to improve student experience and long-term workforce sustainability.

A second project, led by Wang, focuses on nil per os (NPO) practices in emergency departments 鈥� a medical term meaning 鈥渘othing by mouth,鈥� or the restriction of food and fluids before procedures. The research examines the clinical and operational factors affecting patients who may face extended wait times, and evaluates how these NPO protocols intersect with patient comfort and safety in high-demand health care environments.

By analyzing these factors, the inquiry identifies the need to balance clinical protocols with patient-centred care, particularly in environments where delays prolong restrictions. This work contributes to ongoing discussions about how emergency departments can maintain safety standards while improving patient experience.

Their findings have been shared with national and international audiences, extending their relevance beyond the University.

鈥淭he work of undergraduate students shows how early research experience helps develop key competencies for future nurses, including critical thinking, clinical reasoning and systems-level awareness,鈥� says Nabaretti. 鈥淚t also highlights how students can contribute to discussions often led by more established researchers, especially on practical issues in care delivery.鈥�

This focus on student research was reflected in a recent school-wide event that showcased emerging work and collaboration.

In May, the School of Nursing hosted its inaugural Research Day for faculty, students and partners to share their projects, including prevention, health equity, nutrition and HIV/AIDS care.

One project examining a peer-led approach to supporting nursing student mental health received the Student Award. The presentation, titled 鈥淧romoting Nursing Student Well-Being Through Mental Health Peer-led Initiative,鈥� was authored by Zahra Mujadidi, Giada Romano, Chuqiao Li, Harmann Bhatia and Yong Qi Su, and supervised by Professor Ruth Robbio.

The program featured the annual June Awrey Lectureship, which honours the founder of 91亚色鈥檚 School of Nursing. This year鈥檚 speaker, Elaine Johnston (Waaskonenhkwe), an Anishinaabe nurse with 40 years鈥� experience, shared Indigenous perspectives on advancing reconciliation in health care.

鈥淓laine鈥檚 talk helps students understand how Indigenous knowledge shapes learning and nursing practice,鈥� says Robbio. 鈥淕uided research opportunities build on that by supporting academic development and generating insights for health care policy and practice.鈥�

Four 91亚色 students were also recently recognized by the Registered Nurses Foundation of Ontario, with awards for academic excellence and leadership potential. Michelle Hermans (PhD student) earned the Lynn Kirkwood Research Award; Tiina Ranta (PhD student) received the Research in Mental Health Nursing Award; Alessia Lamanna (MScN student) was awarded the Nursing Research Interest Group Award; and Eseimuede James Ehiagwina (BScN) was the recipient of the Charlotte Noesgaard Memorial Scholarship.

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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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The University is one of 10 post-secondary institutions to receive Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON) funding for the recently launched Innovation Fellowship Program. Together with renewed funding as part of IPON鈥檚 Commercialization Pilot Program, which 91亚色 has been a recipient of since 2023, the University will receive $575,000.

The funding will support the Inventor to Founder Fellowship, a new collaboration at 91亚色 between YSpace and the IP Innovation Clinic. The 13-week fellowship provides up to 30 students, researchers, faculty and recent graduates with a $10,000 stipend, along with mentorship and practical training to move early-stage research toward investment readiness.

"Research achieves its full value when it reaches people through new products, new companies and new solutions to the challenges Ontarians face,鈥� says Lisa Philipps, 91亚色鈥檚 interim president and vice-chancellor.

IPON鈥檚 investment, she adds, strengthens the connections at 91亚色 that make research translation possible.

鈥淥ur new Inventor to Founder Fellowship will extend that pathway to even more Ontarians with an idea worth building 鈥� and we're proud to partner with the province on work that ensures research investments have local impact."

Since 2023, IPON support has helped increase capacity for the University鈥檚 IP and commercialization pathway, a strategic collaboration between the IP Innovation Clinic and 91亚色鈥檚 Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI). The partnership is designed to address critical gaps and assist researchers, students and entrepreneurs navigating complex decisions around IP and venture development.

鈥淣ow more than ever, it is imperative that Ontario continues to protect our homegrown innovation, transforming ideas into solutions that strengthen our economy,鈥� says Nolan Quinn, minister of colleges, universities, research excellence and security. 鈥淭hrough this investment into IPON, our government is safeguarding our epicentres of discovery, our post-secondary institutions, to ensure Ontario continues to benefit first and foremost from research developed in our own backyard.鈥�

To date, IPON has provided nearly $1.5 million to 91亚色 to bolster IP and commercialization initiatives. This funding has helped the IP Innovation Clinic serve 133 clients and train 132 Osgoode Hall Law School students, while VPRI has received more than 100 invention disclosures, leading to more than 30 IP protection applications.

鈥淭he IP Innovation Clinic and University are grateful to IPON for its sustained investment, which enables the clinic and VPRI to continue delivering high-impact IP and commercialization support to innovators across 91亚色 while training the next generation of IP professionals through experiential education,鈥� says Pina D鈥橝gostino, the clinic鈥檚 founding director and 91亚色鈥檚 associate vice-president research at the time of the funding announcement.

The IP Innovation Clinic and VPRI, she adds, will continue to scale 91亚色鈥檚 unique innovation ecosystem with partners across the University and beyond.

With files from the IP Innovation Clinic

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This award, presented by Fairtrade Canada during the National Fair Trade Conference, marks 91亚色鈥檚 first time receiving the honour. The recognition builds on the University鈥檚 Silver Fair Trade Campus designation which it has held over the past two years and reflects its sustained leadership in embedding fair trade principles into everyday campus life.

91亚色 was recognized for its 鈥淔air Trade, Every Day鈥� approach, which has expanded the availability of fair trade-certified products across the University. As a result, tens of thousands of products are purchased each year, increasing access for the campus community while supporting ethical supply chains.

Fair trade-certified products 鈥� such as chocolate, coffee, tea and bananas 鈥� are available at various YU Eats locations including Stong College, Winters College, Central Square (Keele Campus) and Glendon Campus. The initiative also extends to apparel, with the 91亚色 Bookstore offering certified fair-trade T-shirts and hoodies through a partnership with Green Campus Co-op, a student- and faculty-founded organization established in 2011.

The award also acknowledges 91亚色鈥檚 broader leadership role in the sector. By hosting the National Fair Trade Conference in 2025 and maintaining an active presence in national conversations about fair trade in higher education, 91亚色 has become a hub for learning and collaboration.

91亚色 staff are frequently called on to share expertise on advancing fair trade in higher education. Sasa Netsorovic, director, Bookstore, printing and mailing services at 91亚色, recently shared insights on how campuses can translate fair trade values through procurement decisions, community partnerships and student engagement, drawing on 91亚色鈥檚 鈥淔air Trade, Every Day鈥� approach.

Nicole Arsenault, director of sustainability, says the award 鈥渞eflects years of dedicated work by students, faculty and staff who have championed fair trade and embedded it into campus culture.鈥�

These efforts, she adds, support the United Nations鈥� Sustainable Development Goals.

With national recognition as Fair Trade Campus of the Year, 91亚色 continues to demonstrate how institutional commitment and community-driven action can create meaningful change.

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