Not just NAFTA: Why Canada needs to pay attention to China

With all eyes focused on the new NAFTA negotiations this month, very little attention has been paid to trade discussions with China. Today in The Conversation Canada, Charles Burton of Brock University says we should all be asking more questions about a recent meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Prof. Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, says given “what’s at stake should Canada dramatically increase our trade with the Chinese,” we know little about the meeting that was held last week. “Freeland flew home with no post-meeting news conference. No communiqué was issued.”

Last week we published an article about the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld treaty rights of the Nunavut community of Clyde River. Today, Justin Safayeni of York University and Nader R. Hasan of the University of Toronto provide a further analysis of that ruling as well as another case that sided with the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation against Enbridge Pipelines Inc.. Both important rulings, the professors write, will ensure Indigenous rights are recognized and respected in the future.

And finally, in our first “Back to School” feature, Michael Lee Zwiers of the University of Calgary offers some great advice on how to help kids transition to their first year of high school.

Regards,

Scott White

Editor

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The roaring silence around trade talks with China

Charles Burton, Brock University

Never mind NAFTA -- Canada's quiet efforts to boost trade with China should be ringing alarm bells given Chinese human rights abuses, and raises questions about whether Beijing has demanded secrecy.

Jerry Natanine, community leader and former mayor of Clyde River, at a news conference in Ottawa in July following the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld Inuit treaty rights in the Arctic. His lawyer and co-author Nader Hasan stands behind him. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Lessons from Supreme Court decisions on Indigenous consultation

Justin Safayeni, York University, Canada; Nader R. Hasan, University of Toronto

The Supreme Court of Canada's recent decisions on Clyde River and Chippewas contain key lessons to ensure that Indigenous rights are recognized and respected in the future.

The challenges of making new friends, managing schedules and the hormones of puberty can be overwhelming for new high school students. (Unsplash/Benjamin Voros)

How to help your kids transition to high school

Michael Lee Zwiers, University of Calgary

An education psychologist offers tips for parents of new high school kids on everything from navigation to time management.

Ryan Kelly’s iconic photograph of the moment that James Fields’ car plowed into a crowd of protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ryan M. Kelly/AP

Is this photo a modern day version of a Picasso anti-war masterpiece?

Jennifer Wenzel, Columbia University

Ryan Kelly's iconic photograph from Charlottesville evokes a 'Unite the Right' moment from 1937 – and the anti-war masterpiece by Picasso that emerged from it.

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