The Trump presidency has caused many people to re-examine the character of not just the United States, but of our own country. Piers Steel, a professor of psychology and business at the University of Calgary, has written a thoughtful piece about what makes for a thriving nation and happy citizens. His answer: Values. His article looks at four core values that can “predict both a good life and a thriving nation.” See how you stack up against personally against those values.

There was great excitement in the scientific and academic communities when the report officially known as Canada’s Fundamental Science Review – but soon dubbed the Naylor Report, after its chief author, David Naylor of the University of Toronto – recommended a $485-million increase in research funding. But Andrew Craig, an associate professor of biomedical and molecular sciences at Queen’s University, writes that initial enthusiasm in the research community has waned in the ensuing months as the federal government has taken little action on the report’s recommendations. “Now at the midpoint of its mandate, the Trudeau government is attempting to traverse an ever-widening gap between the government’s messaging on science and its actions,” writes Prof. Craig.

I’m never afraid to admit what I don’t know and so let me confess right here and now the term “neoliberalism” has always been a head scratcher for me. Turns out I’m not alone. Kean Birch of York University has written a book called A Research Agenda for Neoliberalism and he's also written an article for The Conversation Canada that not only gives a short history of the term, but explains its relevance in today’s complex world.

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