Morning Brew: Ontario not happy with McGuinty's post-secondary education efforts, Tibetans turn out to vote in Toronto, Libya supporters rally in Dundas Square, RCMP spied on Ignatieff as a student and Raptors win again
A new survey of 1,800 adults in Ontario shows that many are displeased with Dalton McGuinty's post-secondary efforts, or lack thereof. The poll reveals nearly half of the respondents believe the quality of post-secondary education has stayed the same since he took office, while almost a third of respondents think the quality of education has actually declined over his tenure. Only eight per cent say it has improved. Nora Leto, a representative for the Canadian Federation of Students in Ontario, says she's not surprised. While the Liberal government has increased funding for university education, tuition has still increased along with class size in addition to programs being cut.
It was a big day for Tibet yesterday. Voters across the world, including Toronto, turned out in large numbers to elect Tibet's government in exile. The crowd was so large here that the polling station stayed open an extra hour to accommodate the high demand. More than 1,000 people voted in Toronto, which is home to Canada's largest Tibetan community. The elections are the most significant in recent memory for Tibetans as the Dalai Lama, both the Tibetan political and spiritual leader, has announced he will be stepping back from his political role.
Saturday also drew a large crowd in downtown Toronto for those who rallied in support of Libya, Bahrain, and other Arab countries. As many of 500 people gathered at Dundas Square to support Arab democracy, as well as to support the UN's intervention and Canada's involvement with it.
This is a bit suspicious timing wise. A recently obtained memo by the Canadian Press reveals RCMP spies kept a watchful eye on Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff as he organized a major academic conference during his school days at the University of Toronto. Back then, the RCMP kept their eye on activities at university campuses during the Cold War in order to detect Communist influences. In his defense, Ignatieff said, "They may have had some idea that we were all subversive radicals, but we were anything but."
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Photo by johnferri in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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