The topic of local governance is the focus of an upcoming public symposium, “The Geography of Governance,” sponsored by UPEI’s Institute of Island Studies, in conjunction with UPEI Research Services. The symposium begins at 7 pm, on Thursday, February 25, in the Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium (room 242), UPEI’s Don and Marion McDougall Hall. The storm date is the following evening.

The reform of local government on the Island has been much discussed in recent years, especially since the release of the 2009 Thompson Report of the Commission on Land and Local Governance. At that time, the Island had 75 incorporated municipalities–many of them with just a few hundred people–and 70 per cent of the province’s territory had no local government at all. The situation remains much the same today.

Judge Thompson recommended that local government might be extended to cover the entire Island, and that the units be large enough to be effective and sustainable—that is, with a population of at least 4,000 each. Many Islanders perceive that reform is now in the air, and some communities have initiated discussions with their neighbours about joining together to form larger governance units.

If we assume that larger municipal units are on the horizon, the question arises about the criteria to be used in deciding on new boundaries. Should cultural factors be paramount? Or “communities of interest”? Or geographical factors? Or environmental management—such as including a whole watershed within a municipality? Or some combination of these—and others?

The principal speaker for the evening will be Diane Griffin, noted Island environmentalist, Stratford town councillor, and vice-president of the Federation of PEI Municipalities. She will be joined by a panel of three individuals representing various points of view: Dr. Ryan Gibson, Dr. Michael van den Heuvel, and Jeanitta Bernard.

Dr. Gibson, who is currently chair of the advisory committee of the Institute of Island Studies, teaches in the Department of Geography at Saint Mary’s University. He has a special interest in collaborative governance in rural regions. He will share lessons learned from other parts of Canada and internationally on how they have built new regions and the processes they have utilized. These experiences could assist in shaping the process in PEI.

Dr. van den Heuvel is a professor of biology at UPEI and director of the Canadian Rivers Institute. He will discuss case studies and the advantages of defining municipal boundaries based on watersheds to enhance resources for environmental management.

The third panelist, Jeannita Bernard of St. Philippe, is a well-known Island singer-songwriter and community leader in the areas of health, education, and community development. She will explore the idea of creating a new Evangeline regional government unit, which would include the present villages of Wellington and Abram’s Village, plus 12 adjacent unincorporated communities.

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend. Admission is free. Following the presentations, there will be ample time for discussion and questions from the floor.

The UPEI Department of Music will present Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro,” February 26 and 27 in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall of UPEI’s Steel Building, 7:30 pm.

A marriage will indeed occur, but not before many machinations, both hilarious and sinister, take place. Under the direction of Associate Professor Sung Ha Shin-Bouey (music) and Stephen Bouey (staging), upper-year voice students and alumni will take the stage. The cast includes Parker Clements as Figaro, Lindsay Gillis and Andrea Corder as Susanna, Travis Boudreau as Count, Morgan Wagner as Countess, Jillian Clow and Alli Blom as Cherubino, Hannah Rose and Emily Roberts as Marcellina, Michael Gallant as Dr. Bartolo, William Millington as Basilio, Alexandra Smith as Barbarina, Daniel Aitken as Antonio, and Cody Collins as Don Curzio.

Tickets are $10 and are available online or by calling or emailing the music office at 902-566-0507/music@upei.ca. 

A video produced by the government of Prince Edward Island features the expertise of Jeff Collins, a sessional lecturer in the Department of Political Science at the University of Prince Edward Island. Electoral reform was part of the election platform of Premier Wade MacLauchlan (president emeritus of UPEI). In the video, Collins explains the different electoral systems being considered.

Watch:

The UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week for the week of February 8-14 are Anne Kiberd, Women’s Basketball, and Tyler Scott, Men’s Basketball. On a weekly basis, UPEI Athletics and Recreation recognizes these talented student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are then nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who:  Anne Kiberd, Women’s Basketball, and Tyler Scott, Men’s Basketball

What: UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week

When: Week of February 8-14, 2016

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Kiberd, a fifth-year Bachelor of Science Nursing student from Halifax, NS, had a strong weekend for the Panthers. During the Panthers 72-63 win and 66-57 loss to Memorial, Kiberd averaged 15.5 points including 6 three-pointers. Kiberd also collected 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

Tyler Scott, a fourth-year Bachelor of Business Administration student, also from Halifax, NS, led the Panthers offensively on the weekend. During the Panthers 97-87 and 115-85 wins over Memorial, Scott had the following strong statistics: 48 points, 30 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, 0.522 FG%, and was 8/17 from the three-point range.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place and UPEI Turf
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

The Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) network and Irving Shipbuilding announced yesterday more than $1.8 million of support for research projects to strengthen Canada’s ability to anticipate and respond to marine risk. Among the projects is one lead by Dr. Adam Fenech, director of UPEI’s Climate Research Lab.

The funding will support new technology for monitoring and visualizing the impacts of sea-level rise, erosion, and storm surges in costal environments. It will also support five graduate students at UPEI.

Dr. Fenech and his team will use detailed coastal sensors mounted on flying drones to capture high-resolution imagery of First Nations communities on Prince Edward Island—Lennox Island and Rocky Point—to create a digital simulation for each community. These simulations will show detailed topography and potential areas at risk to sea-level rise and erosion-related impacts. These tools will help communities identify immediate risks to infrastructure and will aid in long-term planning to prepare for, and adapt to future coastal changes.

Don MacKenzie, Executive Director of partner organization, MCPEI, stated “The First Nations of PEI depend strongly on the coast, and on marine resources, especially the fisheries. One of our communities is a small Island, and it is crucial for us to develop approaches to deal with a wide range of marine hazards, from storm surges to sea level rise. We look forward enthusiastically to the benefits this project brings to all our communities.”

“The MEOPAR project is an important extension of the CLIVE virtual reality technology developed by Professor Fenech and his colleagues at the UPEI Climate Research Lab,” said Dr. Robert Gimour, Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies at UPEI. “The addition of high resolution data from instrumented drones will enhance the lab's ability to predict climate-related threats to coastal infrastructure, residences and businesses, which will, in turn, aid in the development of adaptation strategies to minimize the economic impact of such threats. The substantial financial contribution of Irving Shipbuilding to the project underscores the expected economic benefits from this approach to risk mitigation.”

Irving Shipbuilding contributed $1 million to the $1.8 million initiative.  Irving Shipbuilding’s funding is pursuant to its value proposition obligation under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy, whereby Irving Shipbuilding is committed to spending 0.5.% of contract revenues with the aim of creating a sustainable marine industry across Canada.

MEOPAR was created through the federal Networks of Centres of Excellence Program in 2012. The MEOPAR network is building Canada’s capacity to anticipate and respond to marine risk by funding interdisciplinary academic research, developing highly qualified personnel with expertise in marine risk and response, and by connecting academic research and technology to national and international partners in government, industry, and the public sector. To learn more, please visit www.meopar.ca.

Samuel Holland: His Work and Legacy on Prince Edward Island, was chosen Publication of the Year for 2015 at the PEI Museum’s Heritage Awards held recently in Summerside. Written by Earle Lockerby and Doug Sobey, the book was co-published by Island Studies Press at UPEI, and Holland College, to mark the 250^th anniversary of Samuel Holland’s mapping of Prince Edward Island. The book is available in softcover at Island bookstores and online.

A total of 17 heritage awards were presented by the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, and five Island sites received historical designation. 

The UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week for the week of February 15-21 are Katie Donahoe, Women’s Basketball, and Marcus Power, Men’s Hockey. On a weekly basis, UPEI Athletics and Recreation recognizes these talented student-athletes for their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are then nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country.

Who:  Katie Donahoe, Women’s Basketball, and Marcus Power, Men’s Hockey

What: UPEI Panther Subway Athletes of the Week

When: Week of February 15-21, 2016

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Donahoe, a fifth-year guard and Kinesiology student from Riverview, N.B., scored 21 points on 54% shooting including 4 three-pointers in the Panthers’ 68-67 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday. Katie was also 3 for 3 from the foul line, grabbed 8 rebounds, made 4 steals, and handed out 8 assists. Katie is currently first in the AUS in minutes played per game, first in assists, second in assist-to-turnover ratio, third in steals, and third in three-point field goal percentage.

Power, a second-year Bachelor of Business Administration student from St. John’s, N.L., was a huge impact player for the Panthers last week during the AUS quarterfinal series against Acadia. In UPEI’s 6-3 and 4-3 wins over the Axemen, Power tallied 5 points including the OT winner to end the series.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place and UPEI Turf
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

AVC’s Diagnostic Services Unit has received funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food to develop new diagnostic tests that are more effective, more sensitive, and less expensive for detecting bovine and swine viruses.

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced recently at AVC that Diagnostic Services has received $709,138 for the project from the federal Growing Forward 2 program.

Researchers in Diagnostic Services’ Regional Diagnostic Virology Service laboratory will work on developing three multiplex molecular tests that will test for multiple viruses from a single sample. The researchers will target diseases that affect food-producing animals and therefore pose economic risk in the domestic and export markets. These diseases include swine enteric viruses such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and transmissible gastroenteritis virus, and bovine enteric and respiratory viruses, such as bovine parainfluenza virus and bovine virus diarrhea virus.

"Canada’s reputation for safe, high-quality meat and dairy products is one that is backed by science and helps to keep our sector competitive and profitable,” says MacAulay. “This partnership with one of Canada’s leading veterinary colleges will ensure our industry continues to be recognized domestically and internationally for producing high-quality products.”

Dr. Greg Keefe, dean of AVC, says the project will strengthen AVC’s ability to monitor for, and prevent the spread of, diseases that may affect the beef, dairy, and pork export industries in Atlantic Canada.
“The beef, dairy, and pork industries in Atlantic Canada are important economic drivers, and it is essential that food-production animals are healthy for productivity and welfare, and our export trade.”

Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor of UPEI, thanked the Government of Canada for its support, saying “this investment in the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI supports the critical role our regional institution plays in health management of food-producing animals, effective disease surveillance, and prosperity of our key industries.”

The research team will work on developing one multiplex test per year, with the goal of completing all three in three years. Once the new tests have been validated, they can be used by veterinary diagnostic laboratories across Canada.

UPEI’s Executive MBA program offers a high-quality learning experience for working business professionals. The program is designed for those working in, or aspiring to work in, a management or leadership position. Classes are offered bi-weekly on Fridays and Saturdays with the option to complete the program in 20 months.

The program offers a specialization in Innovative Management. This fall, students can opt for a special one-time focus on Public Sector Management. This is a fantastic opportunity for public sector managers looking for a public sector focus while simultaneously getting a full MBA experience.

To learn more about this exciting program, UPEI’s School of Business invites you to attend the following information session. Learn more about the program and application process, have your questions answered, and meet with staff from the School of Business.

Wednesday, March 9, 5 pm
Provinces Room, Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, Charlottetown

For more information, or to reserve a seat, call 902-566-6474 or email mba@upei.ca to reserve a seat.  

Dr. Aimie Doyle (Class of 2000), a large animal surgical specialist at AVC, is featured on the National Geographic Wild docu-reality show, Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet, when it opens for its third season on March 19.

Because there is no surgical expertise for large animals in the North, Dr. Doyle provides her expertise to Dr. Michelle Oakley, star of the show and Dr. Doyle’s classmate at AVC. In the March 19 show, Drs Doyle and Oakley work together to determine the cause of serious lameness in a horse.

In May 2015, Dr. Doyle took students Bethany Holliday, Nancy Brochu, and Shauna MacLeod, AVC Class of 2016, to work with Dr. Oakley on a captive wildlife rotation where they gained experience with a variety of captive wild animals—from reindeer to porcupines. The students will appear in an upcoming episode of the show.

Dr. Doyle will return to the Yukon in May 2016 to work with Dr. Oakley on the fourth season of the show.

Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet premiered on April 14, 2014, on National Geographic’s subsidiary channel Nat Geo WILD. One of only a few veterinarians in the Yukon, Dr. Oakley is followed by a film crew as she travels hundreds of kilometres across harsh terrain to make house calls to help many species of animals, ranging from an angry musk ox and a caribou with a tumor to a defensive lynx and a grey owl with an amputated wing. In her case, “house” may range from a remote homestead to a frozen prairie in the dead of winter.

Dr. Oakley lives in the village of Haines Junction, Yukon, with her husband and three daughters. She runs a clinic out of her home and offers weekly clinics in satellite facilities in Whitehorse, Yukon, 154 km from her home and in Haines, Alaska, 238 km from where she lives. She is the on-call veterinarian for the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, a huge enclosure that contains many animals native to the Yukon as well as a large wildlife rehabilitation facility.

She has been involved in numerous research programs for First Nations organizations and for the Canadian government. In addition to her veterinary role, she is recognized as a regional biologist in the Yukon. She is an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s College of Veterinary Medicine and regularly works at the Calgary zoo in this capacity.

Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet can be viewed at http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/dr-oakley-yukon-vet/.