UNews - Assistant Deputy Minister

Updated President's message on 2013/14 Alberta budget

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:50:25 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Mike Mahon discusses latest details

On March 7, 2013, the Alberta government released the 2013/2014 budget for the Province of Alberta. As indicated in my initial message, the Campus Alberta Operating Grant for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will be reduced by 7.3% in 2013/2014. Since that time, Senior Administration has had the opportunity to have additional conversations with the Ministry of Enterprise and Advanced Education and have learned the following additional details.

Campus Alberta Operating Grant – The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will receive a Campus Alberta Operating grant of $92,072,000 – a 7.3% decrease from last year. This reduction translates into reducing the operating budget by approximately $11.9 million in 2013/2014.

The 7.3% decrease is consistent with some, though not all; of the Campus Alberta Operating Grant reductions that other Alberta post-secondary institutions were assessed. The Comprehensive Academic and Research Institutions all received a cut in the range of 7.2%-7.3%.

In the 2012/13 Alberta budget, post-secondary institutions were informed by the government that there would be three years of stable funding with a 2% increase in the operating grant per year. While the economic climate suggested that the planned 2% was in jeopardy, there was no indication or warning from the Ministry of Enterprise and Advanced Education, or elected officials, that a cut of this significance was planned or forthcoming. Even with a 2% increase in the operating grant the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ would have been looking to decrease its overall budget expenditures by $2.6 million in order to produce a balanced budget.

Infrastructure Maintenance Program – Last year, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ had its Infrastructure Maintenance Program funding cut by 50% from $3,646,729 to $1,823,365. The 2013/14 Alberta Budget reduced this grant a further 2.3 % to $1,782,000.

These funds are restricted grants for use only in the maintenance and replacement of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ infrastructure. These funds cannot be used for operating expenses or to offset the operating budget deficit. Ongoing infrastructure renewal projects and projects slated to commence during the spring and summer of 2013 are enabled through this dedicated grant. More information on these planned projects as well as the source of funds for the projects will be released in a subsequent communication.

Campus Alberta Innovation Program (CAIP) Chairs – The Government of Alberta is maintaining its commitment to the CAIP Chair program. The U of L has hired two CAIP Chairs to date and will continue the process to fill the additional chairs. Also, the U of L will look to fill its allocated health-related chairs through a similar Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions Chairs program.

Letters of Expectation – There has been much media and public speculation about the introduction of letters of expectation ("Mandate Letters") directed to each institution in Alberta. Through our discussion with the Assistant Deputy Minister, we have been informed that our approved government mandate will not be changed. We have been told that the letter will include expectations pertaining to learner pathways, working with government, industry and system partners, fiscal responsibility, and research and entrepreneurship directions.

While the details of this letter are not yet fully understood, the Assistant Deputy Minister has assured us that the letter will be received in draft form and that we will be consulted before the letter is finalized. I will be attending a meeting on April 12 with the Ministry, along with the other Alberta post-secondary Presidents, to discuss our letters of expectation and to gain further details of the budget.

Other items in the provincial budget that will be of direct impact on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community are:

Student Aid - The Alberta budget outlines $211 million for the Student Aid programs in 2013‑14. This budget includes:

$71 million for merit‑based scholarship awards;

$59 million for bursaries and grants;

$42 million for student debt management programs; and

$11 million for Alberta Centennial Education Savings Plan grants.

In addition, $425 million in student loans will be disbursed in 2013‑14.

Innovation and Economic Competitiveness - The budget is $204 million in 2013/14 for economic development, innovation and technology commercialization.

I will continue to provide regular updates to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community as more information becomes available regarding the Letters of Expectation, the impact of the provincial budget on our own operating budget and most importantly on the process we will follow to address these budget reductions. As well, I will schedule a series of open meetings to ensure that everyone at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has access to the information I have just shared with you. I have no doubt that utilizing the experience, intelligence and the breadth of talent of the people we have at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge we can find innovative solutions to this current challenge.

As a community, we cannot understate the significance of these reductions and the negative impact they may have on our students, faculty and staff. As one of the largest employers and contributors to the economies in Lethbridge and southern Alberta, these reductions will also be felt well beyond our campuses.
We also cannot understate the fact that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has faced significant challenges in the past and from those challenges we, along with those who have come before us, have built one of the top ranked universities in Canada recognized for the quality of its academic programs and research, and for the outstanding experience provided to our students.
Dr. Mike Mahon
President and Vice-Chancellor
The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge

Rasmussen Appointed to National Oilsands Review Panel

trevor.kenney — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:20:51 +0000

In response to concerns about industrial pollution in the Athabasca River and connecting waterways, Environment Minister Jim Prentice has appointed an independent advisory panel of leading scientists to review the design and management of related environmental systems.

Among the committee members is Dr. Joseph (Joe) Rasmussen, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biological sciences researcher and Canada research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems – and the only Albertan on the six-member review panel.

Rasmussen says he is looking forward to working with Environment Canada officials and his colleagues, who are among Canada's leading water and environment researchers.

"I was very pleased to be asked to participate in this review," says Rasmussen. "It's a chance to do something very important, and an affirmation that the Minister is taking this issue very seriously."

The Advisory Panel has a mandate to advise Minister Prentice on the current state of environmental research and monitoring in the region around Alberta's oil sands and to make recommendations to ensure that state-of-the-art monitoring and best practices are implemented.

"We are determined to develop Canada's oil sands in a manner that it sustainable and environmentally-sensitive," says Prentice. "This independent review by some of Canada's most respected scientists is a critical step in ensuring that environmental issues are balanced with economic considerations."

Chaired by Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the Advisory Panel members are Dr. Peter J. Dillon, Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal, Dr. Andrew D. Miall, Dr. Joseph Rasmussen and Dr. John P. Smol.

Within 60 days, it will report back to Minister Prentice. This report will be publicly available on the Environment Canada website.

-- 30 --

Advisory Panel Background information

The purpose of the Advisory Panel is to provide recommendations to the Minister of the Environment on the scientific research and monitoring of the environmental effects associated with the development of the oilsands.

Serious concerns have been raised about oilsands pollution entering the Athabasca River Basin and connected waterways and whether monitoring systems are well designed and implemented.

These concerns must be fully explored to ensure that a first class, state-of-the-art monitoring system is in place, serving the public interest.

In this context, the Advisory Panel will:

1. Document, review and assess the current body of scientific research and monitoring.

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses in the scientific monitoring, and the reasons for them.

Within 60 days of being established, the Advisory Panel will present its findings in the form of a written report to the Minister of the Environment.

The report will include conclusions on items 1 and 2 above, and recommendations on next steps for the federal government in ensuring that any scientific issues are effectively addressed.

The report will be made public.

Environment Canada will provide scientific and logistical support to assist the Advisory Panel with their analysis of current peer reviewed literature and their discussions with recognized experts.

Biographical Information -- Advisory Panel Members

Elizabeth Dowdeswell – Chair
President, Council of Canadian Academies & Former UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP, Founding President & CEO NWMO
Toronto, ON

Ms. Dowdeswell served as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, Assistant Deputy Minister of Environment Canada, responsible for the National Weather and Atmospheric Agency and led a number of public inquiries, including into Canada's unemployment benefits program and federal water policy. Her early career included terms as Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth for the Province of Saskatchewan, educational consultant, university lecturer and high-school teacher. Ms. Dowdeswell holds a Master of Science degree in behavioural sciences from Utah State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, a teaching certificate from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan and, nine honorary degrees.

Dr. Peter J. Dillon

Peter Dillon is a Professor in Environmental and Resource Studies and the Department of Chemistry at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Professor Dillon specializes in biogeochemistry of lakes and their catchments. He was the scientific leader of the environmental research and long-term investigations carried out at the Dorset Research Centre in central Ontario for 25 years. He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Miroslaw Romanowski Medal for outstanding contributions to the environmental sciences in 2003 and this year he received the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography for his pioneering work on lake eutrophication and acid rain. Peter directs the Water Quality Centre at Trent ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ which is dedicated to the development and application of innovative new techniques for the analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants.

Dr. Subhasis Ghoshal

Professor Ghoshal joined McGill in 1997. His expertise is in the area of soil and groundwater contamination by hydrocarbon pollutants. Professor Ghoshal has conducted research on the fate and transport of organic pollutants in subsurface environments, and on the clean-up of sites contaminated by petroleum liquids, coal tars and creosotes. Professor Ghoshal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, and a William Dawson Scholar at McGill.

Dr. Andrew D. Miall

Andrew Miall is a Professor of Geology and holder of the Gordon Stollery Chair in Basin Analysis and Petroleum Geology at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto. He specializes in teaching and research in the study of sedimentary basins. He has broad interests in energy and climate-change issues, and from 1998 to 2008 he taught a popular science-for-non-scientists course at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto entitled "Geology and Public Issues". Professor Miall was awarded the Past President's Medal of the Geological Association of Canada in 1983 and became a Distinguished Fellow of that society in 1995. He served as Vice President of the Academy of Science of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) from 2005 to 2007 and President of the Academy from 2007-2009.

Dr. Joseph Rasmussen

Joseph Rasmussen is a professor of biological sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and a Canada Research Council Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems. Professor Rasmussen's research has made a significant contribution to the development of tracer approaches that are used to model energy flow in aquatic food webs. His research has provided fresh insights and technical inroads into important ecological problems such as the biomagnification of persistent contaminants and the impacts of heavy metals on environmental quality. He is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Conference for Fisheries Research (CCFFR) and the Canadian Society of Limnologists (CSL), is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology, and serves as the chair of the Ecology, Evolution and Ethology section of the Canadian Society of Zoologists. Dr. Rasmussen was the recipient of the Frank H. Rigler award from the Society of Canadian Limnologists in 2010.

Dr. John P. Smol

John Smol is a professor in the Department of Biology at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ where he is also holder of the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change. Professor Smol has been presented with numerous research and teaching awards, including the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, Canada's top scientific prize, in 2004. His award winning research in the fields of limnology and environmental change has addressed impacts of acid rain, nutrients and climate warming on aquatic systems. M. Smol is the founding editor of the Journal of Paleolimnology and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Reviews. M. Smol co-directs the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory at Queen's ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, a group of about 30 paleolimnologists working throughout the world on a variety of limnological and paleoecological problems.

UNews - Assistant Deputy Minister

Updated President's message on 2013/14 Alberta budget

Related Topics

Rasmussen Appointed to National Oilsands Review Panel

Related Topics