Earlier this week the CIBC released a report suggesting that Canadian postsecondary students are widely choosing to enter fields of study that are not compatible with today’s high-demand areas of employment. Consequently, the report argues that Canada is experiencing an excess supply of post-secondary graduates whose skills do not reflect the needs of the contemporary labour market. The implications of the report have been discussed in a number of publications, and the Federation’s Executive Director, Jean-Marc Mangin, has also released a response.

A call for papers has been issued for the 2014 Conference on Sexuality, Human Rights, and Public Policy at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Drawing on a variety of academic fields, the conference aims to investigate questions such as “How is public policy shaping the conceptualization of sexuality and rights, and by extension, phenomena of inclusion and exclusion in contemporary society?” and “How is public discourse employed to re-inscribe differences of gender, sexuality, and rights?” Panels, papers, creative presentations, and roundtables that employ diverse, interdisciplinary and inter-generational perspectives are welcome, and abstracts of around 300 words should be submitted by email to Chima Korieh, PhD of Marquette University.

The official website for the 2014 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is now live! We’ll be adding more information to the site as Congress approaches, but details on travel and accommodations are now available. The event will be hosted at Brock University from May 24 to 30, 2014, and registration will launch in January 2014. Check it out at www.congress2014.ca!