Justice Malcolm Rowe, with the Supreme Court of Canada, will speak the 2023 UBC Constitutional Lecture at UBC Okanagan this Thursday.

What: Judicial Authority: Institutional Capacity Checks and Balances and Legitimacy
Who: Justice Malcolm Rowe, Supreme Court of Canada
When: Thursday, September 21 at 5 pm
Where: University Theatre, ADM026, 1138 Alumni Avenue, UBC Okanagan campus

The community is welcome to attend the 2023 UBC Constitutional Lecture by Supreme Court of Canada Justice Malcolm Rowe at UBC Okanagan this Thursday.

During his presentation, Justice Rowe will discuss the nature of judicial authority in Canada’s constitutional system. In particular, he will discuss the separation of powers—who decides what? Why do courts decide certain questions of law as opposed to Parliament or the Government?

“This is one of the most fundamental questions in constitutional law,” explains Dr. Geoffrey Sigalet, an Assistant Professor of Political Science with UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “At a time of heightened political polarization regarding questions of rights and the state’s reach into citizens’ lives, the question of the separation of powers is not merely academic. It is about which institutions should be settling which kinds of questions as they impact the lives of Canadians.”

Justice Rowe is particularly interested in institutional capacity—the ability of different institutions to effectively make different types of decisions within Canada’s constitutional order.

Dr. Sigalet says Justice Rowe is well-suited to address this question. Unlike many lawyers who serve on the judiciary, Justice Rowe has worked in the legislature and government. Early in his career, he worked as a Clerk Assistant offering procedural advice to the Speaker for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador. After working as a lawyer, he later served as Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. As Clerk of the Executive Council, he was not a “Clerk” in the ordinary sense of the word: he was the head of Newfoundland’s public service.

Justice Rowe has also had an impeccable career as a lawyer and judge, serving first on the Newfoundland and Labrador’s Supreme Court, then its Court of Appeal, and finally on the Supreme Court of Canada. He knows about the institutional capacities of the legislature, the government and the courts. He knows what they’re good at doing and their weak spots, not only in theory but also in practice.

Justice Rowe’s lecture will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Sigalet. However, Justice Rowe will not answer questions about specific cases decided by or which could be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Last year, Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Côté spoke at the inaugural UBC Constitutional Lecture. Justice Rowe’s lecture will help make this event an annual tradition that connects UBCO students, faculty and the wider Okanagan community to fundamental questions about constitutionalism.

The event is free and takes place in the University Theatre starting at 5 pm. No registration is required.

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Justice Malcolm Rowe, with the Supreme Court of Canada, will speak the 2023 UBC Constitutional Lecture at UBC Okanagan this Thursday.

What: Judicial Authority: Institutional Capacity Checks and Balances and Legitimacy
Who: Justice Malcolm Rowe, Supreme Court of Canada
When: Thursday, September 21 at 5 pm
Where: University Theatre, ADM026, 1138 Alumni Avenue, UBC Okanagan campus

The community is welcome to attend the 2023 UBC Constitutional Lecture by Supreme Court of Canada Justice Malcolm Rowe at UBC Okanagan this Thursday.

During his presentation, Justice Rowe will discuss the nature of judicial authority in Canada’s constitutional system. In particular, he will discuss the separation of powers—who decides what? Why do courts decide certain questions of law as opposed to Parliament or the Government?

“This is one of the most fundamental questions in constitutional law,” explains Dr. Geoffrey Sigalet, an Assistant Professor of Political Science with UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “At a time of heightened political polarization regarding questions of rights and the state’s reach into citizens’ lives, the question of the separation of powers is not merely academic. It is about which institutions should be settling which kinds of questions as they impact the lives of Canadians.”

Justice Rowe is particularly interested in institutional capacity—the ability of different institutions to effectively make different types of decisions within Canada’s constitutional order.

Dr. Sigalet says Justice Rowe is well-suited to address this question. Unlike many lawyers who serve on the judiciary, Justice Rowe has worked in the legislature and government. Early in his career, he worked as a Clerk Assistant offering procedural advice to the Speaker for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador. After working as a lawyer, he later served as Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. As Clerk of the Executive Council, he was not a “Clerk” in the ordinary sense of the word: he was the head of Newfoundland’s public service.

Justice Rowe has also had an impeccable career as a lawyer and judge, serving first on the Newfoundland and Labrador’s Supreme Court, then its Court of Appeal, and finally on the Supreme Court of Canada. He knows about the institutional capacities of the legislature, the government and the courts. He knows what they’re good at doing and their weak spots, not only in theory but also in practice.

Justice Rowe’s lecture will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Sigalet. However, Justice Rowe will not answer questions about specific cases decided by or which could be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Last year, Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Côté spoke at the inaugural UBC Constitutional Lecture. Justice Rowe’s lecture will help make this event an annual tradition that connects UBCO students, faculty and the wider Okanagan community to fundamental questions about constitutionalism.

The event is free and takes place in the University Theatre starting at 5 pm. No registration is required.

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Student orientation programs will be in full swing Monday as UBCO’s Create takes place as part of a welcome for students new to campus. Classes for the academic year begin Tuesday.

Next week, after an extraordinary few days in August, classes will resume for the fall at UBC Okanagan.

Students, faculty and staff are gearing up for a busy back-to-school period. More than 12,035 students are registered for classes this September and almost 3,200 are new to UBCO. Move-in day will continue as planned on Sunday, September 3 with more than 1,400 students arriving to move into their on-campus residences.

Create, the new-to-UBCO student orientation, takes place Monday, September 4 and all classes will begin as scheduled and in-person on Tuesday, September 5.

“This summer, more than ever, we have seen the strength, professionalism and values of the UBC Okanagan community on full display,” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, UBCO Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. “When our campus was placed on evacuation order just two weeks ago, the campus rallied together to ensure everyone was able to leave the area quickly and safely. Through this adversity, we saw UBCO’s values as a compassionate community shine through once again—it’s something our incoming students can take pride and comfort in.”

As UBCO looks toward the beginning of a new term, Dr. Cormack also recognizes it has been a trying time for many people. The health and safety of all students, faculty and staff is paramount and UBCO’s Campus Operations and Risk Management team continues to communicate directly with the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations team.

“While classes will begin as planned and it’s clear that campus is safe to welcome students from across Canada and the world, we also acknowledge there are many people within our community still not able to return home. And we’ve all seen the devasting images of homes and properties lost to the wildfire,” she adds. “The arrival of our students to the region has always brought a renewed sense of vibrancy and of the limitless possibilities created by education. I know this will be true this year perhaps more than ever.”

She notes, that the UBCO community bonded as never before with many people reaching out to offer help and support for those who were placed on an evacuation order or alert.

“I continue to be impressed by the calibre and character of the people on this campus,” she adds. “When faced with adversity, we reached out and supported each other in ways that have truly amazed me.”

As the campus begins to get busy as students move in and classes begin, Dale Mullings, Associate Vice-President, Students says the university has many resources for students and help is available for those who may need it.

“We continue to prioritize the wellbeing of our students, whether they live on or off campus,” adds Mullings. “For example, we have a number of initiatives specific to our students and this year, due to the wildfire emergency, we initiated the student emergency fund to help those immediately affected by the wildfires, and an airport welcome booth with a complimentary shuttle Friday, September 1 through Monday, September 4.”

Wellness and Accessibility Services has expanded to provide a health clinic, counselling services, wellness education, disability services and a new multifaith Chaplaincy. Many other services that support the wellbeing of our students such as our on-campus and in-community recreation programs, safe walk program, security phones across campus, a student-led Emergency First Response Team and the 24-hour campus security patrols are also gearing up for the year ahead.

While classes begin next week, Dr. Cormack notes there will be accommodations for those who remain under evacuation orders and alerts and cancelled travel plans.

“We will continue to work closely with those affected by the Kelowna-area wildfires to ensure they have the flexibility they require to start the school year successfully.”

A valuable resource for people returning to the community is the UBCO Campus Alerts page and FAQ which can be found at: ok.ubc.ca/wildfire-response

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From left, Kathleen Michel of Upper Nicola Indian Band and Westbank First Nation’s Rose Caldwell pose outside UBC Okanagan’s Engineering, Management and Education Building. They are part of UBCO’s first-ever cohort from the Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF) program.

For the first time in history, eight Syilx Okanagan students are set to graduate with a degree taught in their language and delivered on their land when they are conferred their Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency (BNLF) degrees on Thursday at UBC Okanagan.

UBCO delivered the degree program in Nsyilxcn—the language of the Syilx Okanagan Nation—through an innovative partnership between Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in Merritt and the En’owkin Centre in Penticton.

The program is based on a framework developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association (IAHLA), working with a consortium of First Nations, First Nations institutes and public post-secondary institutions.

Dr. Jeannette Armstrong, Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at UBC Okanagan and academic lead of the BNLF, says years of collaboration made this day possible.

“We are grateful for NVIT. We are grateful for the En’owkin Centre, and we acknowledge the work of UBC Okanagan,” she says. “A great willingness was necessary to make this happen. There isn’t enough money in a public institution for all the extra work needed to create a program like BNLF.

“We’re very fortunate for the willingness, care and love that’s been shown to us here in our territory.”

Chiefs of the seven Okanagan Nation Alliance members began laying the groundwork for BNLF roughly 20 years ago, Dr. Armstrong says. They insisted on a memorandum of understanding that an Indigenous studies degree program would be specific to the Okanagan Nation.

UBCO Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr. Lesley Cormack says the university was honoured to play a role in language preservation.

“Language is fundamental to culture,” she says. “Preserving and revitalizing the precious Indigenous languages in BC is a crucial aspect of the process of reconciliation and reversing the damage brought by colonialism. I am absolutely thrilled to see the inaugural BNLF graduates at this year’s UBCO convocation ceremony. I am grateful to them for their role in helping establish a path for future students to follow.

“My hope is that the BNLF graduates will go on to share the knowledge they’ve gained to help ensure that the Nsyilxcn language has a permanent, thriving place throughout Syilx territory.”

Tracey Kim Bonneau, the Arts, Culture and Adult Higher Learning manager at En’owkin Centre, said BNLF is an example of how Indigenous and western partners can create meaningful results in times of climate change and social, class and political division.

“That’s how we are healing our nations, through speaking our languages again and healing the planet,” Bonneau says. “It’s happening through the language program, and it’s going to ripple across Turtle Island (North America) and around the world. We can see positive change if we listen to and work with one another.”

The program, however, isn’t just about learning to speak a language. BNLF uses a robust academic framework. Courses included numeracy, the arts and sciences. Students can complete a two-year diploma program through NVIT, and then transfer to UBCO for the degree portion.

“We raise our hands to the graduates and congratulate En’owkin Centre and their partners, NVIT and UBCO, on this historic achievement,” says Tyrone McNeil, President of the First Nations Education Steering Committee. “This is the realization of a long-term vision that demonstrates the progress that can be made through meaningful partnerships between First Nations and public institutions. We commend the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills for their support of this program and look forward to supporting other First Nations as they launch degrees in their own languages under this framework.”

“We’re honoured to collaborate with the En’owkin Centre and UBCO to support the revitalization of Indigenous Languages by offering language fluency certificates, diplomas and degrees,” reads a statement from NVIT’s Senior Leadership Team. “NVIT congratulates the inaugural UBCO Bachelor of Nsyilxcn Language Fluency graduates and extends our respect to all involved in bringing the vision to creation.”

Dr. Armstrong says that while collaboration between organizations such as FNESC and IAHLA was crucial to BNLF’s success, Indigenous culture is also a shared success.

“It was an Indigenous process,” she says. “We don’t thank one organization or person for doing it all. The achievement of one is the achievement of all.”

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Farmers in Shaanxi, China, are more adept at using social media and technology to mitigate the effects of climate change, whereas farmers in the Okanagan and Cariboo are quicker to try new crops, according to new research from UBC Okanagan.

Technology exists that the BC government could leverage to help small farmers connect directly with consumers and also mitigate climate change impacts, say new findings from UBC Okanagan.

Dr. John Janmaat and Dr. Joanne Taylor co-authored new research that examines how farmers in the Okanagan and Cariboo regions of BC are adapting compared to farmers in China’s Shaanxi province. One of the key differences was how Chinese farmers used technology and social media, an option that’s not as widely used in Canada, Dr. Janmaat says.

“Small agricultural producers in China are able to take advantage of online marketing to connect with consumers and to move their products,” says Janmaat, a Professor of Economics in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “When the pandemic happened here, Canadians were pivoting very quickly to try and figure out, ‘Okay, what can we do now that we’re shutting down farmers’ markets, and going to visit a farm is probably not something we want to do?’ The idea of moving online was pursued, but now that these pandemic protections have come off, it’s kind of disappearing again. Whereas in China, it’s central.

“We don’t have in BC a centrally supported system of online, local produce marketing. And that’s something that perhaps the provincial government could support.”

Multiple barriers to adaptation existed in both areas, the researchers say. Limited technical knowledge and doubts about adaptation effectiveness were more serious in BC, while limited support from local government and normative expectations were notable in China. Education, targeted research and public investments in irrigation and marketing may contribute to addressing some of these differences, improving the resilience of agricultural climate adaptation in both countries.

The research was a collaboration with Lan Mu, a visiting scholar from Shaanxi Normal University, and UBCO doctoral student Lauren Arnold. It was Janmaat and Lan who struck upon the idea of comparing how Canadian and Chinese farmers are confronting climate change. They realized they were doing similar research, and wanted to bring their worlds together.

The researchers weren’t trying to declare a winner, though, they just wanted to learn from each other. It’s a simple idea, one that farmers have been using for time immemorial, says Taylor, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science at UBCO. When farmers encounter a problem, they walk down the road to ask their neighbours how they’re coping.

“We’re just in the middle of climate change and trying to survive,” Taylor says, “and there are farmers from all different levels of productivity that are trying to survive. For example, technology is certainly going to play a much bigger role in the way that we supply water, and in the way that we use water.

“That’s just one example, but technology is certainly a very, very important tool that we’re going to have to use and implement in the future, and there is a lot of research which has been going on, which will continue to go on into the future.”

Tactics such as crop selection and marketing are not mutually exclusive between the two countries. Given Canada’s more frequent, more extreme weather events caused by climate change, there are real impacts on food production now, Taylor says. From drought to floods to fires, farmers across the world are being forced to change how they grow food.

It’s especially plain in Canada, where a smaller population makes direct marketing a challenge. The private sector may not see much return; however, the provincial government could play a role in making the venture worthwhile through funding.

“We need to draw attention to the ways in which we use water and the ways in which we use land for food production while supporting our agriculturalists and food suppliers,” Taylor says. “But as far as the relationship between here and China, work needs to continue in both countries. We really need to nurture those relationships for the betterment of the global food supply.”

The research was published recently in the journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.

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Crowds as large as this may become more common in countries around the world beyond 2022. The United Nations predicts the human population will hit 8 billion people on November 15.

If the United Nations’ prediction is accurate, the world’s 8 billionth baby will be born on Nov. 15.

The UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 says the earth will crest 8 billion just before India surpasses China as the globe’s most populous nation—expected in 2023. Further, the UN predicts the world’s population will peak at 10.4 billion in the 2080s.

Yet, that same United Nations estimates 821 million people are undernourished, many of them being low-income consumers, women and children who are especially vulnerable. How will we feed and house all these people? What will they do for work? Who will teach them and keep the laws?

What is a world to do?

UBC Okanagan professors and researchers are acutely aware of the challenges that population growth presents. They are also keenly aware of the hard work necessary to navigate the planet’s growing population. Here is how their research is intersecting with population growth.

Robert Godin researches sustainable energy with a focus on the development of photocatalysts which can harness solar energy to sustainably produce high-energy chemical fuels such as hydrogen. He says technology has created something of a run-on effect with energy.

Robert Godin, Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Tel: 250 807 8438. Email: robert.godin@ubc.ca

“A transition to sustainable energy in a world with 8 billion people is not only possible, but necessary. Population growth and increases in quality of life have driven the constant increase in energy demand. Yet, improved energetic efficiencies don’t balance the growth and often result in even greater energy consumption by making technology more accessible.”

Ross Hickey teaches management and economics at UBC. His research on charitable giving in Canada considers the distributional consequences of population growth. In particular, he studies how Canadians give to help others overseas.

“Population growth can be a major contributor to economic growth, but there are trade-offs: that growth may not be shared equally and the environmental costs associated with more people, goods and services may be difficult to address.”

Ross Hickey, Associate Professor of Economics. Tel: 250 807 8653. Email: ross.hickey@ubc.ca

Katrina Plamondon’s contributions to a global pandemic treaty are made possible through her research into vaccine equity at UBC Okanagan. A 2020 Michael Smith Health Research Scholar, Plamondon leads national dialogue about equity and Canada’s role in global health research, with a special focus on issues of vaccine equity.

“Our collective, global health, solidarity and obligations to others beyond our own borders in the world matters. This requires us to think very differently about the planet, beyond international health.”

Katrina Plamondon, Assistant Professor of Nursing. Tel: 250 807 8681. Email: katrina.plamondon@ubc.ca

Joanne Taylor is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow in agricultural climate change adaptation and food security policy. Her work is at the crossroads of sustainable agriculture, climate change and population growth.

“Much of the global population is dependent on an industrialized food system that is currently at capacity and unable to fulfil global food demand due to stressors such as burgeoning population growth, inflation, inequality and catastrophic climate change which is severely impacting food security for the most vulnerable. It is imperative that agricultural adaptation is implemented and practised alongside mitigation policies as a key strategy to becoming more resilient in an increasingly extreme climate. More importantly, humanity must consider alternative food practices such as Indigenous food production and small-scale farming.”

Joanne Taylor, Postdoctoral Fellow. Email: joanne.taylor@ubc.ca.

Lisa Tobber and her team of structural engineering researchers adopt a holistic perspective that considers the social, environmental and economic factors behind the vast engineering problems faced today. Combating natural disasters and the climate crisis takes the ingenuity and creativity of an inclusive group of diverse individuals with a range of expertise and lived experiences.

“Structural engineers will be challenged to build much-needed infrastructure to be safe, sustainable, resilient to climate disasters and earthquakes, quick to construct and economical. We need the construction industry to be innovation leaders, exploring the use of new materials, systems and tools. We also need to think about building for the future, design for the life cycle of the building and design for deconstruction.”

Lisa Tobber, Assistant Professor of Engineering. Email: lisa.tobber@ubc.ca.

Nathan Pelletier is an industrial ecologist and ecological economist whose research addresses the intersection of food system sustainability measurement and management.

“Access to food of sufficient quality and quantity is a fundamental human right that is currently denied to hundreds of millions of people. Food systems are also a key driver of environmental change, as well as particularly susceptible to increasing climate unpredictability. Identifying means to sustainably feed the growing human population constitutes a profound challenge whose resolution requires research to identify and support implementation of a spectrum of technological interventions, dietary changes and redistributive efforts.”

Nathan Pelletier, Associate Professor of Biology. Tel: 250 807 8245. Email: nathan.pelletier@ubc.ca.

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UBC Okanagan researchers are sharing a new tool for academics hoping to better understand and measure the ever-expanding world of emojis in everyday communication.

How much is really known about those smiley faces staring back at from smartphone screens? Anyone who has ever wondered if the people sending them are really that happy is not alone.

Thanks to a pair of UBC Okanagan colleagues, researchers striving to better understand the ever-expanding world of emojis now have a new tool to keep pace with technology—what they call a multidimensional lexicon of emojis (MLE).

Doctoral student Rebecca Godard and Dr. Susan Holtzman, Associate Professor in Psychology at UBCO, have published their findings in a new paper titled “The Multidimensional Lexicon of Emojis: A New Tool to Assess the Emotional Content of Emojis.” The research appears in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

“As digital platforms evolve, strategies are also evolving to communicate emotion,” Godard says. “We saw that early on with emoticons (precursors to emojis), but emojis have largely taken over that role of facilitating emotional communication. At the same time, research on emojis has lagged behind actual use. Researchers don’t have enough tools for measuring the way people use emojis and the emotions that they communicate.”

While it may be easy to cast off emojis as simple distractions, they belie a hidden language—especially among young people—Godard says. And any researcher studying digital communication will have to account for the emotional information an emoji contains to get a true accounting of the message.

Godard’s MLE can help researchers crack that coded language and the emotions behind it beyond simple negativity and positivity.

Godard analyzed three million Twitter posts and collected emotion ratings of emojis from 2,230 human raters to develop and validate the MLE.

This new lexicon consists of 359 common emojis rated on eight emotions (anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, and trust) and the two broader sentiments (positive and negative).

“A substantial amount of online communication now includes emojis,” says Holtzman, who supervised the findings. “From market to mental health research, we hope this new tool will help everyone better understand the emotions of people communicating online.”

Godard saw the need for the MLE because human communication is changing and growing so rapidly. More people are writing at a higher rate than at any time in history, but often in short bursts through social media, email or text message. When people speak face to face, they see emotional cues that help translate emotions. When people write letters, they have the luxury of letting the words explain the emotions over paragraphs. In tweets, there are 280 characters.

But people tweet a lot, and much of that is in the public domain. It’s a tantalizing opportunity to study communication, and Godard’s lexicon can help translate. Godard is continuing her PhD at UBCO, and will monitor how useful her MLE remains. She understands the research will need to be updated to keep pace with the quickly changing world of digital communication.

“We know that the meanings of emojis change over time,” says Godard. “We also know how subtle teens can be, in their text messages for example, and how they tend to gravitate toward what’s new.”

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