TORONTO, September 3, 2003 – Ontario voters will head to the polls on Oct. 2 and York experts are ready to offer their insights into the issues that made news during the past term. York has a wide variety of faculty who can comment on policies, outline the debates and provide background on topics such as education and labour relations, health care reform, social services, the economy, employment and more. With memories of events such as the Blackout of 2003, SARS, and teacher strikes still fresh, York faculty are ready to provide important perspectives as voters consider their choices. York also has speakers who can comment on the campaign, election strategies and polling.
Election Campaign
Daniel Drache is a professor of political scientist and available to discuss deficit reduction, government spending and the government's prospects for re-election. He can be reached at: 416-736-5415 or at home: 416-921-3332.
James Laxer, political science professor at York University's Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, is a leading expert on Ontario politics and can discuss everything from how the campaign is shaping up, to NDP election strategy, to tax cuts and the Ontario economy. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 66462 or at home: 416-544-9941.
Patrick Monahan, professor of law and Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, can comment on campaign developments and federal/provincial issues. He can be reached at: 416-736-5568 or 416-580-1868.
Robert MacDermid, professor of political science, can talk about political parties, voting behaviour, polling, campaign strategies, party financing, and election advertising. He can be reached at home: (705) 357-2459 or at work: 416-736-2100 ext. 77298.
Robert Drummond is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and a political science professor with extensive knowledge of Ontario politics and provincial public policy, including provincial labour policy. He can be reached in his office at: 416-736-2100 ext. 88843 or 416-736-5260 and at home: 416-494-3460.
Ian Greene is a political science professor at York University who has studied ethics legislation across Canada regarding conflicts of interest, undue influence, lobbying, party financing and the attitudes of Canadians towards ethical issues in politics. Greene can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 77055 or at home: 416-763-0766.
Barbara Cameron is an associate professor of political science with York University's School for Women's Studies and can comment on the election, women and public policy, and labour market policy. She can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 66623.
Education
Paul Axelrod, historian and Dean of York University’s Faculty of Education, is able to comment on higher education and aspects of educational reform, teacher testing and labour issues. He is author of Values in Conflict: The University, the Marketplace, and the Trials of Liberal Education (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002). Phone 416-736-5002.
Graham Orpwood, professor in the Faculty of Education is a specialist in science education, educational curriculum and testing and assessment, and can comment on general education policy issues related to these areas. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100, ext. 20284 or at home: 416-703-2927.
Harry Smaller, a professor in the Faculty of Education, specializes in Ontario school reform initiatives, including teacher activism and unions. He can be reached at: (416) 736-2100, ext. 88807 or at home: (416) 536-0414.
Sharon Murphy, professor in York’s Faculty of Education and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies specializes in educational assessment, testing and literacy issues. She can be reached at: 416-736-2100, ext. 22249.
Carol Anne Wien , professor in the Faculty of Education specializes in early childhood education (junior kindergarten to Grade 3), issues around the standardized curriculum in Ontario and classroom working conditions for teachers. She can be reached at: 416-736-5002.
Griffith, Alison, a professor of Education, is available to discuss the impact of educational reforms on families, teachers and principals. She can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 30733 or at home: 416-292-7714.
Finance
Bernie Wolf is an economics professor at York University's Schulich School of Business. He can discuss the economic impact of tax cuts and whether further tax cuts are desirable for Ontario's economy. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 77933 or at home: 416-223-2794.
Neil Brooks, a professor of law at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, can discuss government tax cuts, fiscal policy, and increased public funding for health care and education. He can be reached at: 416-736-5047 or at home: 905-880-4735.
Health Care/Social Welfare
Ron Burke, an organizational behaviour and industry relations professor at York University's Schulich School of Business, can comment on the effects of health care restructuring in recent years and social welfare policy. Burke can be reached at: 416-736-2100, ext. 77921 or at home: 416-486-8371.
Joan Gilmour is a professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. She can discuss privatization and health care reform, legal regulation of alternative health care, equality rights and discrimination, feminist legal analysis. She can be reached at: 416-736-5561.
Dennis Raphael, associate professor at York University's School of Health Policy & Management, can comment on health care policies, particularly the effects of government cuts and poverty on the rise of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardio-vascular disease. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 22134.
Patricia Armstrong is a professor of sociology at York University's School of Women's Studies and can comment on political economy of health and illness, changes in the health care system, women and work, and pay equity. She can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 22550.
Esther Greenglass, is a professor of psychology who has done research on the Ontario Nurses Association (with Professor Burke, above) and how nurses have taken the brunt of hospital closings and restructuring across Ontario. Women who have to travel to other jurisdictions for breast cancer treatment and pre-natal care are of particular concern for her. Greenglass has also studied the feminization of poverty and the homelessness situation. She can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 66282.
Energy/Sustainability
David Bell, professor in Environmental Studies, Political Science, Social and Political Thought, is a member of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, and the Toronto Sustainability Roundtable. Prof. Bell can speak about the politics of sustainable energy production and environmental policy. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 77095.
Rob Macdonald, associate professor in Environmental Studies and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies, teaches and writes on global sustainable development, alternative energy strategies for Canada and community participation in local resource management. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 22626.
David Wheeler is a professor of policy at York University's Schulich School of Business and can comment on corporate environmental responsibility. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 30190.
Peter Victor is a professor of Environmental Studies and can discuss environmental policies in Ontario. He can be reached at: 416-736-2100 ext. 22614.
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For further information, please contact:
| David Fuller | Susan Bigelow |
| Media Relations | Media Relations |
| York University | York University |
| 416-736-2100 ext. 22086 | Phone: 416-736-2100 ext. 22091 |
| dfuller@yorku.ca | sbigelow@yorku.ca |
