Morgan Sharp
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Articles by Morgan Sharp
Looks and tastes like salmon - but it never swam a day in its life
Imagine a whole cut of salmon hitting the pan, releasing its unique aromas, turning semi-translucent and flaking as it cooks. Now imagine that salmon never swam in the water. If New School Foods founder and chief executive Chris Bryson’s bet pays off, such a plant-based alternative could be served in select North American restaurants by early next year.
TDSB's Don Mills school program shows students a greener way forward
Jack Millar has loved animals, especially aquatic wildlife, since as far back as the 18-year-old can remember, so it was a natural fit for him to help manage the aquaponics facility at Don Mills Collegiate Institute. “The whole reason I went to Don Mills was because of Mr. Kunanec’s program. When I came there for orientation and saw everything, I said to myself, ‘This is what I want to be doing,’” said Millar, who is now studying conservation biology at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont.
Toronto students turn school grounds into thriving urban farm, workshop and event space
Over the last 20 years, the grounds of Don Mills Collegiate Institute have gone through a continuing process to achieve the vision of its Emerging Green Technologies & Environmental Stewardship department head, Dan Kunanec. Here is a brief rundown of the various projects that Kunanec and the Grade 11 and 12 students who have come through his Green Industries, Technological Design and Hospitality courses have designed, secured funding for, delivered and made use of over that time.
Toronto students turn school grounds into thriving urban farm, workshop and event space
Over the last 20 years, the grounds of Don Mills Collegiate Institute have gone through a continuing process to achieve the vision of its Emerging Green Technologies & Environmental Stewardship department head, Dan Kunanec. Here is a brief rundown of the various projects that Kunanec and the Grade 11 and 12 students who have come through his Green Industries, Technological Design and Hospitality courses have designed, secured funding for, delivered and made use of over that time.
Don Mills school program shows students a greener way forward
Much of its output — the harvesting of produce, maple syrup tapped from trees on the property, trees felled for nearby city building projects turned into charcuterie boards — are sold externally, with proceeds going back to the school, or are used within the school, including in the hospitality program Kunanec also runs.
Toronto students turn school grounds into thriving urban farm, workshop and event space
Buried logs help transport water and nutrients to the “three sisters” of corn, beans and squash in a replica of a thousands-year-old practice of local Indigenous Peoples. By Morgan Sharp National Observer January 19th 2023 Excerpt: THE FARM — Kunanec acknowledges that some people may see the school’s farm as more of a garden, but he says urban farming requires a smaller footprint in order to work where space is at a premium.
Toronto District School Board says high school students can learn virtually in 2023-24
High school students in the Toronto District School Board will be able to choose to attend a virtual school in the 2023-24 school year, the board said in a message to parents on Thursday that described it as a choice of learning models and not a pandemic response.
Future Sound 6ix offers musical insight to often sidelined Toronto youth
Of all the skills Adrian Berry taught to about a dozen aspiring young musicians in two Future Sound 6ix workshops at the University of Toronto late last year, it might have been the simple act of wrapping cables that meant the most. Berry, a career musician and recent graduate of U of T’s music technology and digital media master’s program, said they had felt shamed in the past for not knowing how to pack up cables after a rehearsal or show.
Future Sound 6ix offers musical insight to often sidelined Toronto youth
Of all the skills Adrian Berry taught to about a dozen aspiring young musicians in two Future Sound 6ix workshops at the University of Toronto late last year, it might have been the simple act of wrapping cables that meant the most. Berry, a career musician and recent graduate of U of T’s music technology and digital media master’s program, said they had felt shamed in the past for not knowing how to pack up cables after a rehearsal or show.
Amid elections, school shutdowns and a climate crisis, Toronto youth did it for themselves in 2022
Young people across Ontario channelled pent-up energy in 2022 into the summer’s provincial election, projects fighting food or housing insecurity and other efforts to improve the world. This past year wasn’t an easy one for young people, many of whom faced precarious work or returned to classrooms after two years of online learning amid the social and political upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid elections, school shutdowns and a climate crisis, Toronto youth did it for themselves in 2022
Young people across Ontario channelled pent-up energy in 2022 into the summer’s provincial election, projects fighting food or housing insecurity and other efforts to improve the world. This past year wasn’t an easy one for young people, many of whom faced precarious work or returned to classrooms after two years of online learning amid the social and political upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Financial literacy key to equity for students behind Target Alpha
Sharing the knowledge and power of financial literacy can help lift up marginalized students and communities, says Angelika Bell. That’s a prime motivation for 15-year-old Bell, a regional executive director at Target Alpha, a student-run initiative that offers free workshops and competitions for high school students in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.
Financial literacy key to equity for students behind Target Alpha
The term alpha refers to how much better a specific investment performs compared to a market index or other benchmark. Its student members and executives wrapped up a stock pitch competition in November and are getting ready for a financial planning conference in mid-April. Last week, participants were allocated $100,000 in fake funds for a trading account based on the real stock market, which they’ll manage for the next few months.
Toronto District School Board shutters schools ahead of nasty holiday storm
More than 300,000 students across Toronto will wrap up their schooling for 2022 with a snow day Friday as a wicked winter storm looms over the city.
Toronto orchestra tells queer stories, celebrates community
The young players gathered for rehearsal only twice, in the two nights before the Queer Songbook Orchestra’s annual holiday benefit concert. But it was enough time to create an easy rapport among themselves, exchange Instagram account details and track four different ways the adults told them to receive applause.
Co-ordinated effort required to fix problems at Toronto school, youth advocate says
A Toronto high school dealing with inadequate facilities for its suddenly enlarged student population was ripe for the chaos that followed and now requires co-ordinated efforts to fix complaints of racism and a breakdown in discipline, the executive director of a nearby youth support service says.
Toronto orchestra tells queer stories, celebrates community
At the end of the second and final rehearsal it was made clear to all that once its final notes ring out all players will stand to receive applause before the adults sit and youth are recognised specifically. “I’ve really gained a lot of inspiration and knowledge,” Miata Massaquoi Duke, a grade 5 student at Montcrest School and youngest member of the youth contingent, said afterwards. “It’s just really good to watch someone who’s older because you get, like, hope, but in a different way.
Co-ordinated effort required to fix problems at Toronto school, youth advocate says
A Toronto high school dealing with inadequate facilities for its suddenly enlarged student population was ripe for the chaos that followed and now requires co-ordinated efforts to fix complaints of racism and a breakdown in discipline, the executive director of a nearby youth support service says.
Changes coming to Ontario tech curriculum in bid to meet labour needs
High school students in Ontario will learn from a rebooted technology curriculum starting next year, the province’s education minister says, part of a push to equip them with up-to-date skills needed in a range of skilled trades wrestling with labour shortages. “What we teach our children must be cutting-edge,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at an event in Mississauga on Monday.
Changes coming to Ontario tech curriculum in bid to meet labour needs
High school students in Ontario will learn from a rebooted technology curriculum starting next year, the province’s education minister says, part of a push to equip them with up-to-date skills needed in a range of skilled trades wrestling with labour shortages. “What we teach our children must be cutting-edge,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said at an event in Mississauga on Monday.
Canada’s higher-education research and development funding inches up, thanks to federal cash
A burst of federal funding for research and development at Canada’s post-secondary institutions helped power a slight overall increase in the country’s R&D spending in 2020-21, but it could have been a short-term blip that was anyway swallowed by inflation. Spending on research in higher education edged up to $15.9 billion in 2020-21, a 0.5 per cent increase on the prior year, Statistics Canada said on Friday, noting that was the 11th consecutive annual rise.
Canada’s higher-education research and development funding inches up, thanks to federal cash
A burst of federal funding for research and development at Canada’s post-secondary institutions helped power a slight overall increase in the country’s R&D spending in 2020-21, but it could have been a short-term blip that was anyway swallowed by inflation. Spending on research in higher education edged up to $15.9 billion in 2020-21, a 0.5 per cent increase on the prior year, Statistics Canada said on Friday, noting that was the 11th consecutive annual rise.
Parents, teachers, students want more climate change education, poll shows
Canadians are eager for students to have reliable information on climate change, a national poll shows. Educators say they agree but struggle to find the time to fit it into their school curriculum. The poll of more than 4,000 people across the country, commissioned by Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), shows a population deeply concerned about climate change.
Parents, teachers, students want more climate change education, poll shows
Canadians are eager for students to have reliable information on climate change, a national poll shows. Educators say they agree but struggle to find the time to fit it into their school curriculum. The poll of more than 4,000 people across the country, commissioned by Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), shows a population deeply concerned about climate change.
Parents, teachers, students want more climate change education, poll shows
LSF expects to dive deeper into regional data in the future. LSF’s latest survey finds that across topics related to climate change education, people throughout the country are more informed, concerned and engaged in making change than they were three years ago. Two-thirds of respondents said schools and teachers should be doing more to provide climate change education across subjects and grades and that that education should aim to change the way people behave.
Ontario has no plan to deal with growing urban flooding: auditor general
Dec. 7, 2022, Ont. – Ontario still has no co-ordinated plan to deal with increasingly intense flooding and its effects on urban areas, the province’s auditor general said in a wide-ranging report on the Ford government’s fiscal record. The province is failing to prepare for urban floods, which are becoming more common and more intense with climate change, while the environmental legislation it does put forward is lacking in funding to make it happen, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said.
Ontario education workers ratify deal with government, but the fight continues
Ontario education workers have ratified a tentative deal between their union and employer, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said Monday, closing off a tumultuous bargaining period with a high-turnout vote. More than 41,000 of the union’s 55,000 school workers voted, and more than 30,000 said ‘yes’ to the $1-an-hour-per-year pay raise applied across pay rates, CUPE said.
Ontario education workers ratify deal with government, but the fight continues
At its last ratification vote in 2019, only around 10,000 members (around 18 per cent) voted, Walton said. This time, more than 11,000 voted ‘no,’ suggesting an engaged workforce not entirely thrilled with this outcome. Walton also did not wholeheartedly endorse the deal publicly during the voting window. She said EAs and early childhood educators in particular opposed the deal due to the lack of service improvements for students. “They know the struggle,” she said.
Young women still not back to retail work lost in summer
Young women stayed away from low-paid retail work in elevated numbers in November, the latest Canadian jobs data shows, leaving a growing number of vacancies unfilled heading into the busy holiday shopping season. Some 45,000 fewer young women aged 15 to 24 were employed in the retail trade in November compared to a year earlier, an 11.7 per cent reduction almost entirely due to losses in August and September, Statistics Canada said in its November employment report.
Young women still not back to retail work lost in summer
While $21.99 an hour is a solid 5.4 per cent more than retail workers were getting paid a year ago, it is still below the 5.6 per cent average across all industries (which is higher, too, at $32.11). Meanwhile, inflation, or the rate at which the price of food, gasoline and other living costs go up, was at 6.9 per cent in October.
Ontario has no plan to deal with growing urban flooding, auditor general says
Ontario still has no co-ordinated plan to deal with increasingly intense flooding and its effects on urban areas, the province’s auditor general said in a wide-ranging report on the Ford government’s fiscal record. The province is failing to prepare for urban floods, which are becoming more common and more intense with climate change, while the environmental legislation it does put forward is lacking in funding to make it happen, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said.
Ontario has no plan to deal with growing urban flooding, auditor general says
Ontario still has no co-ordinated plan to deal with increasingly intense flooding and its effects on urban areas, the province’s auditor general said in a wide-ranging report on the Ford government’s fiscal record. The province is failing to prepare for urban floods, which are becoming more common and more intense with climate change, while the environmental legislation it does put forward is lacking in funding to make it happen, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk said.
Ontario Greens call for integrity inquiry into Ford's Greenbelt land development
The provincial integrity commissioner should investigate the Ford government's move to open up parcels of protected Greenbelt land for development, the leader of Ontario's Greens said on Tuesday, citing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and sharing of insider informatio Mike Schreiner, the MPP for Guelph, issued the complaint to integrity commissioner David Wake just days before the end of the government’s month-long public consultation on a plan to open up protected lands.
Ontario Greens call for integrity inquiry into Ford's Greenbelt land development
The provincial integrity commissioner should investigate the Ford government's move to open up parcels of protected Greenbelt land for development, the leader of Ontario's Greens said on Tuesday, citing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and sharing of insider information. Mike Schreiner, the MPP for Guelph, issued the complaint to integrity commissioner David Wake just days before the end of the government’s month-long public consultation on a plan to open up protected lands.
Toronto soccer scene abuzz over World Cup controversies
A Toronto soccer team is on the lookout for armbands showing support for the LGBTQ community after officials forbid players from wearing them at the World Cup in Qatar. The Brazucats, a social team of mostly queer Brazilian women, has been following the controversy closely.
Toronto soccer scene abuzz over World Cup controversies
The topic took on added poignance for Di Pace after the rising tide of hateful rhetoric directed at queer people turned into actual violence last weekend in a deadly attack that killed five people at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo. “That reminds us that the crimes against the community keep growing,” she said.
NDP asks for Queen’s Park unanimous consent in bid to improve trans health care
Ontario’s Opposition NDP sought unanimous consent to create a committee to improve trans health care in the province this week. The government rejected the move, however, with “nays” heard in the legislature after the motion was read out and government House leader Paul Calandra saying it was the job of members of the legislature to review all bills presented to them, including those proposing amendments to trans health care in the province.
NDP asks for Queen’s Park unanimous consent in bid to improve trans health care
“From my experience, as well as from conversations I've had with community members, it's so difficult to find a medical practitioner who understands gender-affirming care that it is essentially considered a luxury,” said Heath Salazar, a trans non-binary Latinx performance artist and writer.
Ontario school strike back on the table as focus turns to service levels
With Ontario’s education workers and its provincial government reaching a compromise on wages, the education minister wants to focus on keeping kids in school. But the bargaining team for those workers says it’s time to talk about student services next.
Chief Wilfred King still waiting for commissioner’s call
The chief of a remote First Nation north of Thunder Bay says police action and inaction has created mob rule in his community, and that complaints about mistreatment and harassment directed to the head of the Ontario Provincial Police have so far gone unanswered.
Chief Wilfred King still waiting for commissioner’s call
The chief of a remote First Nation north of Thunder Bay says police action and inaction has created mob rule in his community, and that complaints about mistreatment and harassment directed to the head of the Ontario Provincial Police have so far gone unanswered.
Ontario school strike back on the table as focus turns to service levels
Both sides have said they remain committed to the bargaining table this week to try to reach a deal that can be presented to CUPE’s 55,000 members, whose members earn some of the lowest wages in the school system, at an average of $39,000 a year. “I urge the union to call off this needless strike. Work with the government,” Lecce said during question period in the legislature.
Ford government repeals anti-strike law, updates budget as CUPE talks remain far apart
It was a busy day at Queen’s Park on Monday, with education workers getting back their right to strike and Ontario’s government projecting a budget deficit that critics warn could be used to avoid paying them and other public-sector workers a living wage. The Ford government’s fall economic statement puts billions more away in contingency funding and projects a deficit at odds with the view of the province’s financial watchdog.
Ford government repeals anti-strike law, updates budget as CUPE talks remain far apart
The bill led to a tense standoff with schools closed for two days earlier this month. CUPE members walked off the job in protest and were joined by a string of other labour unions, forcing the government to backtrack. “I wish I could stand up here today and say, ‘Bill’s gone, contract’s ready, off we go,’” she said, adding its repeal felt like a weight from their shoulders that made a deal possible as long as the government was willing to invest in public education.
A timeline of Ontario’s labour troubles in schools
June 2 — Ontario holds a provincial election and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are re-elected with an even bigger majority. June 3 — The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 55,000 education workers, issues a notice of intent to bargain, the first step to starting labour negotiations. July 18 — Bargaining begins. Aug. 2 — CUPE presents a full package of bargaining proposals, which includes a proposal for a flat $3.25-an-hour pay raise per year over a three-year deal. Aug.
Who won and lost - and what now - in Ontario labour snafu?
It could have all been a bad dream, one labour academic said, of the week and a half when Ontario lurched into a constitutional crisis over how much to give its lowest-paid school workers. “A bad dream in which the system is kinda torn apart, it's not trusted,” said Rafael Gomez, an associate professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto, about the sharp escalation in a school labour dispute allowed to fester since the summer.
A timeline of Ontario’s labour troubles in schools
June 2 — Ontario holds a provincial election and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are re-elected with an even bigger majority. June 3 — The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 55,000 education workers, issues a notice of intent to bargain, the first step to starting labour negotiations. July 18 — Bargaining begins.
Who won and lost - and what now - in Ontario labour snafu?
It could have all been a bad dream, one labour academic said, of the week and a half when Ontario lurched into a constitutional crisis over how much to give its lowest-paid school workers. “A bad dream in which the system is kinda torn apart, it's not trusted,” said Rafael Gomez, an associate professor of employment relations at the University of Toronto, about the sharp escalation in a school labour dispute allowed to fester since the summer.
Ford backtracks on anti-strike law
School is back on for two million Ontario students starting Tuesday after Premier Doug Ford promised to repeal a new anti-strike law issued last week following two days of demonstrations by education workers that sparked broader solidarity from organized labour. “We won. They backed down,” Sharron Flynn-Bennett, a union organizer and special education worker in the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said outside Queen’s Park on Monday. “They've given us back our rights to bargain.
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