Most universities in the United Kingdom are grossly discriminatory employers, according to latest figures released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The HESA figures, published in The Times Higher Education Supplement in April, reveal that in 1998­99 only 9.8 per cent of professorships are held by women and 2.3 per cent by ethnic minorities.

In November 1999, the premier of Ontario announced he would "welcome advice on whether we ought to allow those who seek to create private universities, fully funded by private money, with no taxpayer dollars, in the province of Ontario." Only five months later, without consulting formally with anyone, the Ontario government announced it had approved the establishment of private, degree-granting institutions in Ontario.

After a lengthy delay, the federal government released details of the Canada Research Chairs Program last month, but critics warn the plans raise serious concerns.

The government of Ontario has outraged students and academic staff by giving the go-ahead for private, not-for-profit and for-profit universities to set up shop in the province as early as this September.

In a commentary to the Bulletin (April), "Actions Speak Louder Than Words," Professor Chandrakant P. Shah tries to dissuade us from any naive belief we may have about Canadian universities no longer practicing "systemic discrimination" in the hiring of minorities.

Chandrakant Shah (Commentary, April) purports to expose systemic discrimination at the University of Toronto. In making this serious charge against his university, he advances a concept of systemic discrimination that is unsound, as it relies on inappropriate criteria.

Critics accused the Ontario government of turning its back on health and post-secondary education in the latest provincial budget by devoting another $5.2 billion in tax cuts over the next four years.

The Association of Professors of Bishop's University (APBU) has certified a new bargaining unit.

CAUT member faculty associations will be able to join the Canadian Labour Congress in the near future. Delegates to the April CAUT Council voted unanimously to establish a new CAUT-affiliated national structure that will apply for membership in the CLC.

Delegates to Council in April voted to broaden the definition of eligibility for membership in CAUT. A new category of "federated associations" was added to allow membership for associations that contain both degree granting and non degree granting institutions.

Congratulations were extended to sociology professor Jennie Hornosty of the University of New Brunswick, who joins CAUT's honour roll of equity advocates.

A long-serving staff member of one of CAUT's largest associations has been awarded the Donald C. Savage award for outstanding contributions to collective bargaining work and economic benefits in a university environment.

The federal government has created a Canada Research Chairs Program and has set aside $900 million to establish 2,000 research chairs over the next five years.

Canadian universities are facing at least $3.6 billion in accumulated deferred maintenance, says a study released in mid-April by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers.