With the country’s political parties gearing up for the federal election set for next year, Ca­nada’s scientists and researchers are putting what they say is the government’s dismal reco­rd in the spotlight.

This month marks a tragic milestone in the form of the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre — the politically-motivated, targeted murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique by a self-avowed “anti­ feminist.” For many of us this was a formative event, highlighting the ongoing realities of violence against women in our society.

Despite a message from Concordia University president Alan Shepard that attempts to soothe fears of job cuts on campus, it remains unclear how the institution will cope with a dramatically shrinking budget.

An arbitrator has ruled on all but one of the outstanding issues left over from a three-week strike of academic staff at Mount Allison University in the winter of 2014.

Richard Stingle, who died Nov. 22 in his 89th year, will forever be remembered for his principled and courageous stand during the Harry Crowe case of 1958 at United College, Winnipeg (now the University of Winnipeg), where he’d accepted his first major academic job.

Academic union leaders say the number of academic staff in contract or casual positions is on the rise, a common thread that ran throughout a panel discussion sponsored by CAUT during its council meeting last month.