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The Cadre

Universities tag along for

BY MEG MURPHY

}ORONTO (CUP)}— As a whirlwind of networking and deal-making sweeps through atin America, eager repre- sentatives of Canadian higher education are doing their best \o secure a piece of the action.

Eighteen universities are participating in the two-week trade mission to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico cur- rently underway, which has been dubbed *Team Canada’ by the Liberal government.

They are acting as third- string players beside Canadian business and the federal and provincial governments in a fierce competition to posit our innocuous nation as a leader in the emerging global economy.

The trade mission comes as a pre-cursor to a tree trade agreement with the

\mericas (excluding Cuba), scheduled to be signed in April.

According to a spokes- person from the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. the jaunt enables the sectors to promote a com- mon goal. All are vying for prosperous trade relations with Latin America, says Karen McBride.

“Canadian businesses have a real interest in expand- ing into Latin America,” she said. “And it is Canadian uni- versities mandate to prepare students tooperate in an envi- ronment which is now global.”

Thismission isthe fourth annual networking bonanza organized by the federal gov- ernment. In past years the destination has always been somewhere in Asia first China, then South East Asia, and most recently the Philippines, Ko- rea Thailand.

McBride says post-sec- ondary participation in this mis- sion will enable Canada to throw a touch of warmth into the climate of budding busi-

Team Canada ride

ness liaisons, making Cana- dian ties to Latin America that much stronger.

“It is not just about eco- nomics, it is about building bonds by understanding each other’s cultures,” she said, adding collaborative projects and student exchanges will ac- complish this goal.

Building partnerships with educational institutions in the mission’s four pit stops is one main goal. It will both help trade relations and promote international diversity on Ca-

nadian campuses, says McBride. Anaspect of these blos-

soming relations will be stu-

dent recruitment, which is

highly profitable for Canadian

universities since foreign stu-

dents are often charged three

times what domestic students y.

Four Canadian Educa- tion Centres will be opened for this purpose. They will be lo- cated in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela. Prior to this mission, the only Canadian re- cruitment centre in Latin America was locate in Mexico.

The other primary in- centive for the education sec- tor to participate in the mission is the thrill of developing more partnerships with Canadian businesses in the process, she says.

But as higher-education officials are swept into the free- trade frenzy, some argue they are joining a business-heavy team that has paid little heed to the societal threats of this game.

Ricardo Grinspun, di- rector of the Centre for Re- search on Latin American and Caribbean Studies at York University, says serious over- sights must be ;

He says universities

should look at the types of

collaborations they are carv- ing, as well as the ethics of

those around them,

“One thing is very wor- risome. A lot of these contacts are being started around busi- ness-university linkages. To what extent are these univer- sity links established around a business agenda and to what extent are they established around academic priorities?” he questioned.

On Jan. 13 in Mexico City, Canadian businesses and educational institutions signed 91 new business deals worth $229.9-million. This marked the largest number of deals signed at one time on a team mission.

“There is a clear trade- business agenda here. Unfor- tunately. this arrangement has not been shaped up taking into account the societal implica-

tions of these connections in terms of how they will impact Canada and Latin America,” Grinspun said.

But McBride says uni- versities, for their part, will encourage Latin American countries to address some of these social issues through col- laborative courses.

“From the universities perspective, academic coop- eration allows you to work with these countries around areas of concern, like environmental and human rights issues,” she said. “It is through sharing ex- pertise that we can make im- provements.”

Several key universities decided not to take part in the Team Canada trade mission this year. These include Y ork University, University of Vic-

toria, Concordia University. Dalhousie University, Univer- sity of British Columbia and the University of New Bruns- wick.

Of those contacted, sev- eral suggested that scheduling problems prevented them from attending, particularly because the government did not pro- vide adequate notice of the trip’stiming.

A few also candidly admitted their interests in for- eign student recruitment iscen- tred in Asia, while others de- livered a rather interesting ver- sion of the two.

“It was just a matter of timing.” a public relations of- ficer at UBC, said. “We have participated in past Team Asia, | mean Team Canada trips before.”

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