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federal government seems to be push- ing academics towards the busi- ness world faster than university.

Ottawa’s panel on the Com- mercialization of University Re- search was tabled last May for the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology.

The panel recommended universities, via tenure and promo- tion policies, en- courage faculty to engage in commer- cially viable re-

search. As well, the report suggested that federal grant- ing councils con- sider profit poten- tial as a criterion for awarding re- search grants.

In the recent Speech from the Throne, the federal government re- stated its priority of making money off of intellectual property.

The govern- ment will “find new markets for new products and services developed through research by universities,” said Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

The question, however, is to what extent should

universities pursue these corporate objectives.

In other words, will the humanities lose to the sciences in this new search for corporate dollars? “{Commericialization] jeopardizes socially and culturally valuable research that may not be profitable, while encouraging re-

_search that makes

money for the private sector but may be trivial,” said Bill Graham, president of the Canadian Assocation of University Teach- ers.

Peter Desbarats, the

former Dean of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario, told the Globe & Mail last June he was constrained by corporations.

As Dean, he had refused to comment on Rogers Communi- cations’ controver-

academic free- dom possible. This has been seen in profit- able areas of research, such as health sciences. The story of Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a pro- fessor at Pediatrics and Medicine at the

funded by the pharmaceutical giant Apotex and had agreed not to publish her results without their con- sent. She discov- ered that in the long-term the drug was not beneficial and, in some in- stances, even harmful.

Sweatshops

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finding routine violations of the Employment Standard Act by contractors and subcontractors,’ she explained. “These workers are not being paid the guaranteed mini-

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mum wage plus the 10 per cent in- crease, because they are working at home. None of them receive 4 per cent vacation pay, and none of the homeworkers we had interviewed ever received overtime pay.” UNITE has made two impor- tant recommenda- tions to the federal

- government.

First, it de- manded that Hu- man Resources Development Canada be “pro- active” and go to the companies and investigate rather than waiting for complaints to come forward. Second, UNITE recom-

mends that HRDC allow anonymous complaints, in order to encourage immigrant women to come forward and voice them- selves.

“There is not very much protec- tion under the present Employ- ment Standard

Act,” warned Dagg.

“It is a basic stand- ard and does not guarantee these women’s jobs if they file a com- plaint.”

In 1996, the International La- bour Organization (ILO) passed a convention on homeworkers that declared they had the right to organ-

decent working conditions.

Although Canada was present at the meeting, it did not ratify this convention because Ottawa said it dealt with provincial jurisdiction.

“Even though these standards are passed there is limited effective- ness if countries do not adopt them,” said Dagg. “How do you strengthen international work- ing standards if each country acts independently?”

Another strategy UNITE suggests is to place pressure on the manufacturers and

sial takeover of University of Maclean Hunter in Toronto, is a clear 1995 because example of this Rogers had en- potential violation dowed his Faculty — of academic free- of Information dom. Olivieri Studies with a $1 worked in the early million chair. 1990s at Toronto’s When corpora-_ Hospital for Sick

tions fund research, Children studying a certain directives drug for the treat- and stipulations ment of may be issued-the thalassemia, a rare most serious in- blood disorder. fringement on She was

ize and set interna- _ retailers.

tional standards on “Those who

own the label, or who own the rights to the product that is being made should be made liable and equally responsible for the working conditions under which it is being made,” Dagg asserted.

The garment industry operates within a long chain of production, and it becomes very difficult to detect where the viola- tions are being made, especially when there is a lot of blame shifting going on.

The retailers ultimately control the garment indus- try - they are the

one’s that call the shots, and the maximum profit goes to them. Those at the bottom of the chain, the seamstresses, end up being exploited. UNITE hopes that legal liability will force retailers to take responsibil- ity “If your name is on it, then you are responsible for how it is made!” Dagg insisted. Students are also getting in- volved in the anti- sweatshop battle. The Univer- sity of Toronto’s own action group, Students Against Sweatshops (SAS), was formed in the fall of 1998. Ian