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Vathsala Illesinghe, 2017 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar, recently co-published, with a team of researchers, an article in Conflict and Health about healthcare needs and health service utilization by Syrian refugee women in Toronto.
The article is available here.

Cecilia Benoit, 2018 Foundation Fellow and sociologist at the University of Victoria, recently co-published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, an article on the question of prostitution.
“The Prostitution Problem”: Claims, Evidence, and Policy Outcomes

With the challenges posed by climate change and the often modest commitments of states in this regard, it is not always easy to remain hopeful about the future of the planet. Through her public engagement, 2018 scholar Grace Nosek reminds us that we ought not merely wait for hope and action to emerge only from governments and major world meetings on the subject.
In a recent opinion piece published by CBC, Grace argues that one way of finding hope is making climate action feel local and grounded in community. “Hope is contagious”, Grace underlines, “and by working together in our local communities, we can all play a role in inspiring more action to help turn the tide in the climate fight”.
You may also discover Grace's engaging ideas on tackling climate change by listening to a recent episode of CBC's Degrees of Change podcast. Together with David Suzuki and Simon Donner, she discusses solutions and changes in response to climate change.
Grace has also created her own podcast, Planet Potluck, which combines personal storytelling and interviews to explore stories of hope, joy, and community in the climate movement.

Congratulations Grace for these contributions to citizens’ reflection and action on climate change!

On September 6th and 7th, 2018, the University of Helsinki hosted a conference entitled Women of the Arctic: Bridging Policy, Research and Lived Experience, an event co-hosted by Tahnee Prior, 2015 Foundation Scholar, in parallel with the 2018 UArctic Congress.

Bringing together women living or working in the Arctic, including decision makers, activists and artists, the conference explored the challenges and successes women face in the Arctic. In a context where numerous discussion forums about the Arctic are taking place each year, this was a rare opportunity to focus specifically on women's perspectives on the region and their roles and contributions to different challenges and various aspects of life in the Arctic.

The conference focused on three major topics: northern women in leadership roles; women in Arctic science and exploration; and the role of arts in healing from systemic and gender-based violence in northern communities.

Tahnee has published a report, along with co-authors Malgorzata Smieszek and Olivia Matthews, about this event in Arctic Yearbook 2018.

In large Canadian cities, Indigenous homelessness represents a particularly high proportion of the total homeless population, ranging from 20% to 50% (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness). The work of Jesse Thistle, a 2016 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholar, is helping to address this growing social problem by exploring the effects of intergenerational trauma experienced by the Métis.
In its 2018 fall edition, The York University Magazine chronicles the work and personal journey of Jesse, a Métis and Cree doctoral student who lived on the streets for several years before using his talent and resourcefulness to climb the academic ladder.
Having worked on developing a more holistic definition of Indigenous homelessness, he explains in this article that homelessness is a much more complex problem than simply not having a roof over your head: “Indigenous homelessness, from an Indigenous perspective, implies a disconnection from all things: your land, your culture, your identity, your traditions, stories, customs and language.”
To learn more about Jesse Thistle and his work, read the article in The York University Magazine.

Leehi Yona, our 2018 scholar researching climate change policy-making, published an op-ed in the Montreal Gazette regarding a new report released on October 8th by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel of experts addressed the heavy consequences of global warming above 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. It also indicates that “preventing an extra single degree of heat could make a life-or-death difference in the next few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems” (Montreal Gazette).

For Leehi, while the IPCC’s overall assessment is alarming in many regards, it nonetheless conveys a message of hope and empowerment by teaching us that we are capable of acting now to limit global warming and protect our communities. Stopping the burning of fossil fuels is a key step is this regard and that involves giving up any new fossil fuel infrastructure projects, Leehi writes.

The work of Stéphanie Roy, 2017 Foundation scholar and a Ph.D. candidate in Law at Université Laval, drew the attention of Quebec Science magazine. In an article published on August 23rd, the magazine describes current and past research by the jurist whose awareness about environmental issues led her to investigate the role of the state in protecting the environment. In the same piece, Stéphanie answers questions from Rémi Quirion, Quebec's Chief Scientist, on the challenges posed by her innovative research project.
Read the article (in French only) here.

The Canadian Jewish News published an interview with 2016 scholar Ido Katri. An advocate for transgender rights for several years, Ido explains what made him decide to leave Israel -- his country of origin -- to pursue his work on issues related to gender diversity in Canada. Building on his involvement in trans movements, his research documents the political and legal struggles of transgender people around the world - notably in Canada, Israel, and the United States – thereby helping to develop more awareness of trans people’s experiences with justice systems.
Discover the interview given by Ido about his journey and his work.

In the July 2018 issue of the journal Northern Public Affairs, scholar 2017 Jamie Snook, along with coauthors Ashlee Cunsolo and Aaron Dale, addresses the research role of wildlife co-management boards in Inuit Nunangat. These boards, one of the outcomes of the Inuit land claims processes over past decades, allow Inuit people to play an active role in decision-making over the management of wildlife and plant species across Inuit Nunangat.
While co-management boards are responsible for conducting and reviewing research to support evidence-based decision-making about species within the land claims regions, they are often unable to fulfill this part of their mandates due a lack of resources. Snook and his co-authors argue, however, that “designing and leading research through these boards can be an essential component of self-determination and sovereignty over research” for Inuit. They illustrate this through the case of the Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-Management Board in Nunatsiavut (Labrador), which developed a research project on caribou management and stewardship at the request of an Inuit community. Empowering Inuit in the Nunatsiavut region with new knowledge, this research has created a stronger base from which to make decisions and recommendations in the future.
Read the article in Northern Public Affairs

Introduced in 1968 by Henri Lefebvre, the concept of right to the city implies that any individual living in the city should be able to exercise her rights to socio-political participation and to the appropriation of urban resources and opportunities. Access to housing is an important prerequisite for the exercise of this collective right, as Marie-Ève Desroches, 2016 scholar of the Foundation, points out in an article (in French only) published in the Métropoles journal.

While various authors and social movements have emphasized capitalism as the main structural obstacle to the right to the city, Marie-Ève Desroches argues that we must take into consideration other types of oppression to lead truly inclusive struggles for this right. Her case study of feminist urban mobilizations in a Montreal neighborhood shows that patriarchy also creates, in interaction with capitalist structures, structural impediments to the right to housing and thus to the residents' right to the city. She concludes, therefore, that the concept of right to the city should integrate several approaches to justice to allow claims and practices of feminist struggles.