The Ontario government under Premier Doug Ford announced plans to cut OSAP grants to 25 per cent instead of the prior 85 per cent. They also plan to lift the seven-year tuition freeze, which Ford says was needed to fund post-secondary education in Ontario. Ford cites the federal cap on international students as the main reason why he had to pass the policy, but how did Ontario post-secondary institutions become so dependent on international students to begin with?

On March 9, Ontario Nature announced the acquisition of the 26.7-hectare (66-acre) Sauble Dunes North property, a critical coastal habitat along Lake Huron’s shoreline. This purchase permanently expands the organization’s Sauble Dunes Nature Reserve to a total of 77.78 hectares (192 acres), strengthening an ecological corridor in the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula that connects to adjacent natural areas including Chiefs Point Wetland, Sauble Falls Provincial Park, county forests and other protected properties within the Sauble Falls North Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI). 

The Ford government has recently announced several new construction projects worth billions of dollars to reshape Toronto’s waterfront. These projects include plans for a new convention centre, the expansion of Billy Bishop airport to accommodate jets and the construction of a new Ontario Science Centre.

With deadlines creeping up for cumulative projects and exams looming around the corner, there are resources available at Brock to prepare for finals, along with events that allow you to take a break and hopefully avoid burnout as you cross the finish line and conclude the semester.

Niagara’s trans and non-binary community is inviting the entire region to come together in celebration, solidarity and joy for International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) with a series of free public events on March 27 and 31. Held every year on March 31, TDOV honours the lives, resilience and contributions of trans and non-binary people while also shining a light on the urgent need for safety, human rights and affirming health care in an increasingly hostile climate across Canada and around the world.

The Ford government is preparing to end the use of supervised consumption sites across the province, with an expected move to abstinence-based treatment options by June 13.

On March 13, the Government of Ontario announced plans to amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), a provincial law that regulates public access to government records and the protection of personal information held by provincial institutions. The proposed legislative changes are expected to be introduced when the Ontario legislature reconvenes on March 23. 

Since the start of the 2025-26 school year, the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) has been embroiled in controversy after Omar Rasheed’s sudden removal as BUSU Board Chair during a meeting in September of last year.

On Feb. 19, Niagara Region Chair Bob Gale sent a letter to Rob Flack, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, outlining what he described as the “urgent need for municipal governance reform in Niagara,” which proposed municipal restructuring that would consolidate Niagara’s 12 municipalities into either a single city or a four city model. 

More than 4000 people came marching down to Queen’s Park on March 4 to participate in the “Hands Off Our Education Rally,” organized by the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario (CFSO). The first few hours of the rally remained peaceful, up until a few people vandalized the statue of George Brown in front of the Legislative building, authorizing multiple officers to enter the rally. Most of the people doing this left before law enforcement could reach them, but one individual stayed to write “Fuck Ford” on the statue with red spray paint.

As artificial intelligence (A.I.) and large language models (LLMs) become more popular, their usage within governments has followed suit. In the United States, recent disputes involving A.I. company Anthropic and its LLM, Claude, as well as OpenAI and their model, ChatGPT, have sparked public concerns of government overreach, mass surveillance and contracts allowing for the unrestricted use of A.I. models. 

On March 4, the Brock University New Democrats and the Brock University Young Liberals crossed political lines to organize a bipartisan poster making event followed by a protest in front of Schmon Tower. The protest took a stand against the recent changes that the Ford government made to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). 

On Feb. 26, Prime Minister Mark Carney embarked on a 10-day trade visit to India, Australia and Japan. This was the prime minister’s first trade visit since his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he made his internationally recognized speech on the need for middle power unity.

Since Ontario’s Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, came into effect back in mid-November, several of Ontario’s public-school boards have had their trustees fired and replaced with provincial supervisors at the discretion of the Minister of Education.

The Canada, United States and Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA) is set to be under review this year and awaits a potential extension on July 1, amidst the ongoing global trade upset occurring under President Donald Trump.

In a news release on Feb. 12, the Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government announced that through a new long-term funding model, they will permit domestic tuition increases and restructure Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) beginning with the Fall 2026 academic term, then in turn the government will invest  $6.4 billion over four years into the postsecondary sector.

March brings both post-midterm euphoria and pre-exam doom, leading students to usually have free time, yet constant stress. To give yourself a break from the constant back-and-forth emotions, several Brock events fill the calendar from the first week through to the end of the month.  

BUSU has officially released their 2026 election results for the Board of Directors (BoD) and Senate seats.

Student groups are planning a “Hands Off Our Education Rally” at Queen’s Park on March 4 at 12:30 p.m., protesting recent changes affecting OSAP funding and tuition.

The Alto project is the latest iteration of a long history of Canada attempting to build high-speed rail in its densest and most populated region: the Windsor to Québec City corridor.

The Carney government has taken on a host of projects ranging from military procurement to transit, with the highest profile ones deemed “nation building” projects that are earmarked for fast tracking. 

February at Brock is shaping up to be more than just a countdown to reading week. This month, student groups and campus partners are putting on a mix of cultural celebrations, remembrance and education as well as low-pressure socials and practical supports, from free winter items and meals to volunteer opportunities across Niagara.

On Jan. 29, a speaker series event at Brock University examined current issues and recent developments in youth justice in Canada, with presentations focused on youth justice programming and the role of pre-trial detention. 

Classes at Laurentian University in Sudbury have been suspended since Jan. 19, upon which faculty, librarians and counsellors represented by the Laurentian University Faculty Association began strike action. 

Now more than 53 years since humans last went to the moon, NASA will be going back with the Artemis missions.  

As reading week approaches at its usual snail’s pace, the final week leading up to it can feel particularly humbling. As we work through the first round of midterms while assignments pile up as high as the recent snowbanks, it’s easy for things to feel especially cold and overwhelming. 

The Albertan separation movement has recently gained significant media attention following statements that separatists have been meeting with United States officials to request aid in the separatist movement. Fellow premiers have called upon Albertan Premier Danielle Smith to denounce the separatist movement, with British Columbian Premier David Eby calling them “treasonous.” 

Canada and South Korea are in a period of rapid trade deals as Canada looks to purchase South Korean submarines while bringing their factories and manufacturing to Canada. 

BUSU’s bi-annual student election will run from 12 a.m. on Feb. 10 until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 12. Students can log in to BUSU’s official page using their Brock email address to vote for candidates of their choice.

Canadian Blood Services (CBS) will be returning to Brock’s main campus this winter, offering two events for students. 

It’s that time of the year when players from around the NBA are chosen to return to another All-Star game or become one for the first time. For some, this is a defining moment that can change the trajectory of a career, while others see it as just another meaningless statistic.   

Minneapolis has become an international flashpoint with a blunt sequence of two shootings, two official narratives and a public that was asked to accept federal claims faster than it could access federal evidence. How a democratic state can unfold into government officials killing their own citizens can be understood by situating the moments in the United States’ longer history of immigration policing and the legal language that has long divided their people into categories of belonging and removability. 

The use of artificial intelligence in the classroom has brought challenges to longstanding norms in university lectures, seminars and academic integrity. A core pillar of the learning approach at Brock University, the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (CPI), has been working to provide Brock’s professors and teaching assistants with guidance on how to navigate these challenges.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 20, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the global “rules based international order” was undergoing a rupture, not a transition. 

The Brock University BIPOC Law Society (BLS) was ratified by BUSU in November 2025. The club, which currently has 60 members, hosted its first major event — a LinkedIn panel — on the week of Jan. 19, aiming to provide accessible legal education. 

On Jan. 11, the chair of the United States federal reserve, Jerome Powell, released a video statement where he states that “the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment” over the cost of renovating Federal Reserve buildings.  

Brock University’s Experience Expo is back for 2026, bringing more than 80 employers to Brock for the largest on-campus recruitment fair. The event provides students with the opportunity to make multiple career connections in one place.

Since the announcement of “Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care” on Feb. 2, 2023, the Ontario government has been expanding the use of community surgical and diagnostic centres to deliver publicly insured procedures and tests outside of public hospitals.

With a mix of open access, guided support and introductory workshops focused on creative and emerging technologies, Brock’s Makerspace — located on the main campus in the Rankin Family Pavilion — can be your entry-point to hands-on making and skill-building this winter semester. 

Canada has just signed what many are calling a landmark trade agreement with China, after a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The meeting was the first between the two countries in nearly a decade.

The 2025 fall semester saw in effect how the federal government’s decision to reduce international students' acceptance into Canadian universities has impacted Canadian universities. Whether through hiring freezes, cancelled courses or ominous deficits, let’s review the budgeting changes of various universities across the country and their impacts on students.

Ontario has set the 2026 rent increase guideline at 2.1 per cent, making this the maximum annual increase that landlords can apply to most rent-controlled tenancies without approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Since the overwhelming majority of post-secondary students in Niagara live off-campus — where many pay market rents in shared houses, student-oriented rentals or apartments — here is a breakdown of how the new guideline will, and won’t, affect off-campus students. 

Content warning: This article contains references to sexual violence. Grok, the A.I. platform built into Elon Musk’s X — formerly known as Twitter — is being used to undress women and children who had publicly available photos of themselves on the platform.

WestJet has been facing significant backlash online after a recent video of two passengers on a WestJet flight documenting the available legroom in the non-reclining seats went viral.  

The United States’ escalation of the Venezuela conflict is more than distant geopolitics. Its effects will be felt across global oil markets, international law and human rights with consequences that extend far beyond Latin America. 

Students across Brock University and the Muslim Students’ Association are demanding change from their students’ union after Omar Rasheed was abruptly removed from his position as BUSU Board Chair during a controversial September meeting.

Ontario’s Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, received Royal Assent on Nov. 20, creating a set of postsecondary law changes that will take effect only if and when the government proclaims Schedule 3. The schedule would require publicly assisted universities and colleges to publish admission criteria and access applicants on merit, authorize new regulations on admissions and student fees and require institutions to develop research security plans subject to ministerial directives. 

On Dec. 1, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) hosted local arts leaders, policy advocates and community members for a presentation on new national research, highlighting the economic and social contributions of Canada’s arts and culture sector.