-
The rise of slow fashion in Ontario
Combating fast fashion with local efforts A growing number of professionals and hobbyists are working hard to bring clothing and textile manufacturing back to Ontario. “Clothing has been priced too cheaply for too long, so people don’t really understand how much work goes into things,” says Alexandra Julian, a production manager at a recycled clothing company. This movement away from fast fashion in favour of local, environmentally-conscious textile manufacturing is slowly gaining popularity as people are becoming more conscious of their environmental impact. Starting from the soil, ending in the soil “I like to tell people we’re soil farmers,” says Andrew MacDonald, an Ontario-based homesteader. MacDonald bases his family homestead…
-
Hidden away from patients
Health-care professions are being ignored, according to some professional advocates. Frontline health-care providers such as doctors and nurses have been more visible for the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though society is grateful for the service of these frontline workers, there are still some professions that remain unseen. “Frontline providers are definitely heroes, and they’ve earned all the praise they’ve gotten and more,” says Julia Palmer, a 27-year-old medical laboratory assistant from Ottawa. “But there are so many roles in this field that more people should know exist as well.” Medical laboratory science Palmer is in the medical laboratory science field. “We basically run tests to…
-
We have the Internet, what’s next?
Many technological innovations originate from science fiction. “For better or for worse, tech innovators draw on these stories for inspiration,” says Thomas Price, an English literature teaching assistant at an Ontario university. Price always begins his teaching year dramatically. “I walk over to the blackboard and write the word ‘CELLPHONES’ in capital letters,” Price says. The students, according to Price, are expecting to hear the standard day-one classroom cellphone policy. He asks them to take out their phones and place them in their laps. Some of the students are nervous, resistant or annoyed. “I then give a short lecture about how cellphones were partly inspired by a comic in the…
-
Exploring biodiversity loss and its solutions
What is the problem, and why is biodiversity important? Humans are causing a biodiversity loss — but they can help solve it. Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing environmental issues of modern day. Yet, researchers say there isn’t enough being done to halt the extinction of species. “To a certain extent, our ecosystems can buffer the loss of some species, but there is a tipping point where systems will radically change and can never be recovered,” says Victoria MacPhail, a research associate at York University’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. Joseph Bennett, an associate professor from the Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science at Carleton University agrees.…
-
Solving hunger in Ontario
Almost a quarter of Canadians can’t afford groceries. Food insecurity affects low-income households the most. With food shortages, supply chain issues and inflation on the rise, food insecurity in Canada is increasing. “Food insecurity is a symptom of poverty,” says Elaine Power, a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University. “You can’t really fix food insecurity without fixing the underlying problem.” The Food and Agricultural Association of the United Nations (FAO) explains that a food insecure individual is someone who doesn’t have enough money or resources for food. To some, this might seem obvious. Yet, the solutions to solve food insecurity are mostly focused on…
-
Misunderstanding autism
The cultural narrative of autism The current narrative of autism in today’s culture is wrong, according to a growing number of advocates. “I think a lot of people get stuck in this very narrow, medical model of disability that really doesn’t work well when talking about autistic people,” says Harmon Pope, an Ontario-based autism advocate. The “medical model” Pope references is a body of research and advocacy efforts from the past several decades that suggests autism should be treated like a disease. More specifically, a disease that should be cured, despite it not being viewed as a disease by experts. Even still, great efforts have been made to “cure” autism…
