Enrolment will be reduced at the University of Calgary as the faculties of arts, nursing and medicine will accept fewer students in the upcoming year. Provost and vice-president academic Dru Marshall announced the reductions at a budget meeting held in the MacEwan Hall Ballroom where plans to deal with the recent provincial post-secondary budget cuts were discussed. 


The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, is dead. The former army officer who rose to power following a 1998 election has been lauded as the patriot who freed the marginalized proletariat from the boots of corporations and a corrupt, oligarchical government. He was also condemned as a tyrant who suffered no slights, harassing and sometimes jailing political opponents, or as a bumbler who has left the management of Venezuela’s abundant energy reserves in shambles.

Justin Trudeau visited Calgary on Jan. 28 as part of his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberals have made big efforts over the past two years to reach voters in Alberta where they have traditionally had little success.


Trudeau gave a speech at the Hotel Arts in downtown Calgary to a full room. The crowd was an assorted mix of business people, young supporters and local 
Liberals.


There is a common idiom that goes, “Without journalism, there can be no democracy.” Journalism spans from national giants, like the Globe and Mail, to, yes, student papers. 


In Calgary on Jan. 11, Idle No More activists held protests outside Stephen Harper’s constituency office and at the University of Calgary. On Jan. 16, a candlelight vigil was held at Calgary’s City Hall to honour Mother Earth.


Idle No More, a movement put in motion by Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples, has spread like wildfire across the country. Initially, Idle No More was started to bridge gaps of misinformation and mistreatment of Canadian aboriginals, and to start dialogue on 
Canadian issues.


In the midst of the tumultuous, First Nations-based Idle No More movement, a familiar face in Canadian politics showed up in support of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s daring hunger strike. Unfortunately, due to the precarious state of his short-lived minority government, former prime minister Paul Martin is not remembered for his groundbreaking involvement in aboriginal affairs. 


As a “Christmas gift” to its citizens, the Ugandan Parliament hopes to pass a bill this December legislating the death penalty for homosexual people. The bill, also known as the “kill the gays” bill, was first introduced in 2009 by Ugandan Member of Parliament David Bahati. When confronted with the possibility of being cut off from international aid, the bill was stalled. It was resurrected this February in response to mounting pressure from groups wanting to preserve the traditional family. 


On Sept. 9, 2012, the Canadian government signed the Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act, an extensive investment agreement that allows Chinese investors greater access to Canadian markets. The agreement was to be ratified in early November, however, this has been delayed.


Canada has a history of separatist movements, mostly due to its multicultural society, which is constantly growing by welcoming immigrants from other countries. National unity can be hard to promote when there are many different voices, but unity is beneficial to all Canadians. Currently, there is little threat of any part of Canada seceding, yet, if Canada adopted a political culture similar to that of the United States, the new political culture would undermine the unity of Canada.