Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama was removed from caucus following public statements in support of Palestine and now serves her riding as an Independent
On Oct. 23, the Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles released a statement informing the public that Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama had been removed from the caucus. Jama was first elected to caucus in Mar. 2023.
This action was taken following controversial public statements made by Jama in support of Palestinian liberation two days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Jama received immediate backlash following her initial statements on X, formerly Twitter, from both the community and her fellow Canadian politicians.
In response to Jama’s initial statements on X, Premier Doug Ford accused her of antisemitism and he called for her resignation from the caucus.
Stiles’ Oct. 23 statement detailed that following Jama’s initial posts and the subsequent backlash, her and Jama were able to reach an agreement to keep her in the caucus. However, Stiles stated that due to multiple “unilateral actions” that have contributed to "an unsafe work environment", the decision to remove Jama from the caucus was finalized.
Despite this decision to remove Jama, Stiles’ statement noted that the NDP would be voting against the Conservative motion to censure Jama. This motion prevents the Speaker of the House from recognizing Jama until a verbal apology is made and deletion of her original social media post.
Several public figures have spoken out in Jama’s defense, including CUPE Local 3906 President Fred Hahn and Ward 2 city councillor Cameron Kroetsch.
Kroetsch released a formal statement on Instagram, calling Jama’s removal “an extreme move, absolutely uncalled for and a terrible attempt by Premier Ford to distract from the shame and scandal his party has perpetuated while in government”.
Many continue to speak out both in support of and against Jama’s removal from caucus.
This is an ongoing story.
When McMaster University negotiated its Strategic Mandate Agreement with the provincial government in 2014, 6,000 spots were allotted to domestic graduate students in the province.
However, only 2,400 were filled. To solve the problem of low demand from domestic graduate students and drive the economy, the provincial government spearheaded an internationalization strategy aimed at recruiting international students to Ontario universities.
In the wake of this effort, in February 2018, McMaster unveiled a plan to slash tuition for international PhD students.
In particular, come September, international PhD students at the university will only be charged the domestic student fee.
Though the Ontario government and, by extension, McMaster’s policy change is being lauded for its efforts to drive sustainable economic growth, the long-term effects of the policy on the labour market, specifically in Hamilton, are not clear.
In September 2017, only domestic PhD students were eligible for full funding by the province.
However, in October, this changed as the provincial government introduced its internationalization strategy in a letter to Ontario universities.
The letter outlined the government’s commitment to increasing support for international PhD students in the province.
Motivating this change was the fact that an insufficient number of domestic students opted into Ontario PhD programs in the years before.
To solve this problem, the government mandated that 10 to 15 per cent of PhD allocations be used to fund international PhD students.
The policy change is being praised by the university. Doug Welch, vice-provost and dean of graduate studies at McMaster, claimed that the policy change will drive economic growth, both in Ontario and Hamilton.
This perceived economic benefit is substantiated by a 2015 Statistics Canada study that illustrated that almost half (49 per cent) of international students who came to Canada in the early 2000s to pursue graduate education ended up acquiring permanent residence.
Motivating this change was the fact that an insufficient number of domestic students opted into Ontario PhD programs in the years before.
Welch argues that, by increating the affordability of PhD education, increasingly more international students will come to Canada, obtain permanent residence and boost the economy.
This argument is well-founded. Yet I believe it hinges on an assumption, namely that obtaining permanent residence directly leads to a de facto boost to the economy.
The Statistics Canada study does not explore the ways in which international students contribute to the labour market in the long-term.
Rather, it assumes that, after obtaining permanent residence, international students will enter sectors and conduct research that results in explosive and sustainable economic growth.
The study fails to consider what fields international PhD students are predominantly studying, what sectors they are predominantly entering, whether these sectors are likely to drive long-term economic growth, and whether these sectors are experiencing rising precarity.
Failing to address these dimensions of the issue, the argument seems to lack nuance.
Moreover, the study uses data from across the country, not the province or Hamilton.
The Ontario government does not include this information on its website; this is likely because, according to a 2016 Statistics Canada study, only nine per cent of university students in Ontario are international students.
Moreover, studies highlighting students’ long-term contributions to Hamilton’s labour market also appear to be unavailable.
There is also a lack of data that is specific to international PhD students, both in Hamilton and more broadly. The number of PhD graduates typically significantly outnumbers demand for permanent contracts and postdocs.
As a result, PhD graduates tend to struggle to find a permanent job in academia. As a result, it is not explicit that said PhD students are driving long-term economic growth in the first place.
Through a socio-cultural and wider economic lens, the effort to attract international students is fruitful. The exact ways in which said students will contribute to the labour market in the long-term, however, remains difficult to predict.
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Kathleen Wynne, a Toronto MPP who recently entered the Ontario Liberal leadership bid, met with members of the McMaster Young Liberals at My Dog Joe in Westdale on Nov. 20.
At the small gathering, Wynne addressed topics including affordable housing, healthcare, economic growth, and a struggling post-secondary sector.
Wynne said she would keep Premier McGuinty’s 30 per cent off tuition grant in place and work toward increased access to Ontario’s post-secondary education.
In response to a Ministry discussion paper on education reform in September, Wynne expressed support for online learning as a tool, but said it should not replace traditional modes of learning.
“In some parts of the province we need more online courses. I don’t think we necessarily need a new online institution,” she said. Wynne also said she does not think three-year degrees are the way to go.
Wynne identified economic growth as a priority, and said she would work to balance the budget and ensure the Province stays on target fiscally for 2017-2018.
“We need to develop new, innovative industries, but we also have resources and a mining boom in the North,” said Wynne. “We need to find our place in the supply chain.”
Wynne, former education minister and minister of transportation, recently garnered the support of Ted McMeekin, MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.
Since Dalton McGuinty’s announcement in October that he would step down as Premier and prorogue Parliament, six Liberal MPPs have entered the leadership race. The other candidates are Gerard Kennedy (Toronto), Glen Murray (Toronto), Sandra Pupatello (Windsor) and Charles Sousa (Mississauga).
