The federal government is asking Canadians for feedback on how to restore the fiscal balance in postsecondary education. An invitation to share views on postsecondary education - specifically, on overall objectives, government roles and responsibilities, and accountability measures - was posted on the website of Human Resources and Social Development Canada during the second week of August.

Mohammad Gebai, an 18-year-old from Beirut, was not planning to study in Canada. But his plans changed when bombardments during the conflict in Lebanon last summer struck too close to home.

All 16 Quebec universities are forecasting budget deficits for 2006-07, a first in the province's history. The institutions say the situation is unavoidable because of the lack of long-term reinvestment in the university system.

With the creation of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2000, the country embarked on a "bold journey" in its approach to health research funding, said an international panel that was asked to review CIHR's progress in its first five years. The journey has been a success and the progress impressive, said the 27-member panel chaired by John Bell, a professor of medicine at Oxford University.

In 1969, just 100 aboriginal students in Canada were attending university. Today the number is estimated at 30,000.

Canadian academic institutions are having trouble securing funding for early-stage commercialization, according to the Canadian Licensing Survey for fiscal 2004 undertaken by the Association of University Technology Managers. For the first time since the U.

Success breeds success, goes the old adage, and at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council it's also breeding budget pressures. NSERC's new president, Suzanne Fortier, said the huge growth in federal research spending since the late 1990s - including the creation of new programs such as the Canada Research Chairs - has created an influx of new researchers seeking funding.