Michael J Armstrong

"Through the National Wastewater Drug Surveillance (NWDS) initiative, Health Canada analyzes wastewater samples for the presence of drugs, drug metabolites and precursor chemicals"

health-infobase.canada.ca/substances/w...

How university cuts impact campus life University professors and students are learning tough lessons about the impact of cuts on their campuses as cash-strapped universities across Canada struggle to find ways to drive down costs.

Quebec's cash-strapped universities are cancelling varsity sports for students & sabbaticals for profs, along with many other things.

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

Thanks to CBC Moncton & CBC Calgary for interviewing me last week about the legal cannabis industry.

Since legalization, Alberta has collected most cannabis tax revenue per capita of any province | CBC News Ontario took in the greatest provincial share of revenue — $1.5 billion — with Alberta coming in second at just over $1 billion, despite having less than a third of Ontario's population.

Alberta collects more cannabis taxes per capita because it has many licensed stores & charges a higher excise tax than any other province.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Ontario Cannabis Store earned $234 million but taxpayers got nothing The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is now the most lucrative provincial cannabis agency in Canada, thanks to four consecutive profitable years selling recreational cannabis. Yet throughout that time, it...

Here's an article I wrote about government cannabis revenues 2 years ago.

policyoptions.irpp.org/2023/11/onta...

Canada collected over $5.4B in cannabis tax revenue since legalization | CBC News Ottawa and the provinces raked in more than $5.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue since the drug was legalized for recreational use in October 2018.

Since recreational cannabis became legal in 2018, the Canadian government has collected $1.2 billion in taxes while the provinces got $4.2 billion.

Ontario got the largest total $ amount, while Alberta got the most per capita.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Prestigious Chicago brewing school relocating to Montreal amid U.S. regulatory changes | CBC News The Siebel Institute of Technology, North America’s oldest brewing school, is moving from Chicago to Montreal in January 2026. The relocation is aimed at improving accessibility for international stud...

“recent regulatory changes in the U.S. have made it much more challenging for international students, who have become the majority of the school’s student body, to attend classes in person.”

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Alcohol industry disappointed to be left out of interprovincial trade agreement | CBC News Some in the alcohol industry say they’re perplexed and disappointed that booze was left out of a recent agreement between provinces to drop interprovincial trade barriers.

"Alcohol is still a direct or indirect state monopoly that generates money for the province. And so the removal of those barriers threatens their ability to make money."

www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

FYI #EpiSky

This line chart shows enrollment trends at Canadian colleges and universities from 2013-2014 to 2023-2024. The top 3 field of study all showed increases: business, social sciences, and health care. Note that 2023-2024 was the last year before the federal government imposed caps on international student enrollments.

Canadian college & university enrollments rose 5.8% in 2023-2024. That was the last year before the federal government began limiting international student visas. Business, social sciences, & health care remained the 3 biggest fields.

www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quo...

FYI @bretdevereaux.bsky.social

Exhibit digs into Niagara wine industry’s historic roots A new Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre exhibit is bringing Niagara’s winemaking heritage to life with support from several Brock University departments. Modeled after similar exhibits in museums in ...

"the exhibit connects Niagara’s modern wine industry with its roots, going all the back to the 1800s, and showcases how science and education helped grow a world class wine region" 🍷

brocku.ca/brock-news/2...

Trump’s aggression in the Caribbean could violate a Victorian-era court ruling on cannibalism at sea A landmark 1884 court ruling essentially outlawed ‘murder by necessity’ on the high seas. Is Donald Trump running afoul of the law with his boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific?

This article by @brocku.ca coworker Martin Danahay describes how Trump's form of “murder by necessity,” was essentially outlawed in a landmark case in 1884'.

theconversation.com/trumps-aggre...

Canada seeks star academics from abroad, but stable funding for higher education remains a concern | CBC News Proponents believe a current push to recruit star researchers from abroad will mean top-tier learning for Canadian students and a boost to research innovation and excellence. Yet concerns remain about...

'"If you increase the number of scientists that will apply for the same budget, it will be a terrible type of situation," he said, with even tougher competition and even more excellent proposals left unfunded'

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This line plot displays Statistics Canada's estimates of the number of Canadian travelers returning from the USA by airplane each month. For each month, the count was lower in 2025 than in 2024. The solid line represents final counts and the dashed line represents leading indicator estimates.

12% fewer Canadians have visited the USA by air.

This line plot displays Statistics Canada estimates of the number of Canadian travelers returning from the USA by land (e.g., by car) each month. For each month from February onward, the count was lower in 2025 than in 2024. The solid line represents final counts and the dashed line represents leading indicator estimates.

30% fewer Canadians have visited the USA by land in 2025 so far, compared to 2024.

Here is a working link to the original Poppy File map, which shows about 3,300 of Toronto's Second World War war dead at the household level. Click on a home to see details. The First World War map follows in the thread /1 t.co/4P9GUkl8m0

'Manufactured crisis': Fentanyl seized at Canadian border by U.S. authorities plummets After a brief spike in the volume of fentanyl seized in April and May, the numbers have plummeted to their lowest level since 2023.

'Manufactured crisis': Fentanyl seized at Canadian border by U.S. authorities plummets #CanadaSky #USpol #EconSky #cdnpoli #Canada nationalpost.com/news/canada/...

Legal and Illegal Sources of Cannabis in Germany Shortly After Legalisation - International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction The aim of this study is to examine cannabis sources shortly after the legalisation of recreational cannabis possession and cultivation and liberalisation of medical cannabis prescription in Germany i...

Good morning!
Our new paper compared different types of cannabis sources in a sample of 1500 users after cannabis #legalisation in DEU.

At the time of data collection in Dec 2024, about 50% of users have obtained at least some of their cannabis from legal sources.
doi.org/10.1007/s11469-025-01574-3

Zohran Mamdani’s transformative child care plan builds on a history of NYC social innovations Mamdani’s child care plans could set an example for other policymakers to follow, as Democratic and Republican voters say child care costs are a major problem.

"of Mamdani’s campaign commitments, free high-quality child care for every New Yorker from 6 weeks to 5 years old – while boosting child care workers’ wages to match that of the city’s public school teachers – could be the most transformative."
@brocku.ca
theconversation.com/zohran-mamda...

They're not the big-ticket items, but these 5 budget items could impact you | CBC News They might not get the flashy headlines, but sprinkled throughout Tuesday’s budget and its digital-only annexes are several measures that could impact the lives of many Canadians. We take a closer loo...

The Canadian government is cutting its reimbursement to veterans for medically prescribed cannabis from $8.50 to $6 per gram.

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Budget cuts international student permits by 65 per cent in 2026 - University Affairs Carney government also proposes $1.7 billion to recruit international researchers.

If the feds cut international student enrollment my 65%, there'll be no point in spending billions to attract new professors. Universities will be doing mass layoffs of their existing ones.

universityaffairs.ca/news/budget-...

How AI is challenging the credibility of some online courses AI agents can navigate course sites, consume materials and complete assignments, effectively simulating student engagement.

"some researchers have raised concerns regarding the quality and student outcomes associated with asynchronous online courses. As well, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has exposed fundamental challenges to this mode of delivery"
@brocku.ca

theconversation.com/how-ai-is-ch...

Британские ученые доказали: в 1854 году в Крыму их генерал не ошибся (The Conversation) (The Conversation, Австралия) Реконструкцию известного эпизода Крымской войны вывели на математический уровень. Была ли смелая атака британской кавалерии, в которой погибли две трети... | 28.10.2019, ИноСМИ

Or if you prefer the story in Russian:
могла ли атака легкой кавалерии в Балаклавском сражении завершиться успехом?

inosmi.ru/20191028/246...

Could the Charge of the Light Brigade have worked? The Charge of the Light Brigade was brave but fruitless. Could it have worked if the feuding British leaders had interpreted their orders differently?

In fairness, the British didn't do much better in that Crimean conflict ...

theconversation.com/could-the-ch...

Rising temperatures in Bordeaux usher in a golden age for cabernet sauvignon Grape growers are changing their approaches to adapt to the warming climate

The changing climate in Bordeaux has led the industry to welcome new grape varieties to maintain quality winemaking in the future, but Château Mouton Rothschild and other properties in Pauillac welcome “the golden age of cabernet sauvignon.”
www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/f...

‘Lick the science’: This university is using craft beer to show off its ag research A Saskatchewan researcher has brewed a beer that allows consumers to taste and talk about advancements made in the agriculture sector.

A PhD student studying beer yeast has put her theories into practice.

www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

As tastes change, Alberta’s craft brewers expand their offerings | CBC News According to Statistics Canada, beer consumption in Alberta has declined over the past decade. During the same time period, the market share of ciders, coolers and ready-to-drink cocktails has doubled...

"The craft beer boom peaked in 2018 in the province, said Blair Berdusco with the Alberta Small Brewers Association"

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

‘If there is no demand, we can’t operate’: Small landlords ponder future after foreign student cuts The case for investing in student housing isn’t as obvious as it once was as the federal cap on international students enters its second year

"it could be difficult for property owners to hold on to their properties when they are losing money. He predicts the situation will lead many owners to default on the mortgages and face foreclosure"

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

"exports of American spirits fell 9% year-over-year in the second quarter, driven by ongoing trade tensions"

US spirits exports fell 85% to Canada, 29% to Britain, 23% to Japan, & 12% to Europe. 🍸

#EconSky
www.distilledspirits.org/news/america...