When you publish a general-interest magazine under an educational mandate, there’s always a risk that the reporting will be depressing. From the climate crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no shortage of bad news to focus on. One of the ways we navigate this
challenge at The Walrus is by approaching every story through the lens of how it advances or helps contextualize a conversation.
In the September/October 2021 issue of The Walrus, a number of features explore what we’re learning in this time of rapid disruption, change, and growth—reflecting the theme of education, literally or more broadly.
Our cover story, “Students for Sale,” describes the professional industry that has sprung up around the recruitment of international students for Canadian colleges and universities. As Nicholas
Hune-Brown reports, many international students pay high tuition fees, as much in the hope of obtaining permanent residency in Canada as to get a degree. The financial pressure has only risen with pandemic restrictions and reduced access to jobs, and these students must navigate unforgiving bureaucracies with few of the social and familial supports the average domestic student receives.
Other features in this issue challenge some long-standing myths about Canadian exceptionalism—for example, that the country has very different values from those of the United States. In “Province of No Choice,” Jessica Leeder describes the plight of Adrian Edgar, the only doctor in private practice performing surgical abortions in New Brunswick.
This fall, we are developing a new series by writers ages thirteen to eighteen. As teens become increasingly visible in public life, from young environmental activists like Greta Thunberg to the many ways Gen Z is influencing mainstream coverage of politics and culture through platforms like TikTok, they are engaging in the same conversations we explore regularly in The Walrus. In the coming months, we will commission work by young people on everything from science to politics to the arts. If you know a young writer or artist who might be interested in contributing, please direct them to thewalrus.ca/teenwalrus.
A virus that flourishes in fish farms is now threatening wild populations. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, are business interests leading to government inaction?
NEW JOB ALERT: The Walrus has partnered with Justice Fund to offer a great new opportunity for writers: the Justice Fund Writing Residency for Emerging Black Journalists. This is a full-time, paid, six-month residency for early career journalists who identify as Black. The residency begins on November 15, 2021. Apply today!
This week’s newsletter was written by Jessica Johnson, produced by Jason Herterich,and copy-edited by Jonah Brunet. Congratulations to Jane from Owen Sound and Margaret from BC for winning the last six books in our
Summer Reading contest!
Send us an email at letters@thewalrus.ca and your letter may be included in a future issue of The Walrus.
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