Hour 2 of Ottawa Now for Tues. July 8th, 2025

Another learning season is officially in the books, and today’s educators are already preparing for September’s re-opening. But before any Fall planning could commence, students and teachers needed to find some time to celebrate this year’s accolades, especially for the students who won’t be coming back. During graduation ceremonies, schools across the country are dishing out awards to recognize students who have demonstrated an impeccable standard of intellectual excellence. Critics fear that a lack of focus on overall improvements, as well as leadership excellence, could drain motivation and create anxiety in the post-secondary world. Is it time for today’s schools to re-examine the criteria for graduation awards, or perhaps create new awards that better showcase our students’ creativity? Kristy Cameron digs deeper with Dr. Linda Iwenofu, an Assistant Professor in Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She is based in Toronto, and she is also a clinical child psychologist. Meantime, the Downtown cores of Canada’s major cities remain at half of the foot traffic before COVID touched down in 2020. That’s despite a growing push from employers to return employees to their workspaces multiple times a week, as a slow uptick had tapered off in 2024 and remains steady in 2025. Here to crunch those numbers in Hour 2 is Mary Rowe, the CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute.