- Pam Provis
Pam Provis is an academic at
Carleton University and Iqaluit State University (a division ofNunavut Arctic College ). She has been an important theorist regardingbicameralism in the subnationalCanadian context.Educated at Canada's Capital University, she ventured up north to Iqualuit State University to receive her M.A. and later her PhD. During her doctoral studies, she wrote her
thesis on Northern development strategies. Entitled, "Los Inuitos – Latin Americans in Canada: A Chance to Develop the North", it became abestseller in theCanadian territories and won her prized support from the governing Liberal Party. It later was the basis for awhite paper released by the government in 2000.She was helped by Liberal staffer Jeniffer "Niffer" Beckermann, known in many parts as "the daughter of the kitcheners of Kitchener," in reference to her family's kitchen industry fortune.
During the time she was working as a TA during her graduate studies, the idea behind "Latin Americans in Canada: A Chance to Develop the North" was originally conjured up by several of Provis' students during a long journey to a political convention in
Windsor, Ontario . Once they returned home, they discussed their ideas with Provis, which centred on enticing colonists from abroad, nicknamed "los inuitos", to move to the North using extensive advertising overseas, better transportation, and low cost land offerings. Provis was so fascinated by their basic concept that she took the next flight toEllesmere Island and theNunavut mainland to conduct extensive research on the feasibility of immigrant settlements. After meeting withInuit leaders, she headed toMexico for an international conference. When she heard of the extensive problem oflandlessness there, where she spent several extra months in theYucatán ,Oaxaca ,Mexico City andQuintana Roo studying the population to analyse whether they could indeed live well in the Canadian territories. She wrote her thesis immediately upon her return to Canada.Provis lives with her longtime boyfriend on top of a Chinese restaurant called
Mekong . The two expect to be married later this year and expect their first child in the coming months. Interestingly, her boyfriend has already agreed to take on her last name to show his love for Provis and his devotion tofeminist causes. Mr. Provis is a northern Oil Baron who owns Provis and Sons Drilling Ltd.Pam Provis is pursuing a second degree in Development Studies with a specialisation in African and Middle East Affairs. As such, she is a frequent commentator for the BBC on regional issues, be they Canadian or African. See " [http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:bPTm0p7qoUUJ:news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4185550.stm+%22pam+provis%22&hl=en Can aid do more harm than good?] ". She has also published a notorious paper entitled [http://www.carleton.ca/polisci/Polity/Iranian%20Revolution.pdf The Iranian Revolution of 1979: An Illustration of a Secular Uprising] , in which she argues that 1979 revolution had secular rather than religious motives.
Controversy
Recent allegations have arisen that Ms. Provis still has library fines at
MacOdrum Library of Carleton University (see [http://www.carleton.ca/akcess/news.html AKC"newsroom"] ). According the Carleton University regulations, those with outstanding library fines are not permitted to receive grades or their diploma. As such, Ms. Provis has technically not graduated from Carleton, did not qualify for entry into her degree programmes at Iqaluit State University. Therefore, her MA and Ph.D. accreditations are currently in limbo.Furthermore, she is quoted as having said, "We will feed you but we refuse to help you feed yourself because that is bad for business," in 2005. To whom she was referring is unclear, but her comments did garner her open support from the Tories and the
extreme right .Family History
Provis is thought to descend from the Australian [http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/robertel/Provis.htm Provis family] .
[http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/robertel/JsoephJanetta2.jpgProvis' ancestors, Joseph and Janetta Provis, in 1870s Australia]
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