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John Calvert
Adjunct Professor
John Calvert
Adjunct Professor
Areas of interest
Public policy, economics, occupational health & safety, international trade law & health
Education
- BA, University of Western Ontario
- MA, University of Western Ontario
- PhD, London School of Economics
Biography
Prior to his retirement in 2021, John Calvert was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences for 14 years where he taught courses on the Canadian health care system, international trade agreements and health policy. He has published a number of books and articles on Canadian and international public policy and economic issues. From 2007 to 2021 he was on the Committee of Management of four SSHRC-funded Work in a Warming World (W3) research grants on labour and climate change. He was also co-chair of the BC component of a 2013 5-year SSHRC funded research project on Canada’s disability system. Prior to coming to Simon Fraser University, he worked for 8 years in the BC government as a policy analyst in the Ministries of Labour, Employment & Investment, Crown Corporations Secretariat and the Cabinet Policy and Planning Secretariat. Previous to that he worked as a senior research officer for the Canadian Union of Public Employees in its Ottawa office. This included research on collective bargaining issues, privatization and the role of the public sector in Canada’s economy. His work with CUPE also involved analyzing how international trade agreements are re-shaping Canada’s public and social policies and he still retains an interest in the question of how NAFTA, WTO and various bilateral investment treaties impact health policies, both in Canada and internationally. His previous voluntary activities have included membership in the board of the Wilderness Committee (BC’s largest membership based environmental NGO) and the Research Advisory Committee of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Issues.
Research interests
His current research focuses on climate change and the construction industry. He has been working with the building trades’ unions to develop and implement climate literacy curriculum modules for their apprenticeship programs. He is part of a team of 6 international scholars that specialize in vocational education and training in the construction sector. This research is funded by a 5-year grant from the Federal Government to Canada’s Building Trades’ Unions (CBTU) under its Union Training and Apprenticeship Program (UTIP). Buildings and the construction industry account for 18% of Canada’s GHG emissions. Reducing their climate footprint can make an important contribution to addressing global warming. But for this to occur, it is essential that the trades’ workforce has the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge required to implement low carbon, or net zero, building practice successfully as well as an understanding of why this is now so important and the contribution they can make to achieving this goal. He is also researching the impact of global warming on the future of work, including how it will affect the kinds of jobs people will perform, the skills and training they will require and the extent to which ‘green’ working practices can be integrated into the jobs people do.
Teaching interests
As he is now retired, Dr. Calvert’s is no longer actively teaching. However, he continues to do guest lectures on climate and labour issues and has been making presentations about his research on construction labour and climate issues to various national and international conferences.
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