Head of Canadian Think Tank Is Apparently Dismissed by BlackBerry Mogul

The director of Canada’s best-endowed policy think tank is apparently out of a job, according to an article in today’s Globe and Mail that says that John English, a respected academic, was fired for failing to give the Centre for International Governance Innovation a high enough profile and sufficient influence. The center was founded seven years ago by Jim Balsillie, the BlackBerry chief executive, and is linked to the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. The billionaire businessman gave Mr. English, a former professor of history, instructions to attract the best policy scholars in the world, but the newspaper says problems slowed down that mandate. The center now has 60 senior fellows, researchers, and staff members. On Wednesday, Mr. English refused to comment to the local Waterloo paper. A search is on for a new director. Until then, Thomas A. Bernes, former director of the independent evaluation office at the International Monetary Fund, is acting director.