The Maple Monitor 2: Gender Gaps, Vehicle Attacks, and NATO Security
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): A Further Inquiry
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/09/07
Irina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security attorney based in New York and Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in National and Intercultural Studies and Middle East Studies from Fordham University in 2006, followed by a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 2009. She operates a boutique national security law practice. She serves as President of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security strategic advisory firm. Additionally, she is the Editor-in-Chief of The Washington Outsider, which focuses on foreign policy, geopolitics, security, and human rights. She is actively involved in several professional organizations, including the American Bar Association’s Energy, Environment, and Science and Technology Sections, where she serves as Program Vice Chair in the Oil and Gas Committee. She is also a member of the New York City Bar Association. She serves on the Middle East and North Africa Affairs Committee and affiliates with the Foreign and Comparative Law Committee.
In conversation with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Tsukerman discusses the widening gender gaps in higher education, noting women’s majority in Canadian universities and the need for new pathways and skill-focused curricula to engage men without undermining women’s progress. They examine workplace implications, automation, and the importance of lateral and technical skills. Shifting topics, they analyze the April 2025 Lapu-Lapu Festival vehicle attack in Vancouver, stressing the need for both physical barriers and psychological profiling to prevent future mass violence. Finally, they explore the disappearance of a Canadian Armed Forces member in Latvia, considering natural hazards, foul play, and potential Russian or Belarusian interference.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We are starting Maple Monitor, round two. It is September 5. For today’s sources, would you prefer The Globe and Mail or CBC? What did we use last time—CBC? We did both. All right, let us stick with The Globe and Mail. Next time I will try CBC. This has been a hot topic for years. Joe Friesen—The Globe and Mail’s postsecondary reporter—has covered the widening gender gap in higher education. The lead idea is that universities should consider what might entice more men back to campus.
Irina Tsukerman: The data support a persistent gap. Canadian undergraduate populations are roughly 60% women and 40% men, and the pattern has held for about two decades. Similar gaps appear across the OECD and in the United States, where young women outpace young men in degree attainment. Causes are multifactorial: differences in academic preparation and motivation, labour-market signals that draw some men into trades or immediate work, and program-choice patterns. Canada does not use U.S.-style quota affirmative action in university admissions; outreach exists, but broad gender-based preferences displacing men is not supported by evidence.
Men remain overrepresented in apprenticeships and trades, and the military is still male-skewed. Relationship dynamics have adjusted to the “reversed” education gap; some highly educated women partner with less-educated men, and educational matching has shifted rather than collapsed. Claims that female-majority campuses are less competitive or overly theoretical are hypotheses, not established facts. The practical policy conversation is about improving boys’ and men’s K–12 preparation, advising, and on-ramps into postsecondary—while preserving women’s gains.
They will not necessarily take into account the diversity in workplaces—the fact that men and women work together. Universities may cater to the interests, biases, perceptions, or needs of one group more than the other, which can create problems later in the workplace. This can also make some universities less competitive and leave graduates less prepared compared to earlier generations.
That does not mean fewer women should be admitted to colleges or that men should be forced into university if they are not interested. What it does suggest is that we should re-evaluate how education is structured. There may be additional, independent pathways that attract a broader range of students without “social engineering,” while offering skills that are relevant in today’s complex world—especially as many entry-level positions are being eliminated by automation and AI.
Universities should emphasize lateral thinking, advanced technical skills at earlier stages, and preparation for an increasingly competitive, technology-driven environment. If universities attract primarily women, it may be because they are not adequately teaching the types of skills men tend to pursue. This imbalance risks not only social friction and relationship mismatches, but also gaps in vital industry sectors needed for economic development.
Jacobsen: Moving to another topic—the Lapu-Lapu Festival tragedy. That festival already has a record, and a recent report recommends Vancouver adopt measures to mitigate vehicle attacks. On April 26, 2025, a vehicle-ramming attack occurred during the Lapu-Lapu Day Filipino heritage celebration. Eleven people were killed and 32 injured, surpassing the toll of the 2018 Toronto van attack. The United States has seen more of these attacks, both in absolute terms and on a per-capita basis. The call for preventative measures seems reasonable.
Tsukerman: Such measures should work both ways: first, by making it more difficult for vehicles to ram into crowds—something New York City pursued after the Times Square attack—and second, by strengthening intelligence and community-level preparedness.
They built blocks to make it more difficult for cars to enter civilian areas. But that’s only part of the problem. First, the blocks are ugly. Second, they’re cumbersome for people with baby carriages, suitcases, or equipment during festivities. They make it harder to move quickly when streets are crowded.
The second issue is understanding why these attacks are becoming more frequent in Western countries, and why more people are seeking to inflict mass casualties. Are these incidents primarily driven by suicidal individuals who also want to take others with them? Are they hate crimes aimed at specific groups? Or are they nihilistic acts by people craving attention through easily executed violence that is hard to stop in advance?
If attackers show signs of instability, rage, or a proclivity for violence, perhaps they should be monitored more closely. We should profile vehicle-attack perpetrators as we do other types of mass violence. These events have often been treated as random and unpredictable, but the rise in frequency suggests patterns. In countries with strong gun control, vehicle ramming may be a substitute method, reflecting the same mindset behind mass shootings. In some cases, they may even be politically motivated terrorist acts that have not been fully recognized as such. Prevention must address the psychological and motivational drivers, not just the logistical barriers. Simply making ramming harder won’t stop violence from manifesting in other forms.
Jacobsen: This is quite interesting. An investigation is underway after a Canadian Armed Forces member deployed in Latvia was reported missing, according to the Department of National Defence. Canadian operations in Latvia have been ongoing for years, with deployments in the four-figure range. That’s public knowledge—it isn’t new.
Tsukerman: What stands out in this strange case is that it’s not the first. Only last year, American Armed Forces members went missing in the region, some later found dead and repatriated. The reasons were never fully clarified. This concerns me because there are two possible explanations. One is natural causes: perhaps they trained in dangerous areas like bogs or marshes. Latvia’s geography includes such terrain, which can be treacherous.
Rain or other natural conditions could complicate training and lead to more accidents. If that is the reason for these strange occurrences and people going missing, then perhaps everyone should take time to re-evaluate how training is conducted and adopt measures to keep personnel safer.
On the other hand, if foul play is involved, that is a different matter. There are regions of Latvia, especially near the Russian border, with large Russian-speaking populations that have been deemed unsafe for tourism and even some law enforcement activity. If incidents are happening there, and if there is outside intervention, then that must be investigated and understood.
If people are being killed under unclear circumstances, abducted, or taken hostage, that raises serious concerns. The fact that there have already been a couple of such incidents in the country suggests a possible pattern, not just isolated accidents. The presence of NATO strategic areas nearby raises further questions about overall security. With growing fears of Russian intrusion—and even possible Belarusian involvement—there is reason to consider whether sabotage could be targeting NATO-linked operations and training exercises. At the very least, it warrants closer scrutiny.
Jacobsen: Excellent. Thank you. I’ll talk to you next week.
Tsukerman: Sounds good. Bye.
Last updated May 3, 2025. These terms govern all In-Sight Publishing content—past, present, and future—and supersede any prior notices. In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons BY‑NC‑ND 4.0; © In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen 2012–Present. All trademarks, performances, databases & branding are owned by their rights holders; no use without permission. Unauthorized copying, modification, framing or public communication is prohibited. External links are not endorsed. Cookies & tracking require consent, and data processing complies with PIPEDA & GDPR; no data from children < 13 (COPPA). Content meets WCAG 2.1 AA under the Accessible Canada Act & is preserved in open archival formats with backups. Excerpts & links require full credit & hyperlink; limited quoting under fair-dealing & fair-use. All content is informational; no liability for errors or omissions: Feedback welcome, and verified errors corrected promptly. For permissions or DMCA notices, email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com. Site use is governed by BC laws; content is “as‑is,” liability limited, users indemnify us; moral, performers’ & database sui generis rights reserved.
In-Sight Publishing 