He is strongly involved with First Nations issues across Canada. Currently, he is an expert witness in three cases about land claim disputes by First Nations people.

Lazar’s reasoning for studying economics was that he had no interest in medicine, law or science. Subsequently, he chose Commerce and Finance in order to avoid taking English classes — ironically, his career has involved a great deal of writing and communication.

The area of economics is intriguing to Lazar because it covers such a broad spectrum of topics.

“Almost every major issue during the past 30-40 years has required some degree of economic analysis,” he writes. “I have become increasingly more interested in finding the flaws in the mainstream economic theories.”

Becoming a professor hadn’t been his intention initially, however, when the job posting came to light, Lazar decided to apply as he needed the money. He was still in grad school completing his thesis at this stage.

There are two primary reasons he has remained in academia the past five decades. One is because he has the freedom to work in all the aforementioned areas, which also allows him to continually learn. The second reason is the freedom permitted him the ability to remain present in his children’s lives as they grew up.

Over the past five decades he has noticed that his students general age range hasn’t changed, which has allowed him to see how each generation adapts and uses technology. It’s also given him the ability to see how their thought processes have changed over the years. Though, interacting with and learning from his students has been his favorite aspect.