“Exclusion” in the allocation of research chairs: the movement of a defeated mass

OTTAWA – A majority of elected federal officials on Wednesday rejected a bloc’s proposal aimed at ending the “semi-systematic exclusion” in employment, under the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, of candidates who are not people with a disability, visible minorities, Indigenous people or women.

The text of the proposal urged the government to “review the program criteria (of basic research centers) to ensure that grants are made on the basis of science and not on identity or irrelevant criteria.” Research topic “.

She was defeated by 178 votes, despite 148 votes in favour. Conservatives supported the bloc, but Democrats and neo-liberals opposed it.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Quebec parliamentary bloc leader Alain Terrain described the inclusion and equity goals of the CRC program as “a good idea initially (which) led to more harmful and more negative consequences”.

“Finally, they imposed quotas and decided to almost systematically exclude candidates who did not conform to () the four (specified) characteristics.”

The CRC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan sets out the percentages that must be achieved by 2029 for presidential positions. Four categories are matched to the targets, namely people with a disability, members of visible minorities, indigenous people, or women.

The target is 22% for people from visible minorities.

“In Rimouski, we have reached 2% and yet all universities (…) must reach the limit of 22% of people from visible minorities. It is an aberration caused by the approach of the federal government,” said Cluster spokesman for Innovation and Science, Maxime Blanchett Juncas.

CRC’s diversity thresholds made headlines at the end of March, when humorist Jay Nantel denounced the exclusion of the “non-disabled white man” from a call for applications from University Laval under the Ottawa-sponsored program.