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House Hansard - 144

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 8, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22
Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)
  • Dec/8/22 2:59:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Quebec's National Assembly passed a unanimous motion on academic freedom: THAT [the National Assembly] reiterate that promoting greater representation of under-represented target groups must always happen in a context of equal qualifications; THAT it denounce the interference of the federal government, which funds research chair programs according to certain criteria that do not reflect the specificity of Quebec. Instead of imposing its ideological agenda, why will Ottawa not let Quebec manage research chairs?
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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22
Hon. François-Philippe Champagne (Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)
  • Dec/8/22 2:59:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. As he knows, Canada's research councils are independent from government. Canadians and Quebeckers tuning in today should know that our government has invested more in science than any other government, nearly $16 billion since coming to power. I think that is the right thing to do because we all agree that the best decisions are the ones based on facts and science.
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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22
Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)
  • Dec/8/22 3:00:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is not about money, it is about criteria. The research chair funding criteria no longer have anything to do with research. The nature of the research itself no longer counts. What counts is the nature of the researcher, assessed against the following criteria: skin colour, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation and disability. The last person anyone wants as a researcher is an average white man. We agree that all kinds of people should be better represented. Among equally qualified applicants, under-represented minorities should get priority. How is excluding a group of people consistent with a policy of inclusion?
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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22
Hon. François-Philippe Champagne (Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)
  • Dec/8/22 3:01:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. We all agree on inclusion and diversity. That is certainly the directive that the research councils have been given. As my hon. colleague well knows, the criteria are determined by the research councils. What we are doing as the government is investing in science and in research chairs. I am sure that, as members of the House, we all want to foster diversity and inclusion through science and society in general.
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