The federal government is spending millions on equity, diversity, and inclusion research: Dave Snow in the Hub – MLI

April 2, 2024

There’s been a lot of discussion and debate in recent months about the extent to which the Canadian government and the country’s universities and colleges are being influenced by the steady rise of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

Some argue it’s a serious problem that is coming at the expense of the pursuit of knowledge and truth. Others argue these concerns are overstated. In a national post-secondary landscape with hundreds of public and private institutions, thousands of faculty members, and millions of students, it can be difficult to generalize. Yet there have been few efforts to systematically analyze the actual effect of EDI on Canadian public institutions.

To explore this issue, I completed a review of how the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)—a major federal granting agency at the intersection of government and academia—has implemented EDI. It may not be a perfect proxy for the post-secondary sector as a whole but SSHRC’s policies and programs provide a useful empirical window into these broader debates.

Read More: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/federal-government-spending-millions-on-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-research-dave-snow-in-the-hub/