44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 31, 2022 10:00AM
- May/31/22 1:10:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars coming from the federal government to fund over 2,000 very important jobs dealing with research, technology and so forth. When we take at look at Canadian society being as diverse as it is, there is an expectation that the government will try, in the best way, to ensure that these appointments reflect the population.
Could the member provide his thoughts on the importance of society being properly reflected in many different spectrums of our communities, including our post-secondary institutions and their research chairs?
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- May/31/22 1:10:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I fully support the notion that institutions of all kinds should be representative of and reflect the extraordinary diversity of the societies in which we live.
Today's debate is not about inclusion. It is about the need to resist the temptation to exclude people, the need to avoid discriminating, even with the best possible intentions, against people who can make a significant contribution to knowledge, science and the betterment of society.
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- May/31/22 1:24:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am wondering if the member could provide me with his idea of what systemic racism looks like and how we could address those barriers without concrete measures like this. This is a measure that the university administrators took upon themselves in order to take a concrete step toward ensuring more diversity and inclusion. They are going to see how it works. We should give them the space to do that work as autonomous institutions.
What does your understanding of systemic racism look like, and how do we address it without measures such as these?
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- May/31/22 1:26:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, indeed, my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles is raising a very important point. The independence of institutions of higher learning is fundamental and essential. Any institution where knowledge is developed and shared, where the leaders of tomorrow hone their critical thinking skills, must not be influenced by any external factors, and certainly not by any government.
These criteria must be applied, enforced and fulfilled, or else funding will be pulled. This is very serious. These are not just objectives for reaching a certain ideal. These objectives are being imposed with serious financial consequences attached for universities. My colleague's question is therefore very relevant. The government, regardless of its political stripes, is playing an extremely dangerous game when it imposes criteria and objectives with financial penalties attached. This is highly problematic.
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- May/31/22 1:51:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is a great example of a success story. That institution should be applauded, and perhaps we should explore what measures they took to ensure that women had adequate representation, specifically in the medical field. These are the conversations that we should be having, but I am sure it is by no accident that the environment was created and that the culture was created to foster women in those positions, in those halls and institutions.
My thanks to the member for bringing that fact to our attention.
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- May/31/22 6:08:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will ask my colleague what he thinks would be a good solution.
He called this a band-aid solution. My fear is that if we do not set some type of goal, we will never really get there. I am a little skeptical about the idea that without requirements or criteria in place, all provinces would improve their institutions and make sure that people do not have barriers, because we have seen for so long that institutions and corporations do not necessarily take that initiative unless there is some reason to do so. I think this could be a motivating factor for them to do so.
What does the member have to say?
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