Federal funding commitments can determine how much or how quickly provinces advance their own agenda items, and Alberta wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to know his to-do list will have to wait.
Premier Danielle Smith has announced the province will take steps to bolster the work she sees as most important to Alberta and its United Conservative government through a bill introduced this month. Ottawa’s latest attempts to confront the federal government continue to reinforce the party’s view that the Liberal Mr. Trudeau is imposing his ideological agenda on Albertans.
“Albertans don’t want federal funds to demonstrate our moral character to the world or to enhance Canada’s reputation internationally,” Ms. Smith said at a news conference on April 10. “After all, a large portion of these funds From hard-working Alberta. “Taxpayers come first, but this federal government hasn’t let reality get in the way of a good title and has never missed an opportunity to wrest more control from the provinces. “
(Read Ian Austin’s 2022 article: Western Canada Conservatives pass law rejecting federal sovereignty)
The bill, known as the Provincial Priorities Act, would essentially make the Alberta government the arbiter of federal funding deals and give it the power to void agreements its municipalities and health agencies have with agencies like Ottawa. The government said it plans to consult on the bill this summer, with it expected to come into force in early 2025.
The proposed legislation also covers higher education institutions, raising alarm among university administrations who fear the government could impede academic freedom.
Higher Education Minister Rajan Sawhney did not attend the press conference announcing the bill to take questions and has remained largely silent on the issue. But Ms Smith provided some insight behind the government’s thinking on the CBC plan”power and politics,” she said there isn’t enough “balance” on college campuses, and she plans to complete a review of federal research grants to assess gaps. She’s focused on journalism schools and her idea that there isn’t enough conservative inclusion in those programs. Send reporters and commentators.
“I’ve gotten enough indications that the federal government is using its power through researchers to fund only certain types of opinions, certain types of researchers, and I think that’s unfair,” she said, adding that this could mean The province is using some of its “own spending power” to support the study.
But the University of Calgary Students’ Union says years of staggering financial cuts to Alberta’s colleges and universities have created a higher education system that is “on life support.” reply to the provincial budget due in February.
University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan said in a statement that he and other higher education partners would use the bill’s consultation period to push for “targeted exemptions.”
Federal research grants are adjudicated by independent peer review panels, and grants are allocated by three main agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Daniel Paul O’Donnell, president of the Federation of Alberta Teachers’ Associations and an English professor at the University of Lethbridge, sits on some of those committees.
“People may be self-censoring to make sure they can get through the Alberta bureaucracy,” he said.
He told me about the rigorous process behind each application review, as well as the various criteria that drive grant approval decisions, such as the researcher’s qualifications and the university’s ability to support research.
“It is unethical to create a research question just to ensure funding is obtained by aligning with the interests of the provincial government,” Professor O’Donnell said.
Trans Canada
Vjosa Isai is a reporter and researcher for The New York Times in Toronto.
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