(Ottawa,
September 28, 2009) Minister Gary Goodyear’s office threatened to
withhold federal budget funding for the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council (SSHRC) over its decision to fund a controversial
academic conference, according to an email obtained by CAUT through
Access to Information.
CAUT first learned in June that Minister
Goodyear had telephoned SSHRC president Chad Gaffield to insist on
reconsideration of a peer-reviewed decision to fund an academic
conference called “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and
Paths to Peace” held at York University later that month.
“At
the time we considered this personal intervention by the minister so
serious we called for his resignation,” said CAUT executive director
James Turk. “Little did we know then that the phone call was apparently
accompanied by a threat from the minister’s office to withhold
increases in federal budget funding.”
Marked “Extremely Urgent,”
and sent to SSHRC president Chad Gaffield on June 5, 2009, the email is
written by SSHRC’s communications manager Trevor Lynn and describes
what he has just been told by Minister Goodyear’s Chief of Staff,
Phillip Welford:
“He [Welford] said that this is a serious issue
and is so serious that it will make it hard for the Minister to
recommend increased funding for SSHRC in the next budget."
“This
email raises serious questions about how decisions are made about
federal government funding for academic granting councils,” said Turk.
“Minister Goodyear must be called upon to explain his chief of staff’s
actions, and if he cannot provide an adequate explanation, Prime
Minister Harper must safeguard the integrity of academic research in
Canada by asking for the minister’s resignation.”
The original email can be viewed in PDF format
here.
CAUT represents over 65,000 academic staff at 121 universities and colleges across Canada.
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For more information e-mail Kerry Pither, CAUT Communications, at
[hidden email].
--
Tracey P. Lauriault
613-234-2805
https://gcrc.carleton.ca/confluence/display/GCRCWEB/Lauriault
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