Dozens of Canadian university professors have signed a letter to Parliament calling on the federal government to end mandated “diversity, equity and inclusion” initiatives in universities.
The Canadian government continues to mandate DEI quotas through its Canada Research Chairs program, a federal initiative intended for the recruitment and retainment of scholars at academic institutions.
In their letter, the 40 signatories highlighted several issues with DEI policies in universities.
“These policies disproportionately punish small institutions, are not supported by evidence, employ flawed metrics with no end goal, and are unpopular with the public who funds the research,” the professors wrote.
They believe the feds should be “abolishing DEI from the Tri-Council agencies.”
The federal “Tri-Council” is made up of Canada’s three federal research 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.
The letter’s authors provided several cases they see as evidence of DEI’s failures.
They cited a Feb. 2024 research report from Wilfrid Laurier University social scientist David Millard Haskell, one of the signatories, which not only found that DEI is ineffective at addressing the issues it claims to address, but that it leads to even more prejudice and bigotry.
“Haskell found that there is no evidence that DEI reduces bias or alters behaviour. In fact, DEI interventions have been shown to do harm by increasing prejudice and activating bigotry,” the professors noted.
The professors also cited a comprehensive analysis of research from the U.K. government finding it is “often near impossible to discern” whether DEI initiatives work.
The professors claimed in their letter that the public is on their side, citing research from Prof. Eric Kaufmann showing 70% of Canadians prefer colour-blind approaches to race rather than affirmative action.
The professors noted that many in academia disagree with DEI, but are scared into silence.
“Many agree with us – including senior, tenured faculty – but will not speak publicly for fear of repercussions,” the professors wrote. “Specifically, they are scared even to question Tri-Council policies relating to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
They added that this fear of repercussions “reinforces our recommendation to abolish (DEI) altogether.”
As previously reported by True North, DEI initiatives and ideology in Canadian academic institutions have been discriminatory, divisive and expensive.
Several universities have engaged in restricting hiring practices to meet DEI quotas.
Quebec City’s Laval University had a Canada Research Chairs job posting that was closed to able-bodied white men, the University of Waterloo was looking exclusively for professors who identified as “gender-fluid,” women, sexual minorities or visible minorities to fill similar positions. The University of Toronto, meanwhile, outright barred white people from a Canada Research Chairs education position while UBC had a medicine position opened exclusively to people with disabilities.
True North also reported on racially segregated DEI graduation ceremonies and freshmen orientations taking place at many Canadian universities. Racially segregated DEI student lounges, swim times and other racially segregated events have also been observed on Canadian campuses.
Documents leaked to True North’s Lindsay Shepherd meanwhile revealed troubling times within Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Social Work, with the Indigenous faculty members and the black dean accusing each other of racism.
Another True North investigation found that top Ontario universities are spending millions on six-figure salaries for DEI officials.
Canadian officials have also suggested that DEI quotas may continue even after diversity targets are met.