Several members of the postsecondary community—including the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA)—are calling for the Government of Alberta to amend or cancel the proposed Bill 18. CAUT urged AB to withdraw or amend the bill to protect scientific integrity and academic freedom, with CAUT executive director David Robinson indicating that the organization is preparing to potentially challenge the bill if it becomes law. AASUA President Gordon Swaters penned an article for the Edmonton Journal discussing how granting agencies award funding through a rigorous process, where subject-matter experts decide on the allocation of research dollars. Swaters argued that this process should be free of political interference. An article in The Conversation by University of Alberta PhD students Ping Lam Ip and Andrea DeKeseredy provides a look at SSHRC-funded research projects, arguing that “[t]here is simply no factual basis to suggest that federal agencies favour liberal or leftist research.”
