Minister Duncan replies to URegina professor’s criticism of Canada 150 Research Chairs program

“The Canada 150 Research Chairs program … is designed to help universities attract top-tier international researchers, including Canadian scientists working abroad,” writes Canada’s Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan in response to a recent editorial by University of Regina Professor Raymond Blake. In the piece, Blake argued that limiting the Canada 150 Research Chairs program to non-Canadian and expat-Canadian researchers was both unproductive and unfair for Canada and its domestic researchers. Duncan replies, however, that “the new program complements the many other generous programs and investments our government has put in place to support researchers in Canada,” which includes more than $3B in annual funding that domestic researchers can access through the tri-council funding agencies. Duncan concludes that “it is my firm belief that our scientists and scholars are not inclined to build walls that block others from joining our rich culture of research.” Regina Leader-Post