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Jamie Sarkonak: U of A rejecting DEI is all smoke

Identity quotas aren't going anywhere, but its a start, I suppose

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Before the University of Alberta’s board of governors removed diversity, equity and inclusion from its recruitment policy during its Friday meeting, the school’s provost assured the room that it wouldn’t make a practical difference.

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“Just to be really clear, we have not put research EDI at risk,” Verna Yiu said in response to someone who’d asked whether the policy change would put federal funding in jeopardy. She answered in the negative: “We are not at risk of noncompliance.”

Jamie Sarkonak: U of A rejecting DEI is all smoke Back to video

The old recruitment policy prioritized “historically under-represented” candidates by favouring them over others in the event of a tie, while the new one aims to find the “broadest pool of qualified candidates.” However, this is not a rejection of demographic preferences.

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Just over 10 per cent of the university’s budget comes from what it classifies as “federal and other government grants.” Some of these require universities to discriminate on the basis of identity when selecting recipients. If the provost is confident that these funds are safe, we can be sure that DEI isn’t going anywhere.

For example, the federal Canada Research Chairs program, which provides large multi-year grants for leading scholars to advance in their fields, is bound by a strict quota system. If a university hits its limit for white applicants (and non-white applicants who don’t self-identify as racial minorities on the form, since they are also treated as white for administrative purposes), then it has to restrict job searches for new chairs according to race.

Other major grants have similar strings attached. To be eligible for federal Canada 150 Chairs, universities must demonstrate a “strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.” Any project funded by the Canada Excellence Research Chairs program must incorporate DEI into research design. Meanwhile, most federal Undergraduate Student Research Awards are only open to Black applicants.

The University of Alberta must also maintain a robust affirmative action policy to be eligible for federal contracts.

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So, even though the university is in provincial jurisdiction and gets the largest share of its revenue from the provincial government, these coercive agreements mean that cultural direction is coming from Ottawa.

Friday’s board of governors meeting made it clear that the balance of power is still the same as before. The federal research agencies responsible for grants with DEI mandates — known collectively as the Tri-Council — had “no concerns” with the U of A’s adjustment to its recruitment policy, according to Provost Yiu.

As for the general deployment of DEI in the university, that was still very much alive: “We know that EDI is fundamental to research…. And researchers have not stopped integrating EDI into research methodologies and practices,” Yiu said. She highlighted the fact that a DEI program officer continues to work under the university’s vice-president of research, Aminah Robinson Fayek (indeed, that office has a very clear DEI affirmation statement on its homepage).

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Robinson Fayek, in turn, told the board that the university was “committed” to hitting its Canada Research Chairs quota in 2027.

That said, it’s not all bad — there’s just a long way to go. The erasure of DEI, even if symbolic, still marks a retreat for the movement that insists upon discrimination to achieve a particular colour palette. It’s the same kind of victory that Land Backers achieved with the takedown of Winnipeg’s Queen Victoria statue in 2022: no law was changed and no power shifted hands, but an icon of pride was destroyed and the people who cared for it were demoralized and humiliated.

Of a few dozen board members, only six voted against removing DEI from the university’s recruitment policy. Student representatives spoke against it, a couple other members seemed genuinely concerned about it, a few student observers held up pro-DEI signs, and a non-voting professor gave a spiel on the importance of equity and not treating everyone in the same way.

Most of those who voted in favour, on the other hand, were quiet. One exception, Janice MacKinnon, voiced strong support. Hiring on the basis of inherent characteristics amounted to discrimination, she said, “and that’s wrong.”

“That’s not fair. And it’s not consistent with some of the values that have made Alberta such a successful province — the equality of opportunity.”

Just seeing that statement and knowing it’s now reflected in the text of a policy is something to be savoured, even if the university doesn’t intend to change how anything works on the back end. Remember, this is all downstream from a provincial mandate letter expressing an interest in eliminating DEI from public institutions. To keep up the momentum, we’re going to need actual penalties for discrimination next.

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