Bronwyn Eyre is the former Saskatchewan Minister of Energy and of Justice and Attorney General
“Dissent, contrary views, and nuance are neither expected nor tolerated. Opinions that are different are not on the reading list. The purpose of the program is indoctrination.”
This, from a recent National Post op-ed, in which former Law Dean and 13-year President of the University of Saskatchewan, Peter MacKinnon, takes square aim at the U of S’ mandatory Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression and Unconscious Bias Faculty Development Program — signed by the U of S administration into its collective bargaining agreement with faculty and staff.
Underpinning the required readings for what MacKinnon calls this “propaganda module” is that the “success of Saskatchewan’s white people is built on 150 years of racist, sexist and homophobic colonial practices,” and that Canadian university systems are “rigged to privilege white people.”
Mackinnon recounts how one program participant, who attended because he was obliged to, was invited to leave after 30 minutes “because he did not lend his voice to the session’s purpose and orientation.” Soviet Young Pioneers, anyone?
So much for my alma mater’s traditional, non-ideological mission as the “People’s University,” which combined the “development of a liberal education,” writes MacKinnon, “with a responsibility to build Saskatchewan’s agricultural industry — with world-class programs, research institutes, and faculty and students of many backgrounds from around the globe.”
He would know. The U of S administration building is named after him, for goodness’ sake. He was once proposed as “Saskatchewan’s turn” for a Supreme Court Justice. Law students, myself included, remember him as a widely-admired dean who continued to teach and gamely participated in our annual Legal Follies. (Ironically, one of his political skits sardonically suggested that freedom of expression was under threat.)
Now he’s persona non grata. Following his op-ed came the predictable outcry from the usual suspects, 50 of whom have co-signed a letter countering his “dangerous mischaracterizations.”
Rachel Loewen Walker, program chair of Gender, Sexualities, and Social Justice, declared that “deep and sustained racism is alive and well in Canada… MacKinnon’s resistance is itself a textbook example of the white privilege such training helps to unpack.”
English Professor Susan Gingell asked whether “requiring faculty to spend a few hours grappling with difficult truths of how dominant group members contribute to oppression is an unreasonable ask.” Talk about begging the question. Then the kicker: “How many would do so if not required?”
That’s how such programs fester. They’re planned in stealth, delivered by mandatory enforcement, and pitched as “free and open discourse” — when they’re anything but.
In a defensive letter to faculty, U of S President Peter Stoicheff, not mentioning MacKinnon by name, wrote: “As part of inclusive excellence, the U of S believes equity, diversity, inclusion [DEI], and a sense of belonging strengthen the community… and enhance innovation and creativity in all domains” — clearly suggesting that DEI trumps meritocracy and pre-eminence.
If there’s “nothing to see here,” why are there no counter-voices on the anti-racism program’s reading list? Why was a participant asked to leave after not complying with its “purpose and orientation”? Could such perceived non-compliance affect his future career prospects?
Of course, it could. And many Canadian universities are explicit about that. UBC’s new “equity-centered” strategic plan “denounces current evaluations of merit as outdated and ableist, foresees merit in alignment with decolonizing efforts,” and urges that “inclusion and equity practices be integral to merit, promotion, and tenure decisions.”
(No wonder a contingent of UBC profs recently filed a petition in the BC Supreme Court, arguing that their university’s growing “politicization” and the requirement that job applicants pledge support for DEI are contrary to the provincial Universities Act.)
The U of Toronto emphasizes DEI hiring more than any other Canadian university. But DEI-heavy “strategic plans” are in place at 90% of Canadian universities, while over half are actively developing, reviewing, or implementing DEI in faculty recruitment (“Index of University Discrimination in Canada,” Aristotle Foundation).
The U of S’ Gingell expressed concern at MacKinnon’s position that anti-DEI “pushback should begin with the governments that fund universities.” This, she said, would “undermine institutions’ wisely cherished autonomy at a time when prestigious universities are being economically coerced by America’s bully-in-chief, to bend to his racist will.”
But who’s doing the bullying?
Take anti-Semitism. For all their mandatory courses and lip-service concerns regarding it, Canadian and American campuses are not keeping Jewish students safe. Just ask them. Ask B’Nai Brith. Ask them how they feel about York University’s Federation of Students’ “Statement of Solidarity with Palestine,” which includes references to “so-called Israel,” or the rising incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism, threats, and aggression.
As for Gingell’s “cherished autonomy,” that ship has long sailed.
For one, it’s common knowledge that the strings attached to millions of dollars in annual federal research grants include strict adherence to DEI and the expectation that applicants follow “specific ideological objectives—or universities will lose their funding.”
So said Yuan Yi Zhu, renowned professor of international relations and law at the Netherlands’ Leiden University, addressing Canada’s House of Commons Science and Research Committee last year, “There is a monoculture within Canadian academia. If you deviate even slightly from what is fashionable and commonly accepted by your peers, not only will you be ostracized, you will not be able to have an academic career.”
Bearing that out is a recent Macdonald-Laurier Institute study, which identified an “overwhelmingly left-of-center professoriate, including 30% who would actually ‘cancel’ colleagues who did not agree with their views on social justice.”
Meanwhile, signatories to the 2020 Scarborough Charter—which includes virtually every Canadian university—have committed to integrating vague “considerations of race” into all aspects of their operations, including budgeting, data collection, teaching, professional development, and research.
Acquire some kahonas, people!
So, how to buck the engrained status quo?
MacKinnon says that provincial governments must “insist that universities focus on excellence and the search for truth, not progressive or social justice goals.”
Alberta is currently consulting with provincial professional regulatory bodies to “ensure that freedom of speech is permitted.” Said Premier Smith in October, “We’ve committed to ensuring that Albertans are not coerced into self-censorship because of threats.”
In the United Kingdom, the Labour government has committed to investigate alleged breaches of freedom of speech on campuses and to issue fines where necessary. Academic freedom is “much more important than the wishes of some students not to be offended,” said British Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. De-platforming controversial speakers and harassing those with inconvenient views is “unacceptable.”
And then there’s the US In his battle with the Ivy League and general declaration of war on DEI, President Trump has demanded merit-based hiring and admissions, as well as audits of “viewpoint diversity” data. To date, $22 billion in federal university funding has been frozen — leaving private endowments to cover the difference.
Could this be the beginning of the end of DEI?
Perhaps, but only if university governance bodies, boards, and Senates are reformed and strengthened. Most faculty members are now part of unions, which MacKinnon says have “altered the dynamic of internal relationships.” Senates have become “dysfunctional or sidetracked from their decision-making role by faculty unions.”
Student unions have also become overtly politicized. ($500 for an “anti-oppression” grant? Check out the U of S Student Union Campus Groups Handbook). Student fees must once again cover student services, not fund ideological causes.
Speaking of students: There were many reasons why hundreds of thousands of young people moved Conservative in the recent federal election. But I’d suspect one is that they’re tired of endless variations of “unconscious bias” training imposed on them by ageing hippies.
Back at the U of S, only 50 people— out of potentially thousands — have signed a letter against MacKinnon. Only two letters-to-the-editor have appeared in his defence. Acquire some kohonas, people! Tenure is one of the last hold-outs of fully secure employment. Optimize it.
And let’s not forget Edmund Burke’s oldie-but-goodie that “the only thing necessary for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.”
Bronwyn Eyre is the former Saskatchewan Minister of Energy and of Justice and Attorney General. Bronwyn.eyre@sasktel.net
