In light of increased foreign interference and infiltration operations by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a new report from a House of Commons committee urges the federal government to take a tougher stance against Beijing and strengthen regulations to protect Canadian security. The report, published May 17, was released in response to Beijing’s “increasingly assertive…

A number of Canadian universities are disassociating from Huawei, amid concerns about the tech giant’s affiliation with the Chinese military. The University of Waterloo said on May 4 that it will be terminating research collaboration with Huawei after their contract expires this year. The move is to “safeguard scientific research” at the school, according to the university’s Vice…

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he is unhappy with Canadian universities working with a Chinese military institution on sensitive high-tech research and pledged to introduce new guidelines to bolster research security. “I am not happy and it’s unacceptable,” Champagne said at the House Standing Committee on Science and Research meeting on Feb. 2. “I’m looking to impose…

Commentary University of Lethbridge president Michael J. Mahon’s recent cancellation of a talk by Frances Widdowson marks yet another failure of Canadian universities to maintain open academic environments where candid speech and robust discourse are encouraged. Dr. Widdowson is a noted scholar of aboriginal issues whose views diverge from the mainstream narrative concerning Canada’s treatment…

Some 50 Canadian universities have been working in partnership with a Chinese military institution to conduct academic research on high-end and sensitive technologies, such as those related to guided missiles and eavesdropping, according to a U.S.-based data security company. Researchers from Canadian universities—including the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and McGill University—have…

Commentary Recently there appeared a rousing “Statement of Non-Compliance with Mandatory Vaccination in Canadian Universities” by Maximilian Forte, professor of sociology at Concordia University (Forte also joined with others to publish an op-ed in the Toronto Sun against vaccine passports). Forte’s online statement calls on university personnel across the country, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, to…

Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion is a top issue for many Canadian universities, but an outspoken professor says such tolerance is not extended to some students and professors who are “excluded with impunity” due to being perceived as oppressors. “When the universities say that they’re promoting diversity and inclusion, they really are not telling the…

Some three-quarters of Canadian academics describe themselves as being on the political left, leaving right-wing professors quiet about their contrary views. The U.S.-based Centre for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology surveyed academics and PhD students at universities in Canada, the United States, and the UK. In a recent report, it found that 73 percent…