EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — In a sign that all things woke are diminishing in at least some aspects in Canadian academia, a top Canadian university will soon be reversing so-called diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) policies in its hiring department.
The changes will soon be coming to the University of Alberta (U of A), located in Edmonton, Alberta; final board approval is still needed.
As it stands now, the U of A’s hiring policy says that when two potential candidates are very close in qualifications for any given position, the hiring panels are bound to hire as a priority candidates from “historically under-represented” peoples.
This “historically under-represented” category is quite vast, and includes women, visible minorities, disabled people, indigenous peoples, as well as “LGBT people” who claim to have “under-represented sexual orientations, gender identity, or expression.”
The U of A’s change in direction has been in the works for some time, with officials at the university admitting that the policy fuels more division.
According to a report from the CBC, a new recruitment policy, which is pending board approval, would get rid of DEI hiring.
Thus far, school officials have not commented to independent media about the change. However, in a statement sent to the CBC, U of A did say, “While the current policy includes aspirational language about fair recruitment and the removal of barriers, the university has found in practice that qualified candidates may still face barriers.”
University President Bill Flanagan had noted before that change was coming to hiring practices, after much consultation.
He said that DEI terms would be replaced with “access, community, and belonging” as the DEI terms were “polarizing” and that “Universities must be places of diversity where ideas are exchanged freely, where challenging conversations across differences are embraced, and where intellectual growth flourishes.”
“It is not the university’s role to take ideological positions but rather to create an environment that encourages dialogue, mutual respect, and the pursuit of knowledge,” he wrote.
DEI rampant in Canadian universities thanks to gov’t funding
Recent studies have shown that DEI hiring practices at most of Canada’s top universities are rampant.
In Alberta, the current Conservative government of Premier Danielle Smith has made clear that DEI hiring practices should be shelved. She even threatened to withdraw funding from universities that do not comply.
LifeSiteNews has reported on many instances where qualified candidates or others were shut out and discriminated against at Canadian universities due to woke DEI agendas.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has promised that, should he ever become prime minister, he would end government funding of “radical political ideologies” in higher education
Late last year, Canadian MPs learned that $4.5 billion a year in tax money is funding research grants for “far left” activists throughout multiple Canadian universities, according to one professor.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canada’s universities under former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and now under successor Mark Carney promised $110 million to fund DEI projects, many of which concern Canadian post-secondary institutions.
Indeed, LifeSiteNews recently reported on Trudeau’s Liberal government spending over $30 million on DEI-affiliated contracts among many federal ministries since January 2019.
Contrast Canada to the United States, where President Donald Trump has told public schools and universities to eliminate their DEI programs or risk losing federal funding.
More than 30 states have introduced legislation that would eliminate DEI programs from education, as part of a broader push against woke ideology spearheaded by Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.