Criticized as an “ideological crusade”, University of Saskatchewan defends DEI policy
The University of Saskatchewan has defended a policy requiring staff to attend anti-racism and unconscious bias training with an open letter following criticism published by the National Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
In a guest opinion piece, the school’s former president Peter MacKinnon referred to the requirement, which is enshrined in a collective agreement ratified by faculty members, as “propaganda” for an “ideological crusade.”
In his response, current university president Peter Stoicheff notes that the university’s training requirements align with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and adds that the school has climbed in international rankings since implementing a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework.
Diversity initiatives have faced a growing backlash across North America in recent months, with some American post-secondary institutions seeing their federal funding cut for refusing to backtrack on equity and inclusion.
Earlier this year, the University of Alberta rebranded its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy as access, belonging, and community or ABC.
Observers point out the University of Alberta started to pivot away from the DEI label around the same time that the province’s United Conservative government tabled the Provincial Priorities Act.
While not yet proclaimed, the act gives the provincial government the right to vet and veto all federal funding destined for post-secondary institutions.
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