Trudeau Liberals admit their policies lead to 'reverse discrimination' by excluding white candidates

Members of the Trudeau Liberals say that Laval University is going "too far" in excluding white men from calls for applicants for positions in research chairs, with one minister even saying that the Liberals' policies may have lead to "reverse discrimination" against white candidates.

The decision by Laval University to do so, however, stems from policies made by the Trudeau Liberals. The university's posting stated that it would consider only candidates who self-identify as women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities or visible minorities. "Université Laval can't accept other types of candidate profiles while representation targets are not met, in accordance with the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program," the statement said.

According to the CRC's guidelines: "Achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is also essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to seize opportunities and for responding to global challenges. As such, the program is committed to the federal government’s policies on non-discrimination and employment equity."

While Quebec City MP Joel Lightbound said that he's "not comfortable" with the idea while entering caucus on Wednesday morning, saying that he believes that while inclusion is important and that merit must be "prioritized."

According to the Journal de Montreal, Lightbound said he was "potentially" in favour of changing federal rules forcing universities to meet diversity quotas in the hope of getting their hands on funding from Canada Research Chairs.

"If [the rules] lead to that kind of result, yes, I wouldn't be against it," he said.

Montreal MP Anthony Housefather said that he also believes that it goes "too far."

"I think it's very important to have diversity, but I think it's going too far, maybe," he said.

Ontario Liberal John McKay said that the Laval University case was one of "reverse discrimination" and that the system required adjustments.

"The fundamental purpose of all of this is to give everyone an equal chance, hopefully without discrimination" over "the color of your skin or your ethnicity or your race or religion, whatever," he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that "it is important to have a scientific community that reflects, like Canada, Quebecers," though he did not comment specifically on Laval University.

Laval University defended itself from accusations of reverse discrimination, saying that it was "no different from other universities" since "all universities must comply with these requirements."

The case caused notable outrage across Quebec, with members of the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) denouncing the decision. Quebec Liberal leader Dominique Anglade and Parti Quebeois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon also denounced the practice.

According to the Journal de Montreal, "The question was submitted to the House through a motion by the Bloc Québécois, which called on the government to "revise the federal criteria for Research Chairs in order to prevent exclusion in calls for candidates."

"Voices from the Liberal and New Democrat benches rose against the unanimous consent motion, which was ultimately defeated."