Transcript: Dave Snow
An interview with the political science professor and Macdonald-Laurier Institute fellow
In the wake of President Trump’s executive order on DEI, debates in America have renewed a conversation around DEI in this country. And while the baseline value of greater inclusion is one that many of us share, some DEI programs have proven controversial. My guest on this bonus episode is the author of a recent report that dives into DEI practices in Canadian federal granting agencies — and asks if they impede political and ideological neutrality and research excellence.
Dave Snow is an associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph. He’s also a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and the author of a new MLI report, “Promoting excellence … or activism? Equity, diversity, and inclusion at Canada’s federal granting agencies.”
This is an edited transcript for paid subscribers. You can listen to the interview here.
TH: It's good to have you on today. I read your recent MLI report with a lot of interest. For the past several years I've been getting feedback from the public, pointing to institutions in their lives — whether it's academic or arts or culture — that they feel have been ideologically captured and are no longer serving the purposes intended. This is not an easy thing to evaluate. Your report looks at federal granting agencies and top-down DEI initiatives in a very specific way that I think is helpful for understanding what's happening with knowledge production in this country. To start today, set it up for us. Can you outline the agencies involved, their budgets in terms of taxpayer dollars, and why you focused your attention specifically on them?
