Hon. Gary Goodyear, MP, PC
Minister of State (Science and Technology)
C.D. Howe Building
235 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5
Dear Minister,
I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Political Science Association to express our concern about your request that the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada reconsider its funding for the conference on “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace,” which took place recently at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
The Canadian Political Science Association is strongly committed to the principle that research funding must be free from political intervention and pressure. The credibility of SSHRC’s research programs depends fundamentally on the integrity of its system of peer review by independent scholars, using established criteria and research protocols.
The advancement of knowledge flows from independent research and free debate. Preserving the openness of scholarship and scholarly debate is critical, even when the ideas under consideration are controversial. Attempts to impose political constraints on these debates can only erode the quality and vibrancy of the of the research community in Canada.
The Canadian Political Science Association therefore supports the concerns expressed to you by the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada, and others.
