Stephen Harper’s government deserves an “A” for the conception, execution and delivery of the program that lured 19 renowned scientists to Canada from overseas.I just want to give Jeffery Simpson an "A" for this decent piece where he gives credit where credit is due.
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So good is this program that the federal government should repeat the exercise in a few years, widening the criteria to include humanities and social sciences and insisting that the winners teach some undergraduates.
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The CERC program, with its lofty but limited ambition, was not designed to address any of these endemic problems. Instead, it set out to improve the country’s scientific research capabilities by adding excellence from overseas. The process was well-conceived, the public policy purposes important and the results, well, excellent.
Quite a difference from Susan Delacourt's piece griping that no women were included in the program.
OTTAWA – Not one woman was among the recipients this week when Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government handed out big dollars for big thinkers.Delacourt's piece basically turns what should be positive story that is good for the country into a women's issue and a slag fest against the PM.
Of the 19 people who were selected to be the first of the “prestigious” Canada Excellence Research Chairs, receiving up to $10-million in total in federal money over the next seven years, all were men.
Kudo's to Simpson for his well thought out positive column. Keep it up. It's not very often the PM and his government get positive press from usual lefty journalists. Thank you Mr. Simpson!
