Academics, rural municipalities raise concerns about Alberta's Bill 18
CTV
Alberta legislation pitched to protect provincial priorities could slow down grant funding and allow federal money to be spent elsewhere, say officials representing rural municipalities and faculty members at post-secondary institutions.
Alberta legislation pitched to protect provincial priorities could slow down grant funding and allow federal money to be spent elsewhere, say officials representing rural municipalities and faculty members at post-secondary institutions.
Bill 18, which was introduced by Premier Danielle Smith last week, would require the provincial government to approve all federal funding to provincial entities.
That would include federal money going to cities, towns and universities across Alberta.
"I simply can't see how it helps anybody in the province," said Dan O'Donnell, a professor at the University of Lethbridge and the president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.
If passed, the legislation could slow down grant funding or force it to go to other researchers out of the province, O'Donnell warned.
"(It forces us) to not compete on an equal playing field with every other academic, every other researcher, every other scientist," O'Donnell said.
In a statement released Monday, the Mount Royal Faculty Association (MRFA) shared some of the same worries as O'Donnell.
