The Trudeau government’s 2023-2024 budget leaves Canadian researchers in a precarious situation.
For almost 20 years, Canadian council research grants have not been increased. The amounts offered to master’s and doctoral students, respectively $17,500 and $21,000 per year, are not sufficient to guarantee the minimum needs of these people. In addition, deduct tuition fees (about $6,000 per year in Quebec) from these amounts.
Now compare to this statement from the National Institute for Scientific Research: “In 2022, in Quebec, it takes between $25,128 and $34,814 for a household composed of one person to live with dignity, out of poverty. Yet it is our best students who get these scholarships. Imagine all the others. The situation is similar for postdoctoral fellows. The Support Our Science movement, which advocates for better living conditions for our research students, has studied their situations,
“But they are only students…” We can already hear the polemicists rebelling, in their complacent ignorance. Don’t let the nomenclature fool you. By “students”, we are really talking about people who do the vast majority of research work full-time, 40 hours a week or more, and for whom these scholarships are the main, if not the only, source of income.
Their work is the foundation of all scientific and social advancement (and yes, that includes that done by private companies that depend on publicly funded scientific knowledge). Without even having to step outside our department, we see our colleagues working tirelessly to understand the causes and effects and to develop solutions to immense societal problems: the pollution of waterways and land, the conservation of biodiversity, improvement of agricultural productivity…
These researchers are working hard to develop better strategies to preserve nature, to reduce the impact of our footprint on the environment, to explain the complexity of the biological world around us, to popularize and transmit the love of science.
Elsewhere in Quebec and Canada, a quick tour of recent scholarly publications would make you dizzy because our scientific research is varied and relevant. Each year, Canada ranks at the top of the 10 countries with the most scientific publications and, among these, it has the most publications per person. This would be impossible without the work of master’s and doctoral “students” and without that of postdoctoral “trainees” (who are indeed professional researchers).
harmful effects
We were an attractive and competitive country on the international scene, but the abandonment of the students who are the basis of scientific research is creating damaging effects that are already being felt. Teachers have difficulty recruiting. Many of our research colleagues have at least one job alongside their research project, which leads to workloads of 60 hours or more per week. Their physical and mental health is paying the price.
Our society faces Herculean challenges: climate change, loss of biodiversity, decrease in agricultural production, epidemiological threats, loss of confidence in all democratic institutions, all covered by a constant scourge of misinformation. More than ever, we need people dedicated to research, connected to the needs of society and capable of discussing current issues with nuance and depth. We won’t get them by letting our graduate students starve.
Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Freeland, and Minister Champagne: Increase research funding and council scholarships to levels adequate for a dignified life.