The new program to support secularism launched at the beginning of December by Quebec is reacting to the world of research, which is worried about the independence of the projects that will be subsidized by these public funds.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
“We are talking about a program that plans to fund research and researchers, giving itself the right to favor projects that will promote a certain political option,” says Julien Prud’homme, specialist in the history of science at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Julien Prud’Homme, specialist in the history of science at UQTR
The Secularism Support Program was launched at the beginning of December, just before the Omicron wave swept over Quebec. With an annual budget of $100,000, this program will subsidize both scientific research and various popularization activities on the subject of state secularism.
Research projects are selected by a committee made up of three members, who evaluate them according to several selection criteria. One of these criteria is the “adequacy between [les] Goals [du projet] and those of the Program”.
However, the two objectives of the Program are to “support the deployment of knowledge on the secularism of the State” and to “promote the Quebec model defined by the State Secularism Act “.
And this is precisely where the shoe pinches, think experts consulted by The Press.
Normally, when we want to fund research, we do so within the framework of a separate program, which will meet the standards of the scientific and academic world, in particular a certain political neutrality.
Julien Prud’Homme, specialist in the history of science at UQTR
“Secularism is a political, social and ethical issue that deserves our attention,” said Marc-François Bernier, a professor at the University of Ottawa specializing in political communication. “But it’s promoting an idea that [soulève pour moi] a question on the independence of the research, and on its credibility. »
Differentiating between research and ideology
“This is a program aimed at consolidating public policies resulting from the decisions and priorities of a State”, detailed by email Marie-Ève Fillion, public affairs advisor at the Ministry of the Executive Council and at the Secretariat of the Council. of treasure. “Any research program of this nature has goals and evaluation criteria. »
Mme Fillion cites the example of the federal program of “support for communities, multiculturalism and the fight against racism”. However, the latter does not directly finance scientific research projects.
For Marc-François Bernier, if politicians can choose the subjects of research, they should not have the right to look at the results.
Directing research is one thing. Directing the conclusions of a research is something else. Here, conclusions are strongly suggested.
Marc-François Bernier, professor at the University of Ottawa specializing in political communication
According to the historian of science Yves Gingras, professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal, it is necessary to differentiate scientific research from ideology: “We can understand that [promouvoir le modèle québécois défini par la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État] be the objective of the Secretariat [à la réforme des institutions démocratiques, à l’accès à l’information et à la laïcité], but not the goal of a subsidy program. Research must be free, otherwise it’s not research, it’s ideology,” he asserts.
Benefits “positive for the government”
Another evaluation criterion for the Secularism Support Program makes the experts wince: the projects must have “measurable and positive spinoffs for the Government of Quebec and the Secretariat”. An “ambiguous” term, according to Professor Yves Gingras. “If they had said ‘and potentially useful’, that would have been normal, he believes. It is a term that we are right to point out, but afterwards, it must be interpreted. It’s badly worded. »
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Yves Gingras
It should be noted that other Quebec programs, such as the Research Support Program of the Quebec Secretariat for Canadian Relations, also evaluate “the positive spinoffs and visibility for Quebec”. Their projects must also be in line with the “priorities and orientations” of this Secretariat.
Another point of questioning for the experts: it is up to the Minister responsible for Secularism to “confirm” the funding granted. “That means that the firm is not far away,” fears Marc-François Bernier.
The term is badly chosen, believes Professor Yves Gingras: “That a minister announces results does not pose a problem as long as he does not intervene in the choice of winners chosen by the independent committee. »
Instrumentalize the data?
Each project can receive a maximum amount of $30,000 per year. Amounts which do not risk “corrupting researchers”, according to Julien Prud’Homme, but which are used for “deficient use of science”. For the moment, no project has yet received funding, also confirmed by email the Ministry of the Executive Council and the Secretariat of the Treasury Board.
“That we just finance projects that go in the direction of the objective of promoting secularism, it is sure that it will be exploited, analyzes however Marc-François Bernier. It will be used for persuasion. »
“It’s clumsy to import this kind of practice into debates that are so burning, warns Julien Prud’homme. And where the credibility of the government is also at stake.”