“The Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations condemns the introduction of Bill 18 […] as an unprecedented attack on ethical research and the ability of Albertans to compete with other Canadians for federal dollars”
CAFE president Dan O’Donnell attempts to educate the Premier in their press release
“Federal research money is not given out by Ottawa bureaucrats or politicians […] The panels that make these awards are staffed by researchers who are experts in their fields, including many from Albertan universities.
The sole criterion is research excellence […] Ideology plays no role in the distribution of awards; projects are judged on the basis of their individual merit. Internationally recognized researchers know more than government bureaucrats about what makes research important.”
In a previous occasion involving provincial approval of federal grants, Alberta ended up losing out on $130M of oilfield funding due to provincial paperwork backlogs.