Science and Research Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2024

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to extend my greetings to the witnesses who are joining us for this key study.

Mr. Miller, has Universities Canada signed on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment?

[Gabriel Miller]

No, but nine universities have already approved it, if I recall correctly.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

How many universities do you represent?

[Gabriel Miller]

We represent 97.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

I believe that you'll soon be representing 98. Is that right?

[Gabriel Miller]

No. Yukon University is the 97th to join our group.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Okay.

You confirmed that only six of Universities Canada's 97 member universities have signed on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment.

[Gabriel Miller]

I think that it's more like nine.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Why didn't Universities Canada sign on to this declaration?

[Gabriel Miller]

I think that the discussions are still ongoing. These principles have a great deal of support in our community. As a result, I think that more universities will decide to support this initiative.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Miller, you said that you have been working in the academic world for a long time. What year was the declaration adopted?

[Gabriel Miller]

I can send you this information later.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

It was adopted in 2013.

You have been thinking about this for a long time, haven't you?

[Gabriel Miller]

Yes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Of the 97 universities that you represent, you said that nine have signed on to it.

The conclusion of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment recommended the introduction of funding assessment criteria that promote more equitable, transparent and inclusive science and that value the real impact of research on society.

Does this make sense to you?

[Gabriel Miller]

These principles hold a great deal of value and they provide a good indication of the direction that we need to take.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Miller, you said that these principles hold a great deal of value. However, they haven't been significant enough over the past 10 years for your group of 97 universities to focus on them.

Do you acknowledge that choosing not to sign on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment means perpetuating practices that may exclude researchers whose work doesn't meet the criteria based on the impact factor, especially researchers who publish the results of their work in French?

[Gabriel Miller]

The principle of this initiative is to embrace a wider range of factors for assessing research. This remains a priority for our universities. We must formalize support for this initiative, but the work carried out also matters. A number of universities across Canada support research that has a direct impact.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

I repeat that the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment seeks to promote more equitable and inclusive science.

How does your group ensure that researchers are assessed fairly and transparently, regardless of their language or discipline? Of course, I'm referring to the assessment criteria for research funding.

[Gabriel Miller]

We strongly support a more balanced research system in Canada, particularly for francophone researchers. The current acceptance rate for their funding applications is lower than the rate for anglophone researchers. This is unacceptable. We need to change this.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Miller, since you acknowledge the disparities between francophone and anglophone researchers, it's time to sign on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment. This declaration seeks to eliminate the use of the impact factor, which places scientific publication in French at a disadvantage.

[Gabriel Miller]

Yes.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

It's important to remain consistent in this area.

I'll ask you a few questions to try to understand your reasoning. You represent 97 universities. You're the largest group of universities in Canada.

Since you haven't signed on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, what other initiatives or methods are you implementing to improve the fair and qualitative assessment of research?

[Gabriel Miller]

As I said, one of our key positions is that we must change and improve our research system so that the success rate for funding applications from francophone researchers equals the rate for applications from anglophone researchers. Another initiative is to increase funding to ensure research security. The smaller institutions currently don't have access to this funding.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

I understand and agree, Mr. Miller.

You said that you were sensitive to the issue of French‑language research. As you know, on peer review panels, which you say focus on excellence, people assess their own language skills. This means that any individual who believes that they have a good command of French can sit on the panel. However, the committee's study on research and scientific publication in French recognized that some reviewers don't have a good enough command of French to assess research. I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Should the language skills of the reviewers who sit on these panels be assessed?