I'm going to start with the last comment you made and go backwards from that.
You say to create knowledge in all fields. Well, I've made a case that we are not creating a level playing field to create knowledge in all sectors. Women do ask questions differently. Black scholars ask questions differently. There are areas where there is not a level playing field. If you want to start on the premise that we need to create knowledge in all fields, then we need to create equity across those different boundaries.
Yes, university independence is a factor, as you note, but universities are not completely independent. They are regulated from a provincial/territorial level, and because universities receive federal funds, they have to comply with employment equity. These are the ways in which there are constraints on university independence. We receive public funds from the provinces and territories. We receive funds from students in terms of fees. We received funds from the federal government vis-à-vis the tri-council agencies.
For those reasons, there has to be accountability to equity as a principle.