Science and Research Committee on Dec. 3rd, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Go ahead, MP Noormohamed.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

If we read the motion again and discuss it together, we may be able to find a solution that suits us all.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Go ahead, MP Blanchette-Joncas.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I will reread the motion that I moved at the November 5 meeting:

Because the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) has already demonstrated its capacity to transmit disaggregated data directly to accredited researchers, in accordance with current ethical and legal requirements.

That the Committee request the government to establish an official and permanent protocol for the secure transfer of data held by the three federal granting councils, namely, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), specifically, the disaggregated data for all submitted applications, whether funded or unfunded, across all student and faculty funding programs starting at the master’s level.

That this protocol aims to make accessible, in a disaggregated, anonymized, and secure form, all data relating to submitted funding applications, whether funded or not, for all student and faculty funding programs, beginning at the master’s level.

That this include the (1) demographic data of applicants and collaborators, including applicants’ responses to the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) questionnaire; the (2) applicants’ and collaborators’ institutions and departments; the (3) the language of the application; (4) all data concerning the type of application and project content (year of application, grant program, discipline, title, abstract, and amount requested by the applicant); the (5) identity of the evaluation committee, comments, assessments, and scores assigned to applications for each criterion; and the (6) the application outcome and amount awarded.

That access to these data be granted to accredited researchers who have received approval from a recognized research ethics board, and that such data be shared under a security protocol consistent with the international “Five Safes” model used by Statistics Canada and its Research Data Centres.

That the government assume responsibility for coordinating this process and submit to the Committee, within sixty days, an action plan specifying the responsible repository organization for data retention and transfer, the anonymization and security procedures, as well as the implementation and dissemination timeline.

I would now like us to take a moment to try to work together to simplify or rewrite it. Based on discussions I have had with my colleagues, I understand that we do not necessarily want to create specific criteria, as if a researcher were going to conduct research, but simply ensure a certain degree of consistency between protocols when funding agencies send data to accredited scientists. If my colleagues agree, we can suspend the meeting to discuss this together and take the time to write it properly. Then we can continue our work.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

Go ahead, MP Deschênes-Thériault.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I thank my colleague for his interesting motion. We could suspend the meeting to improve—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I'm sorry to interrupt.

MP Blanchette-Joncas has requested to suspend the meeting, so I'll suspend the meeting for a few minutes so members can work it out.

The meeting is suspended.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call the meeting to order.

We have received the motion, and it has been circulated to all members. The floor is open for debate.

Go ahead, MP Blanchette-Joncas.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It is with great pride that I will read the motion resulting from the work that my fantastic colleagues on the committee and I have accomplished.

Whereas the three federal research councils, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), promote research on research, which requires access to high-quality data;

That the Committee request the Government to direct the Tri-Council to develop a data management protocol and a secure data-transfer process to allow for the evaluation of funding distribution;

That this protocol aims to make accessible, in a disaggregated, anonymized, and secure form, all data relating to submitted funding applications, whether funded or not, for all student and faculty funding programs, beginning at the master's level;

That the dataset include all anonymized and disaggregated variables necessary to assess equity, fairness, and potential bias, including but not limited to career stage, field of research, language of application, institution type, and equity-deserving group self-identification variables collected under existing Tri-Council frameworks...

That access to these data be granted to accredited researchers who have received approval from a recognized research ethics board, and that such data be shared under a security protocol consistent with the international Five Safes model used by Statistics Canada and its Research Data Centers;

That this process complies with all relevant federal privacy and data-governance legislation, including the Privacy Act and the Directive on Privacy Practices;

That the Government assume responsibility for coordinating this process and submit to the Committee, within 30 days, an action plan specifying the organization responsible for data retention and transfer, the anonymization and security procedures, as well as the implementation and dissemination timeline.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

There's a period that shouldn't be in one of the sentences, if that's worth bringing up.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Okay.

We have the motion by MP Blanchette-Joncas. The floor is open for debate.

MP Baldinelli, go ahead.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Again, from a grammatical standpoint, there's a period in here that shouldn't be, but everything else is fine. It's in the paragraph that says, “That this protocol aims to make accessible, in a disaggregated, anonymized, and secure form, all data relating to submitted funding applications”. Then there is a period, after which it says, “whether funded or not”.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

I think it's a comma.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Is that a comma?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Yes.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Listen, I don't have my glasses with me.

Then we're good. Let's go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Go ahead, MP Deschênes-Thériault.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

While my colleague reads the motion, I would like to highlight the excellent collaborative work we have done. It shows that we are capable of working together. It is also an interesting motion in terms of research protocol. It could be useful in various contexts, particularly if we are interested in the issue of research in French. Such data provides a better understanding of the variables that come into play in the allocation of funding, such as the language of the application and the size of the institution, for example. I will therefore be happy to vote in favour of the motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, MP Deschênes-Thériault.

If members want to go through the motion, should I suspend the meeting?

[An hon. member]

Let's suspend.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Okay, I'll suspend the meeting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call the meeting to order.

MP Blanchette-Joncas has the floor.

If you can, read the motion, please.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Would you like me to reread the motion from the start or just the part that was not translated?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

For clarity purposes for everyone, you should read the whole motion, please.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Okay. I will take a deep breath and dive in:

Whereas the three federal research councils, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), promote research on research, which requires access to high-quality data;

That the Committee request the Government to direct the Tri-Council to develop a data management protocol and a secure data-transfer process to allow for the evaluation of funding distribution;

That this protocol aims to make accessible, in a disaggregated, anonymized, and secure form, all data relating to submitted funding applications, whether funded or not, for all student and faculty funding programs, beginning at the master's level;

That the dataset include all anonymized and disaggregated variables necessary to assess equity, fairness, and potential bias, including but not limited to career stage, field of research, language of application, institution type, and equity-deserving group self-identification variables collected under existing Tri-Council frameworks, and that any additional anonymized variables required by qualified researchers to conduct rigorous equity or bias analyses also be made available wherever permissible under federal privacy legislation;

That the Tri-Council harmonize data definitions, coding structures, and documentation across their respective agencies to ensure the comparability and usability of the released data for equity and bias analysis;

That access to these data be granted to accredited researchers who have received approval from a recognized research ethics board, and that such data be shared under a security protocol consistent with the international Five Safes model used by Statistics Canada and its Research Data Centers;

That this process complies with all relevant federal privacy and data-governance legislation, including the Privacy Act and the Directive on Privacy Practices;

That the Government assume responsibility for coordinating this process and submit to the Committee, within 30 days, an action plan specifying the organization responsible for data retention and transfer, the anonymization and security procedures, as well as the implementation and dissemination timeline.

That is the entire motion. I want to thank my colleagues once again for their collaboration and their team spirit.