Dear Colleague,
I write with some disappointing news. On May 1, the Canadian Government abolished in its entirety the Understanding Canada grant program. Funding for the Canadian Studies grant program, including Program Enhancement Grants, has been terminated. National Canadian Studies associations around the globe have completely lost their funding, including ACSUS which has relied on an annual operating grant of approximately $95,000 for many years. Although it was known that the Government planned to cut DFAIT's budget by approximately $70 million in the current fiscal year, no one knew which areas and programs would be targeted, and by how much.
Canadian High Commissions, Embassies, and Consulates around the globe began calling associations and universities on Monday with the news. These updates coincided with a message which suddenly appeared on the Understanding Canada website which you can read here:
We received no information about the internal review process nor a reason why the program was targeted. We are asking the global Canadian Studies community comprising 7,000 scholars, and dozens of national Canadian Studies associations to mobilize by sending an email/fax to Foreign Minister John Baird and Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the next 48 hours.
By fax: 001 613 941-6900
Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
It is critical that your voice be heard during this crisis.
We advise everyone to keep comments bipartisan and not style responses as attacks. We should think strategically and demonstrate the value of the Understanding Canada program, and articulate what impact loss of program funding will have on Canadian focused research world wide.
ACSUS has always had a strong relationship with Conservative and Liberal governments, and has strengthened ties with the Privy Council Office over the last several years. The value of our research on the policy making process has been expressed on numerous occasions by senior Government officials.
In an effort to better align with the Government's funding priorities, we have placed greater importance on integrating policy relevant research into our strategic planning over recent years. This seemed to have been working. At our 40th Anniversary Conference last November, Senator Pamela Wallin read a statement on behalf of Foreign Minister, John Baird:
"I would like to commend ACSUS members for helping to advance Canada's advocacy interests in the United States through the academic community's research and through engagement with the media. Your efforts have made positive and lasting contributions to the understanding of Canada-US relations."
A similar letter from the Prime Minister stated:
"The Canada-US relationship remains one of the strongest in the world and is enriched by the programs and events offered by institutions such as yours...Thanks to the efforts of organizations such as ACSUS, the population in both countries will continue to be informed about, and engaged in, important developments in the context of the Canada-US relationship."
The dissonance between the recent abolishment of the Understanding Canada program, and the strong support expressed in the letters received by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister last year presents an important opportunity for the academic community to mobilize.
Please send your responses to the email addresses provided above, and also consider faxing your response.
Sincerely,
David Archibald, Executive Director and the ACSUS Executive Council
The Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, 2030 M Street NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC, USA
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