Ottawa: The Canadian government has announced the end of all research funding with the Chinese military and state security institutions and urged provinces and universities to adopt similar national security measures, The Globe and Mail reported. Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced Tuesday that Ottawa has directed the Canada Foundation for Innovation and federal research grant councils to scrutinize funding requests from Canadian universities that focus on sensitive research with China and other hostile states. are cooperating.
Last month, Champagne vowed to introduce new national-security rules to keep the technology from slipping into the hands of China and other hostile countries. On January 30, The Globe reported that the joint projects with china National University of Defense Technology (NUDT).
According to The Globe and Mail, some of the Chinese military scientists involved are experts in missile display and guidance systems, mobile robotics and automated surveillance.
“Grant applications conducting research in a sensitive research area will not be funded if any of the researchers working on the project are affiliated with a university, research institution, or laboratory affiliated with military, national defense, or state security entities abroad.” State actors who pose a threat to our national security,” Champagne said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said the government has also written to Universities Canada and the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities to follow the same guidelines for all their research partnerships, and “partnerships involving particularly sensitive research areas.”
Champagne said the new policy would be implemented rapidly and in close consultation with government departmentNational security agencies, and the Canadian research community, as reported by The Globe and Mail. “We will work closely with our university-sector partners to ensure these additional steps are implemented effectively,” he said.
In 2021, Canada put in place stricter guidelines for a national security review for academics seeking federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). But this did not apply to other federal funding bodies.
Meanwhile, Margaret McQuiag-Johnston, former executive vice-chair of the NSERC, called the Canadian government’s announcement “a very good step,” according to The Globe and Mail. She said Canada should draw up a comprehensive list of all educational institutions and laboratories to avoid, The Globe and Mail reported.
Giving information about Chinese universities, Johnson said that there are about 65 universities and educational institutions for the military in China alone. and there are 160 others military-focused laboratories In civilian Chinese universities, she said.
“A list of all of these should be provided to universities and federal grant councils.” He said federally funded Genome Canada should be required to break away from research with China’s BGI Group, formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute, which works closely with the People’s Liberation Army.
Johnson said collaborating with civilian researchers in China is also risky because they too are obligated to work with the Chinese military when requested.