Ottawa Bans Federal Funding for Research With Chinese Military Institutions; Calls on Provinces, Universities to Do the Same

Ottawa Bans Federal Funding for Research With Chinese Military Institutions; Calls on Provinces, Universities to Do the Same
Chinese fighter jets take off at the Yangcun Air Force base of the People's Liberation Army Air Force in Tianjin, southeast of Beijing, in a file photo. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Marnie Cathcart
Updated:

Ottawa is banning federal research funding for projects done in collaboration with any researchers affiliated with China’s military. The federal government is calling on the provinces and universities across Canada to follow similar guidelines.

“Grant applications that involve 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 institute or laboratory connected to military, national defence or state security entities of foreign state actors that pose a risk to our national security,” reads a Feb. 14 joint statement by the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.