Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)
UQTR posted a Canada Research Chair job advertisement that explicitly encourages applications based on sex, ethnicity, and disability, rather than evaluating candidates solely on merit and demonstrated research excellence.
What happened
On July 10, 2026, the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) posted a job advertisement for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Electrochemical Technologies and Functional Materials for the Environmental Energy Transition. The posting states that UQTR participates in the federal government's 'Employment Equity Access Program (PAÉE)' and, in accordance with the Canada Research Chairs Program's target-setting plan, states that it 'particularly encourages applications from women and gender equity-seeking groups, members of Indigenous communities, racialized individuals and individuals with disabilities.' The posting also states that the selection process can be adapted for individuals with disabilities upon request, and that life circumstances such as illness, disability, caregiving responsibilities, or effects of COVID-19 will be given consideration during evaluation of past research output. Candidates are also invited to describe barriers that may have affected their research without providing personal information.
Expected harm
This incident undermines the principle of singular worth. The posting signals that candidates' sex, skin colour and ethnicity, and disability status are relevant factors that the institution particularly encourages applicants to consider and disclose, rather than evaluating every applicant purely on the basis of demonstrated research excellence, character, and ability. By framing recruitment around demographic categories drawn from a federal 'employment equity' target-setting program, the institution risks treating candidates as representatives of groups rather than as individuals whose contributions and qualifications should be assessed on their own merits. While accommodations for individuals with disabilities and consideration of documented career interruptions can be legitimate and individualized practices, explicitly and 'particularly' encouraging applications based on sex, ethnicity, and disability status risks signalling that these traits carry weight in a hiring process meant to identify the most excellent researcher, rather than remaining strictly incidental to an individualized assessment of merit.