The Canadian National Newspaper: Dalhousie University's funding agreement risks political autonomy

It sounds like a bad joke. Every year our university pumps out into the world a couple hundred graduates in the fields of international development, nursing, social work and political science so they can work tirelessly to end war and human conflict. Meanwhile the university accepts funding from war munitions producers and accelerates the intelligence and sophistication of warfare strategies, elevating war to a terrifying level in a self-perpetuating cycle.

In the summer of 2008, Dalhousie had announced it would be receiving funding from an aerospace company, Lockheed Martin, to go toward research in the department of physics. The announcement didn’t mention Lockheed Martin is a weapons manufacturer, as the company shamelessly declares on its website.

A federal Industrial and Regional Benefits policy, which pertains to defence contracts awarded by the Canadian government, requires companies that get contracts, such Lockheed Martin, to invest a portion of the contract’s value in Canada.

“This is Canadian taxpayers’ money, dispersed in a way that benefits Lockheed Martin,” said Angella MacEwen, a member of Nova Scotia’s Voice of Women for Peace and the Halifax Coalition for Peace.

“In this case, the funding announcement is meant to improve Lockheed Martin’s public image. I would argue that any improvement in Lockheed Martin’s image comes at the expense of Dalhousie’s credibility.”

Voice of Women is an organization that sends Dal students to the United Nations to learn about international conflict resolution and promotes peace in our community.

Under the Bush administration, Lockheed Martin has become the U.S. Armed Forces’ largest military hardware supplier. It produces cruise missiles, rocket artillery and nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, to name a few.

Dal’s May funding announcement describes Lockheed Martin as an aerospace company, but 90 per cent of Lockheed’s profits come from military and defense contracts.

“Their strike fighter jets and long-range bombers carry death and destruction to people all over the world,” said MacEwen. “They are one of the largest lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and last year made $4 billion in profit from their weapons.”

At a time when so much is unclear about the legitimacy of the war in Iraq, when human rights in that country are deteriorating and the Bush administration is widely mistrusted, why is Dal sacrificing its political autonomy for the almighty dollar?

Although the product of funded projects at Dal probably won’t be applicable to military functions for another 15 to 20 years, accepting this funding compromises the integrity of this institution.

If Dal wants more funding in the future, the university could propose research for technology that would align with Lockheed Martin interests – a dangerous pattern. By accepting this funding, the university risks more than research opportunities; it risks reducing itself to a corporate research firm.

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