Nearly one in four of the over 4,000 scientists in federal public service have been asked to change or leave out information for non-scientific reasons, according to a recent survey.
Entitled “The Big Chill,” the survey was commissioned by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, a union representing scientists and professionals employed by the government. Hundreds of respondents working in health, environment, defence, fisheries and oceans, food inspection, agriculture, and natural resources felt that they were not allowed to speak freely about their work to the media. Eighty-six per cent of respondents felt that they would face consequences if they went public about issues related to the environment or public health and safety. Only a fifth of them felt that Environment Canada was making the best use of climate science to create policy. The vast majority of those working at Fisheries and Oceans felt that the new policy impinged on their ability to protect the environment. Many respondents asserted that this state of affairs was attributable to the current government.
With files from The Canadian Press
