Scientists unite to protest ‘death’ of research

Budget cuts are only partly to blame for Canada’s loss of federal science, say the scientists who do the research. They also say politics is undermining the research that governments need to make decisions.

With 2,400 biologists coming to town this weekend for a conference, scientists from universities and government labs have organized a protest march to Parliament Hill at noon on Tuesday.

They’re calling the event the Death of Evidence.

“I think scientists are starting to see that the only way we’ll get ahead is by talking to the public and talking to the media,” said Katie Gibbs, a PhD student in biology at the University of Ottawa.

“Policy decisions are being made, and there won’t be evidence” after research is ended.

“There is systematic campaign to reduce the flow of scientific evidence to Canadians,” said Scott Findlay, a U of O biology professor.

“As a result, the public hears and sees only information that supports federal government policy or ideology. That’s not evidence, that’s propaganda.”

Biology, especially environmental research, has been one of the areas hit hardest by this summer’s federal budget cuts.

This summer’s federal cuts have ended all funding to an Arctic atmospheric research lab called PEARL, and the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario.

Both are leading centres of real-world experiments to study our land and water in ways that no one can do in a lab. Both have international reputations.

More funding cuts have knocked out the National Round Table on Environment and Economy and the National Science Advisor.

But there’s also a political angle, the scientists say. They point to the Conservative decision to make participation in Canada’s long-form census optional.

“Anyone who has taken first-year statistics knows that how you do your sampling completely affects your data at the end,” says Gibbs.

The census is “a huge source of data, and Canada is constantly changing,” she noted. But with skewed participation, its data now can’t be trusted as much as in the past.

As well, federal scientists have complained for years that their political masters are ordering them to keep their mouths shut, and this prevents their findings from reaching the public.

The Experimental Lakes Area is an especially frustrating case for scientists as it has been running for decades, doing long-term experiments that can’t be done on the short time-scales of university lab work. Scientists use the 58 lakes as “living laboratories” to study how pollutants and changing climate affect living species over time, in a natural setting that working in test tubes cannot duplicate.

Topics have ranged from effects of acid rain to toxic mercury to chemicals in water that mimic estrogen.

The ELA draws researchers from private companies and from universities in other countries. Its location far from any industry makes it a rare source of lakes in their natural condition.

Sixteen of the station’s 17 staff have been given “affected” notices. Only a manager remains.

About 200 people a year come to the lakes for a variety of projects, said Diane Orihel of the Save ELA campaign. Many are students. “It’s a critical training ground for the scientists of tomorrow.”

Original Article
Source: ottawa citizen
Author: Tom Spears