On Tuesday, July 10th, Canadian scientists held a funeral-themed protest against the federal government’s cuts to research in the budget. Hundreds dressed in white lab coats and black mourning garb marched from the Ottawa Convention Centre to Parliament Hill in a mock funeral procession. Borne on their shoulders was a wooden coffin containing the “body of evidence,” and among their number walked the scythe-wielding, robed and hooded Grim Reaper. The procession of scientists paid their respects by placing books into the coffin. Speakers representing the scientific community and the civil community delivered eulogies for the deceased “Evidence.”
The protest was sponsored by The Council of Canadians, a progressive citizens’ association that tackles Canadian policies on fair trade, water quality, energy security, health care, and other social and economic issues. Protesters disagree with the Conservative majority’s overall economic agenda, which emphasizes economic development at the risk of environmental protection and regulation, as well as weakening research and development, as well as the governing party’s generally neglectful treatment towards research results and data collection.
A major point of protest was the planned closure of the Experimental Lakes Area in Kenora, Ontario, a research facility that studies the effect of acid rain and pollution on freshwater quality. With federals cuts to its funding, it will close in 2013. Budget reductions are also planned to research programs at Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the National Research Council, Statistics Canada, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Other research institutions, like the National Council of Welfare, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, and the First Nations Statistical Institute will also be closed outright. Recently, the the mandatory long-form national census was eliminated, thus decreasing fidelity of data collected.
The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, also has a record of impeding scientific evidence in public debate, such as eliminating the position of the National Science Advisor in 2008, censorship and coercion of government scientists in accordance with “standard practice” as stated by Peter Kent, Minister of the Environment, and the silencing of the National Round Table on Environment and Economy, which provides independent advice on environmental protection and economic development. Furthermore, the Conservative government has a track record of systematically ignoring data, for example, the Vancouver data supporting the benefits of government-funded Insite safe-injection sites for chronic drug users to reduce infection, treat mental health issues, and administer first aid.
However, it should also be noted government funding towards science and research has actually steadily increased during the past ten years, including under Conservative leadership, although it is also shifting an emphasis from basic research and data collection into applied research and commercialization. This is reasonable, given that all governments attempt to nudge research towards profitable applications.
The protestors bring up a valid point about the Conservative government’s questionable approach to its interpretation (or lack thereof) of scientific evidence in a bold, media-friendly allegorical statement, but should be careful of polarizing the scientific community. In order to avoid losing support, they should acknowledge a more balanced view of the federal government’s scientific research funding strategies in order to strengthen their own position, if only to avoid being labelled as extremists themselves.
And with regards to the theme of their protest – they should consider a different catchphrase. The first search result for “Body of Evidence” is a 1993 erotic drama starring Madonna.
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