New policy gives government power to muzzle DFO scientists Publish Date: 07-FEB-2013 03:39 PM Another crack has appeared in the Harper government’s surreptitious but merciless war to muzzle Canadian scientists — and just about everyone else.
Federal fisheries officials stalling on talks to protect water Publish Date: 09-DEC-2012 03:19 PM The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has no formal plans to consult with stakeholders on new regulations or partnerships to prevent industrial pollution in the wake of a major changes to environmental protection laws adopted last summer, says newly-released internal correspondence obtained by Postmedia News.
Canada losing ground in environmental and resource science, report says Publish Date: 26-SEP-2012 09:43 AM Canada is no longer a powerhouse in environmental and natural resources science, according to a comprehensive report to be released Thursday. “The overall decline in these fields is real,” reports a blue-ribbon panel asked by the federal government to assess the state of Canada’s science and technology.
It says the country continues to excel in health sciences and information and communications technologies and many other fields, but is losing ground in natural resources and environmental sciences, which were considered two of the country’s top four scientific strengths in 2006.
Coupes fédérales en science: l'homme qui parle (French) Publish Date: 03-SEP-2012 10:16 AM En septembre, d’autres scientifiques à l’emploi du gouvernement fédéral sont censés recevoir à leur tour la confirmation que leurs postes seront abolis. Mais il est bien difficile d’en trouver un seul qui ose en parler. « Je cours des risques si je parle aux journalistes, je n’ai pas de permission », admet Peter Ross, qui ne s’est pourtant pas privé de parler : en mai et juin, on a pu le lire et l’entendre dans plusieurs médias, francophones et anglophones. Et si les journalistes scientifiques sont nombreux à se tourner vers lui, c’est parce qu’il est à peu près le seul. (…)
Scientists fight to save library from federal cuts Publish Date: 27-AUG-2012 10:30 AM Scientists are continuing to fight to save the library at the St. Andrews Biological Station from federal funding cuts. The library is used by Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists, outside researchers and by university students for teaching and research in southwestern New Brunswick. (…)
D’un océan à l’autre, le gouvernement fédéral coupe dans la recherche scientifique (French) Publish Date: 27-AUG-2012 10:28 AM Avec les coupes budgétaires dans la recherche sur les contaminants chimiques, l’avenir s’assombrit pour le suivi à long terme et la conservation des espèces marines du Saint-Laurent. Laboratoires démantelés, postes de chercheurs supprimés: depuis la fin 2011, le gouvernement fédéral effectue des coupes budgétaires drastiques et ciblées dans son ministère chargé de l’environnement aquatique et de la recherche. Quant à la volumineuse loi budgétaire C-38 en vigueur depuis le mois de juillet, elle modifie la Loi sur les pêches et abolit des évaluations environnementales. (…)
Enbridge cleanup plans not specific for diluted bitumen, says scientist Publish Date: 26-AUG-2012 10:35 AM Enbridge Inc.'s response plan for a potential spill of Northern Gateway oil into the pristine waters off British Columbia doesn't take into account the unique oil mixture the pipeline would actually carry, documents show. However, documents obtained under access to information show a scientist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans argued vigorously for a chance to do more research. "The Northern Gateway pipeline proposal lacks key information on the chemical composition of the reference oils used in the hypothetical spill models," wrote Ken Lee, head of DFO's Centre for Offshore Oil Gas and Energy Research, or COOGER. (…)
Alberta : la mine de Jackpine de Shell inquiète des scientifiques fédéraux (French) Publish Date: 26-AUG-2012 10:33 AM Des scientifiques fédéraux ont toujours des inquiétudes à propos de l'agrandissement du projet d'exploitation des sables bitumineux Jackpine de la société pétrolière Shell, alors que le projet doit passer à l'étape des audiences publiques, indiquent des documents.
DFO promises science later, but budget "disembowelled": former officer Publish Date: 19-AUG-2012 02:44 PM While Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the fate of Enbridge's proposed pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to tankers on the British Columbia coast will be based on science and not politics, documents show some of that science isn't forthcoming.And critics say there is no time for the science to be completed before a federal deadline for the environmental assessment currently underway.
Harper rethinking myopic decision to close research lakes: Selinger Publish Date: 27-JUL-2012 02:03 PM Ottawa’s controversial decision to close down the world-renowned research facility known as the Experimental Lakes Area may not be final, according to Manitoba premier Greg Selinger. At the Council of the Federation (COF) meetings in Halifax, Premier Selinger said he had a “bilateral” meeting with federal Environment Minister Peter Kent at the recent Rio+20 Conference that left him with the impression that there was a “glimmer of hope” at the political level that Ottawa’s decision was not final.
Climate change opens up Arctic fisheries – but should Canada cut bait? Publish Date: 21-JUL-2012 01:02 PM As one of the world’s largest fish and seafood exporters (a business worth $3.9-billion in 2010), Canada might be unique in that the potential fisheries along almost three-quarters of its coastline are largely untapped and unexplored. Until recently, those Arctic marine shores kept many of their undersea secrets well hidden beneath metres-thick ice and at harsh, impassable distances.
Union leaders send out SOS for St. Andrews Biological Station Publish Date: 18-JUL-2012 08:07 AM Leaders of the largest federal public sector unions are in St. Andrews, New Brunswick today to join a groundswell of opposition to federal cuts at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ St. Andrews Biological Station.
Death of evidence Publish Date: 18-JUL-2012 08:04 AM The sight last week of 2,000 scientists marching on Ottawa's Parliament Hill highlighted a level of unease in the Canadian scientific community that is unprecedented in living memory.
Stephen Harper is blind to science Publish Date: 13-JUL-2012 08:17 AM Ottawa has seen countless demonstrations over the decades, none more poignant or disturbing than what unfolded Tuesday when hundreds of scientists took to the street to protest what they call “the Death of Evidence.”
Manifestation dénonçant «la mort de la preuve scientifique» (French) Publish Date: 11-JUL-2012 09:15 AM Quelque 1000 personnes, dont de nombreux scientifiques en sarrau blanc, ont défilé en cortège funèbre hier pour dénoncer la « mort de la preuve scientifique », exécutée selon eux par le gouvernement conservateur.
Scientists protest cuts in research funds Publish Date: 11-JUL-2012 08:30 AM Scientists from across the country staged a mock funeral on Parliament Hill Tuesday to mark what they called "the death of evidence," protesting government funding cuts to basic research.
Manifestation à Winnipeg contre les compressions fédérales en science (French) Publish Date: 10-JUL-2012 09:21 AM Une dizaine de citoyens et scientifiques vêtus de noir se sont réunis mardi devant l'Institut des eaux douces de Pêches et Océans Canada sur le campus de l'Université du Manitoba à Winnipeg, pour protester contre les compressions budgétaires du gouvernement fédéral dans les programmes scientifiques.
Regina researchers protest federal cuts to science Publish Date: 10-JUL-2012 08:27 AM It was a funeral procession with no coffin. But that didn’t stop the scientific community at the University of Regina from mourning federal government budget cuts at the Death of Evidence rally on Tuesday.
Water pollution law meant to assist oilsands: Liberal MP Publish Date: 05-JUL-2012 08:41 AM New laws offering the government more tools to "authorize" water pollution appear to be designed to remove obstacles for expansion of Canada's oilpatch, says a Liberal MP from Montreal who spearheaded a parliamentary investigation into the environmental footprint of the oilsands.
Death of Evidence: Birth of a Movement?
Publish Date: 20-JUL-2012 02:05 PM
On July 10th, well over one thousand scientists and their supporters, many wearing their lab coats, marched through the streets of Ottawa and on to Parliament Hill to send a strong message to the federal government.
