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Over a thousand mourn the "Death of Evidence" in a protest against the Harper government's use of political ideology over scientific evidence.
Ottawa (11 July 2012) - The Grim Reaper led the way as over a thousand scientists and supporters from across the country carried a coffin through the streets of Ottawa until they reached Parliament Hill to hold a funeral in honour of the "Evidence."
The rally's theme, the "Death of Evidence", refers to the disturbing practice of the Harper government which replaces scientific evidence with political ideology when it comes to public policy decision-making.
The growing movement against Harper's approach was given much more fuel with the introduction of the government's omnibus budget bill. In the over 400 page bill, the government amended more than 70 pieces of distinct legislation, much of it unrelated to the actual budget. Many of the changes were implementing election promises and core political ideolgical policies of the Conservative party and in the process cut at the core of Canadian democracy.
Scientists in particular have been targeted since the Conservative government was elected. In an organized fightback campaign, science students, researchers, professors and supporters in the scientific community have been voicing their concerns over the shift in policy decision-making. "Good government policies and programs depend on sound evidence and our democracy depends on an informed public that knows the facts. Science and evidence are essential so that we can make informed decisions that ensure the best possible future for our country," reads the rally's website.
They assert that the Harper government is using a systematic program to impede and divert the flow of scientific information to Canadians in two ways: gutting programs and institutions whose principal mandate is the collection of scientific evidence and impeding the bringing forward of scientific evidence into public debate. Examples include:
- cutting the mandatory long-form national census;
- major budget reductions to research programs at Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Library and Archives Canada, the National Research Council Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada;
- decisions to close major natural and social science research institutions such as the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area, the National Council of Welfare and the First Nations Statistical Institute;
- closing of The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut;
- not renewing the The National Science Advisor in 2008;
- dozens of instances of censoring of, impeded access to, and coercion of government scientists, a practice which Minister of Environment Peter Kent has justified as merely in keeping with “established practice”; and
- shutting down the National Round Table on Environment and Economy (NRTEE), an arm’s length advisory body providing independent advice on environmental protection and economic development, because the government didn’t like its advice.
"It definitely seems to us these cuts are not just part of fighting the deficit, that there is a systematic attack on science and the preferential cutting of programs that may produce results not in line with the Conservative agenda," says Katie Gibbs, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and one of the organizers of the rally.
The rally was timed to coincide with a large scientific conference taking place in Ottawa.
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