Quote:Scientists rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, September 16, 2013 (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)Thousands of scientists gathered in cities across Canada on Monday to protest the ongoing “muzzling” of the scientific community by the conservative-led government along with drastic cuts to research funding.
“What do we want? Evidence-based decision-making!” chanted protesters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“I believe that the muzzling of science represents a government that is willfully blind.”
Protesting scientists could be found in their lab coats in 18 cities across the country, as part of a series of “Stand Up for Science” rallies organized by the Ottawa-based science advocacy group Evidence for Democracy.
Since the conservative government took power in 2006, federal funding for research has deteriorated, as has science-based policy making and public accessibility to scientific research and findings, the group charges. The government has notably reduced public science projects in public health and the environment.
“The great strength of science is its openness to scrutiny, to examination and self-correction,” David Suzuki, environmental author, told a crowd of more than 200 in Vancouver. Suzuki said scientific research is needed for public and scientific awareness around issues such as the Northern Gateway pipeline, GMOs, and other environmental and public health concerns — sectors of research that are being gutted by the curren