The Canadian government is currently under investigation for its efforts to obstruct the right wing of the culture medium and world to speak to government scientists . These policies are wide conceive to be a part of the government ’s unverbalized campaign to ensure that oil color keeps flowing from the Athabasca tar sands — even if it ’s at the cost of free scientific research , the environs , and by upshot , democracy itself .
Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault officially launched the investigation into the say ‘ muzzling ’ of Canadian scientist to begin with this calendar week . telephone call for the inquiry came in the manakin of a recent128 - varlet reportchronicling “ systemic effort ” to obstruct public access to investigator — a request that originated from the non - profit groupDemocracy Watch . The agencies to be look into include departments of the environment , piscary and ocean , rude resources , and the National Research Council of Canada .
Despite this , and somewhat surprisingly , the Union government ’s data track book on science is actually not awful . In fact , inquiry budgets are bigger than they were before the current government take office . The trouble , however , is where this money is being directed and how scientists are being made to exclude - up about their workplace . It ’s no coincidence that anything having to do with the surround is being shown curt shrift by the current administration .
Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper , the ruling conservativist have unquestioningly prioritise the crude oil industry , and for obvious reason . It ’s estimated that178 billion barrel of oilare engage within the Athabasca tar sand formation , with some estimates placing it as high as 1.7 trillion bbl . irrespective , that ’s a lot of oil , placing Canada alongside Saudi Arabia in terms of its petroleum potential .
The challenge , of track , is get all this low-spirited - grade petroleum , called bitumen , out from the on the loose mixture of backbone and clay . It ’s done via an astoundingly environmentally hostile process involving surface mining and subsurface production ; large areas of boreal forest are cleared to make way . Production requires immense quantities of water which are taken from local rivers , and is subsequently turned into toxic waste .
It ’s also a major contributor to greenhouse gas expelling . intimately all the stimulation energy want to fuel the process come from fossil fuels . Jack sands output is also highly inefficient ; it takes one joule of DOE to make four to six James Prescott Joule of primitive oil vigour . Traditional vegetable oil production render something closer to a 1:15 ratio .
But this is precisely the sort of information the Harper government does not want to get a line — or more accurately , it ’s not the kind of information they want the public to see . In turn , the Conservatives have apply a three - pronged approach to the perceived problem : 1 ) steering scientific research in trust counsel by primarily fund non - sullen areas of research ( like genetics and stem cadre inquiry ) , 2 ) implementing obstruction manoeuvre to foreclose the dissemination of scientific research that could counteract the oil industry , and 3 ) shutting down ( or under - backing ) any institution or organization that could likewise flummox a terror .
This all bulge back in 2008 when the Tories put through a policy in whichfederal scientists were told to direct all medium inquiries to national headquarters and not respond to postulation to spill about their work . As a result , many Canadians , and specially the media , are not hearing about the latest findings , including those published in prestigious journals . Canadian scientists are starting to slip on the world phase .
The Toronto Star , Canada ’s most widely understand newspaper , had this to sayabout its experience in hear to account on how climate change is strike the Arctic and Antarctic after contacting scientists at NASA , Environment Canada , and Natural Resources Canada :
Emails to the U.S. government scientist were personally return , unremarkably the same day and with offers to talk in person or by phone .
Emails transmit to Canadian political science scientists led to apologetic answer that the request would have to be routed through public relation official . Public relations staff ask for a inclination of head in advance , and then set limit for what subject the interview could pertain upon . approving to interview the scientists was feed days later . In all case , a public relations staffer demand to listen in on the interviews .
Government scientists who were contact for this story informed the Star directly and through intermediaries that they did not need to remark , fearing repercussions .
But one researcher with well over a X of experience in the civil service , who asked to remain anonymous because he tell both direction and his union have told him he could front penalties for speak out in public , call the situation “ perfectly embarrassing . ”
These meter have not gone unnoticed outside of Canada . In other March , Nature knock the Harper government for its actions , saying it ’s time the Tories coiffure its scientist detached . Other international media outlets which have talk out let in the Economist and the Guardian .
At the same time , the administration has defended its posture on science , stating that , “ Government scientists and experts are readily available to share their research with the media and the public . Last year , Environment Canada take part in more than 1,300 media interviews , Agriculture and Agri - Food Canada issued almost 1,000 scientific publications , and Natural Resources Canada published nearly 500 study . ”
Commissioner Legault ’s challenge will be in determine the degree to which these policies are truly obstructive .
But as already note , Tory policies go beyond just muzzle . Other apparent slights against scientific discipline include the elimination of the National Science Advisor spatial relation , the scrapping of the mandatory long - course nose count , toss Union funding for Canada ’s Ozone internet , terminate the Experimental Lakes Area project , and the death to the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy .
And alarmingly , as Maclean ’s John Geddes describe , the RCMPsupported efforts to make science that negate the body of peer - reviewed research .
A democracy is only as effective as its voter ; if its citizens are being by design kept in the dark about important yield , then in full informed participation can not happen .
At the same time , as Canada continues to overemphasize the part and grandness of its vegetable oil sands , the commonwealth is turn into something else .
Writing in the New York Times , Canadian professor Thomas Homer - Dixonnoted thatthe oil industry is “ deform our smart set into something we do n’t wish , ” and that “ Canada is set about to exhibit the economical and political characteristics of a petro - commonwealth . ”
He continues :
body politic with vast military reserve of valuable rude resources often support from economical imbalances and roaring - fizzle cycle . They also tend to have low - innovation economies , because lucrative imagination extraction make them productive and happy , at least when resource price are high .
Canada ’s record on technical innovation , except in resourcefulness descent , is notoriously hapless . Washington and talent flowing to the seaman gumption , while investments in manufacturing productiveness and high engineering science elsewhere languish …
Indeed , the quest to bear on the wholeness of the Jack-tar sands project is turn out to be problematic on a identification number of level . It ’s stifling the dissemination of of import scientific research , prompt environmental end , break up economical development , and interfering with the democratic process .
It will be interesting to learn the results of Legault ’s inquiry — and what might be done about the current state of matter in Canada .
Sources : Toronto Starhere , here , andhere;Macleans;New York Times .
image : ollyy / Shutterstock ; National Geographic ; Macleans .
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