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CAN Report: Canadian Scientists Muzzled by Harper Government
Harper Government Stifles the Truth
Posted at DeSmogBlog.com, March 21, 2010
By Mitchell Anderson
The scandal is growing at Environment Canada of how Canadian climate researchers are being “muzzled” by draconian policies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
This week the Montreal Gazette reported on a leaked document showing that the information restrictions brought in by the Harper government had severely restricted the media’s access to government researchers.
“Scientists have noticed a major reduction in the number of requests, particularly from high-profile media, who often have same-day deadlines,” said the Environment Canada document. “Media coverage of climate change science, our most high-profile issue, has been reduced by over 80%.”
Read more: Harper Government Stifles the Truth
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On March 17, Joe Romm at ClimateProgress.org posted on this as well. Please read on…
Leaked document reveals Canadian federal climate scientists being muzzled from media contact
“The Government of Canada has cut virtually all programs aimed at funding climate science. I get the sense that they feel that science is a nuisance. They ignore science in their decision making; they muzzle their federal scientists by imposing impossible media-contact regulations; they cut programs designed to allow scientists to develop knowledge.” — Andrew Weaver, professor at the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, and Canada Research Chair
That’s from “Troubling Evidence,” a startling new report from the Climate Action Network Canada. It was “released just days after a federal budget that effectively slashed funding for university-based climate science.”
A CAN Canada spokesman says of the Harper government, “they’re putting climate deniers in key oversight positions over research, and they’re reducing funding in key areas.… It’s almost as though they’re making a conscious attempt to bury the truth.”
