UPDATE: After a full day of debate on government science integrity, the motion failed to pass with a vote of 145 to 119. We made a strong show of support for public science and this debate will go a long way to ensuring that science is an election issue.
UPDATE: All your tweets and emails worked! This motion to restore science integrity to government science will be debated and voted on in parliament on Tuesday May 26. Email your MP to show your support today!!
Thanks to all of the attention last week to the challenges government scientists are facing, three Liberal MPs have put forward an opposition motion in support of science integrity.
Here is the text of their motion:
That, in the opinion of the House:
(a) the government has constrained the ability of federal scientists to share their research and to collaborate with their peers;
(b) federal scientists have been muzzled and prevented from speaking to the media about their work;
(c) research is paid for by taxpayers and must be done in the public interest in order to protect the environment and the health and safety of Canadians; and, therefore,
(d) the government should immediately rescind all rules and regulations that muzzle government scientists, consolidate government-funded or -created science so that it is easily available to the public at large through a central portal, create a Chief Science Officer whose mandate would include ensuring that government science is freely available to those who are paying for it, namely, the public, and allow scientists to be able to speak freely on their work with limited and publicly stated exceptions.
Huge thanks to MPs Kirsty Duncan, Ted Hsu and Kevin Lamoureux for showing leadership on improving public science!
The Liberal Party has an opposition day this Tuesday (May 26th) where they get to pick one motion for parliament to debate. They are considering discussing this motion on science integrity.
This would be a great way to get more attention for this issue! But the party is looking to see how much public support there is for science integrity and open science communication by Monday.
Here’s where we need your help! Please take a minute to let the Liberal Leader’s Office know that you want them to follow this leadership from their MPs and spotlight public science integrity on Tuesday!
You can tweet to them by clicking here or using this tweet:
.@liberal_party & @JustinTrudeau Support your MPs motions to restore scientific integrity for public scientists! #cdnpoli #cdnsci Pls RT
And you can email the policy assistant in the Leader’s office to show your support: julie.savard-shaw@parl.gc.ca (please cc info@evidencefordemocracy.ca so we can track how many emails are sent)
Here’s a sample email (feel free to edit it): I’m writing to let you know that I support the science integrity motion put forward by your MPs Kirsty Duncan, Ted Hsu and Kevin Lamoureux. I am hoping the Liberal Party will support the leadership of these MPs by debating their motion for your upcoming opposition day.
We only have until Monday to show that there is support for public science so please take action and share widely!
Katie Gibbs is a scientist, organizer and advocate for science and evidence-based policies. While completing her PhD at the University of Ottawa researching threats to endangered species, she was one of the lead organizers of the ‘Death of Evidence’ rally - one of the largest science rallies in Canadian history. Katie cofounded Evidence for Democracy and now serves as its Executive Director.
