90 per cent of Canadian government scientists feel they are not allowed to speak freely to the media about the work they do, according to a survey by their union. If they were to speak about a departmental decision that could harm public health, safety or the environment, 86 per cent said they would face censure or retaliation.
Called The Big Chill, this report claims to be the first extensive effort to gauge the scale and impact of “muzzling” and “political interference” by the current Canadian government. In a break with the past, Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduced communication policies obliging scientists to get approval before being interviewed by journalists.
Information official investigating
The policy is being investigated by Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault. Her mandate is to ensure Canadians have access to information about the government. That access is guaranteed by a law passed in 1983.
Asked if they had been directly required to exclude or alter information for non-scientific reasons, 24 per cent of scientists who answered this survey said yes. 37 per cent said they had been prevented from responding to questions from the public and media sometime in the last five years.
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