Nearly three quarters of Canadians believe public health, safety and the environment should be the top priority of government scientific activity and 91 per cent of federal government scientists believe cuts to government science budgets will have a detrimental impact on the government’s ability to serve the public, according to a new study called “Vanishing Science” released Thursday (February 6).
“Vanishing Science: The Disappearance of Public Interest Science” is the result of surveys of scientists and Canadians to gauge reaction to federal government cuts to research projects, libraries and other research facilities.
The study was released by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the union that represents many of the federal scientists, and focused on science conducted in the public interest, such as public health, public safety and the protection of the environment.
RCI’s Wojtek Gwiazda spoke to Peter Bleyer, PIPSC’s Communications and Policy Section Head about the report, the commitment and concern of federal scientists, and why this report was written.
ListenMore information:
PIPSC press release – Harper Government Cuts to Science Overwhelmingly Detrimental and Out of Sync with Public’s Priorities, Say Surveys – here
Vanishing Science: The Disappearance of Public Interest Science full report (pdf) – here
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.