Now Environment Canada Muzzles Scientists, Too: Report

"Environment Canada has 'muzzled' its scientists around the country, ordering them to refer all media queries to Ottawa where communications officers will help them respond with 'approved lines,'" Canwest News Service reported Feb. 1, 2008.

The story, by Canwest's Margaret Munro, adds: "The new policy, which went into force in recent weeks and sent a chill through the department research divisions, is designed to control the department's media message and ensure there are no surprises for Environment Minister John Baird and senior management when they open the newspaper or turn on the television, according to documents obtained by Canwest News Service."

The Conservative government's move to replace science with the political party line only seems to mirror a U.S. stance taken in many politically controlled federal agencies who do science related to the environment. The WatchDog has in recent years reported instances of this at EPA, NASA, NOAA, CDC, NIEHS, the Interior Department, and elsewhere.

• "Government 'Muzzles' Scientists," Canwest News Service via Victoria Times Colonist, Feb. 1, 2008, by Margaret Munro.
• Previous Story: WatchDog of June 13, 2007.