Scientists March On Parliament Hill To Protest Research Cuts

Science protest

Bruce Campion-Smith/Toronto Star Scientists and academics gathered on Parliament Hill on Tuesday to protest Conservative budget cuts they say will undermine science in Canada and with it good policy based on evidence. (July 10, 2012)

OTTAWA—Hundreds of scientists stepped away from their petri dishes on Tuesday to denounce what they say are the Harper government’s sweeping cuts to research.

Flanked by supporters, the white-coated scientists marched through downtown Ottawa to Parliament Hill for a mock funeral marking “the death of evidence.”

They carried placards that read “No Science, No Evidence, No Truth,” and “Save ELA,” referring to the experimental lakes area that recently had its funding cut.

A central theme of the rally was the planned closure of the ELA, a research station in Ontario that produces critical data used to combat acid rain and phosphate pollution in lake water. Without government funding, it is slated to close in 2013.

“The experimental lakes area is a world-class, living, outdoor laboratory where scientists have studied how to protect freshwater for decades,” said Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians and a former senior adviser on water to the UN General Assembly.

“The Harper government is shaming Canadians in the eyes of the world and killing a major gift to water science at the very moment we are really beginning to understand the depth of the global water crisis.”

But the protesters also decried the Conservative government’s overall economic agenda, which they say puts the environment at risk for the sake of creating jobs.

The Conservatives make no apologies for wanting to focus scientific research in areas where money and jobs can be made.