By Harinder Mahil
Scientists and science supporters will gather Saturday on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to rally in support of Canadian and international science. They are joining hundreds of thousands of people marching in over 500 cities around the world, in the largest coordinated demonstration of support for open and independent science in history.
The March for Science is taking place when British Columbia scientists are expressing concern about the state of science in our own province.
Evidence for Democracy is the leading non-partisan, not-for-profit organization promoting the transparent use of evidence in government decision-making in Canada. This organization has recently released a report which paints a dismal picture of science in British Columbia.
The report, titled “Oversight at Risk: The State of Government Science in British Columbia,” found that “since 2001 … B.C.’s public service has been reduced to the smallest per capita in Canada. Departments with science-based mandates have been particularly hard hit with a 25 per cent reduction in staff-scientists and licensed-expert positions in the past decade.”
The report is based on survey responses from 403 government scientists in 10 provincial ministries on questions related to communication, independence and capacity for scientific research within the government.
The report states that cutbacks in science impede the government’s ability to fulfill its responsibility for regulatory oversight. A majority of government scientists (71%) surveyed said they have witnessed a decrease in research capacity in their ministry and/or branch over the course of their tenure in the BC government. 68% of government scientists surveyed believe that there are insufficient resources to effectively fulfill their branch or ministerial mandate.It is alarming to note that almost half (49 per cent) of the scientists who responded to the survey feel that political interference is compromising their ministry’s ability to develop laws, policies and programs based on scientific evidence.
Scientists are concerned about the potential effects of research and decision-making being increasingly outsourced to external professionals. Scientists point to risks of conflicts of interest, which arise when these professionals are employed by the same industry the government, is required to regulate.
Science and innovation are our collective future and, like democracy, cannot thrive in a world of endless budget cuts or avoidance of real world challenges such as climate change. The cutbacks in science will have a crippling impact on our ability to address urgent public health, safety and environmental issues in the future. Investment in public science and protection of scientists’ freedom to speak are therefore essential.
We know where the Christy Clark government’s stand on science as it is the one that has made the cut backs over the last 16 years. It is the government that has granted the Mount Polley Mining Corporation to drain treated mining waste water into Quesnel Lake that provides drinking water to residents of Likely B.C. The approval was granted despite a disaster that put the water at risk in 2014.
The provincial election scheduled for May 9 presents us an opportunity to elect a government that will address urgent public health, safety and environmental issues in the future.
Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist active in the Indo-Canadian community. He serves on the board of directors of the Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.
