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Canada Science Politics

The Canadian Government's War On Science 474

FuzzNugget writes "A contributor at ScienceBlogs.com has compiled and published a shockingly long list of systematic attacks on scientific research committed by the Canadian government since the conservatives came to power in 2006. This anti-scientific scourge includes muzzling scientists, shutting down research centers, industry deregulation and re-purposing the National Research Council to align with business interests instead of doing real science. It will be another two years before Canadians have the chance to go to the polls, but how much more damage will be done in the meantime?"
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The Canadian Government's War On Science

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  • Re:umm..... (Score:4, Informative)

    by MSBob ( 307239 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:35PM (#43796167)
    Balancing the budget? LOL! This government has blown the hole in the budget that Canada had never seen in its entire history. The federal debt has skyrocketed under this regime while the funds to provinces were cut. The 'tax and spend' Liberals maintained balanced budgets for years and years until these clowns grabbed a hold of the steering wheel. Their first stupid move was cutting the GST by two percentage points just before the debt crisis hit. As for their approach to science they had a creationist as a minister of science; enough said.
  • Re:Hand wring much? (Score:5, Informative)

    by icebike ( 68054 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:39PM (#43796201)

    It was down town rescue station. Largely redundant with Vancouver Police and Fire rescue. There was no science done there.

    It wasn't part of fishery management or fishing regulation. The 12 people were re-assigned to other coast guard stations, some of which actually do get involved in fishing enforcement.

  • Re:Dang, Canada... (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:47PM (#43796275)

    You're seriously going to link Breitbart and The Daily Fail as sources? They both exist to keep deranged Wingnuts angry and stupid so they don't wise up and turn back into Conservatives..

  • Re:Excuse me? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:52PM (#43796331)

    I clicked one of the blog-troll's links at almost random. It was a hysteria filled column about how the "EVIL Conservatives (who obviously were being lead by the EVEN MORE EVIL Bush family)" were being EVIL by removing an "Environment Canada" logo and text from the weather page. The top-rated 9000 comments were all outrage, but the most recent three explained that the "Environment Canada" web page still exists and that (gasp, shock, horror) this actually helps because the weather page had been the top response when searching for "Environment Canada," and now searching for that term actually gave you what you searched for.

    After reading that, the next link could've had video evidence of their hated PM firing nuclear weapons at baby seals and I still wouldn't care.

  • Re:Excuse me? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Score Whore ( 32328 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:52PM (#43796333)

    Science is a method not an outcome and as such is amoral. "We must reduce carbon emissions in order to reverse global warming", is not a scientific statement.

  • Re:Dang, Canada... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @02:55PM (#43796369)

    Obama is right-wing from Canadian perspective, so "when the right finally tanks the US" is still applicable.

  • Re:Excuse me? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Again ( 1351325 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @03:03PM (#43796439)

    You must be a conservative.

    I hate to break it to you, but the Kyoto Accord is based on science, whether you like that science or not. This is exactly the point: you don't like the science, and neither do most conservatives, because it indicates that a BIG business (fossil fuel based energy) is bad. Since those businesses have a fair amount of money, the Kyoto Accord is pretty anti-fossil fuel business.

    Despite that fact, it is still based on valid science.

    I remember the Kyoto Accord very differently then you do. The Kyoto Accord was signed by the Liberals at the end of a very unpopular Liberal term. The Liberals never made a plan of how to meet the requirements of The Kyoto Accord because it was impossible for Canada to meet it in the specified time frame. Signing it was a recognized political joke at the time.

    Full disclosure: I voted Conservative for that election and Liberal for the one after.

  • Re:Excuse me? (Score:5, Informative)

    by anagama ( 611277 ) <obamaisaneocon@nothingchanged.org> on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @03:08PM (#43796465) Homepage

    Here's a very interesting movie about farmed salmon in BC and the ISA virus (an internationally reportable virus like mad cow). http://salmonconfidential.ca/ [salmonconfidential.ca]

    Basically, the Canadian government, despite highly reputable testing, continues to deny that there is ISA and other viruses in the farms, muzzles the scientist who published research on the topic, and almost passed a law making it a felony to report on infections in livestock/farmed fish. All the while, native stocks of salmon plummet due to diseases that fill the narrow passageways in which the farms are located. And no, you can't just replace wild salmon with farmed salmon -- unless you're going to truck them out to the forest and dump them because even the trees get fertilized by dead fish that bears leave around after eating the eggs (and then of course there are Orcas and seals to feed etc. etc). The rivers can provide nutrients to an entire ecosystem including people -- farmed salmon destroy that but provide profit for big business. With most fishermen being small time business people -- guess which wins. http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/fw580/pdf/15.%20MDN%20riparian.pdf [oregonstate.edu]

  • Re:Hand wring much? (Score:5, Informative)

    by icebike ( 68054 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @03:08PM (#43796469)

    Coast Guard stations do not do fishery data collection. Especially down town rescue stations in a busy port.

    So if any one is off their rocker it would be the person claiming the closure of this station was anti-science.

  • by Samantha Wright ( 1324923 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @03:28PM (#43796671) Homepage Journal
    There are other reasons [wikipedia.org] why the Conservative Party got that majority; it would be an exaggeration to say we elected them.
  • Re:Dang, Canada... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @03:50PM (#43796917)

    Only in the USA. We got lefties here in Canada that would make righties explode in terror just by voicing their ideas.

  • Re:Dang, Canada... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @04:33PM (#43797287)

    People that use the phrase: "wake up" are delusional retards.

  • Re:Excuse me? (Score:4, Informative)

    by stenvar ( 2789879 ) on Wednesday May 22, 2013 @06:12PM (#43798135)

    However "if you don't step off the tracks before that freight train arrives then you will die" is a scientific statement.

    Unfortunately, climate science isn't capable of making even that statement. All it can say is that continued carbon emissions will lead to modest and gradual temperature increases. Whether those are good or bad is purely speculation at this point.

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