Canadian government muzzles its scientists

Sting was right. History will teach us nothing. Seemingly oblivious to the disaster that was the Bush administration's efforts to limit media access to government scientists, Canada's governing politicians are following in their American neighbor's footsteps.

According to Margaret Munro of the National Post,

Environment Canada has "muzzled" its scientists, ordering them to refer all media queries to Ottawa where communications officers will help them respond with "approved lines."

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.

And because the policy essentially forbids the subjects from talking to the media about their inability to talk to the media, it falls on their non-government colleagues to weigh in:

Climatologist Andrew Weaver of the University of Victoria works closely with several Environment Canada scientists. He says the policy points to the Conservative government's fixation with "micro-management" and message control.

"They've been muzzled," says Weaver of the federal researchers. "The concept of free speech is non-existent at Environment Canada. They are manufacturing the message of science."

"They can't even now comment on why a storm hit the area without going through head office," says Weaver, whose been fielding calls from frustrated media who can no longer get through to federal experts scientists who once spoke freely about their fields of work, be it atmospheric winds affecting airliners or disease outbreaks at bird colonies.

How long before it all falls apart? Unfortunately, Canada doesn't have its own Jim Hansen to stand up to the bosses, so it could be a while.

Underneath this is the fact the Alberta's tar sands are ramping up for even more production, effectively scuttling any possibility that Canada will be able to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions at all, let alone substantially, in this century. And Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an Albertan through and through, wouldn't want his climate people pointing that out any more than absolutely necessary.