Environment Canada Denied 22% of Requests for Scientist Interviews in 2013

In a letter to employees, Environment Canada acknowledged that it had denied 22 percent of news media requests for interviews with its scientists in 2013.

The startling admission only bolsters critics who say the conservative Harper government is suppressing science which does not support its politics — for example, its policies on global warming or oil sands.

SEJ and other groups have urged the Canadian government to stop muzzling its environmental scientists and allow them to speak freely to journalists.

The Canadian Parliament's information commissioner is conducting an investigation into charges that federal scientists are being muzzled.

• "Environment Canada Denied 22 Per Cent of Interview Requests with Scientists in 2013," Postmedia News, December 12, 2013, by Mike De Souza.
• "Most Federal Scientists Feel They Can't Speak Out, Even If Public Health and Safety at Risk, Says New Survey," The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, October 21, 2013.
• Previous Stories: WatchDogs of October 23, 2013; May 22, 2013; March 13, 2013; and May 7, 2009.