Liberal MPs hold press conference on muzzling of scientists

TORONTO – Three Liberal MPs called on the Harper government Tuesday to change its policy on the freedom of its scientists to speak publicly.

Last week, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and many of its scientists protested the muzzling of scientists across Canada. They claim that under the Harper government, federal scientists are unable to speak freely about their research of issues such as climate change.

READ MORE: Breaking the silence: Government scientist speaks about culture of fear

Liberal MPs Ted Hsu, Marc Garneau and Kirsty Duncan held a press conference on the muzzling of scientists on at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning calling for publicly funded research to be freely available to Canadians.

“Today the Liberal Party is choosing to use its opposition day to move a motion calling on Stephen Harper’s Conservatives to end their muzzling of scientists,” Hsu said. “Our federal scientists are experts in their fields. We should trust their ability to share valuable research findings in a professional and objective manner.”

The Liberals also addressed cuts to science funding.

On Saturday at the International Space Development Conference, Garneau, the first Canadian astronaut in space and the former head of the Canadian Space Agency, said that he was deeply troubled by the cuts.

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