It’s no joke that technocracy, the theoretical system of governance which puts field experts in charge of government, is paired with Canadian politics ironically at best. Rather, the relationship between the Canadian government and the scientific community, particularly within the past few years, has been ambivalent at best, one highlight being the Canadian science minister refusing to confirm any belief in evolution when asked following a round of budget cuts.
Multiple groups representing scientists and journalists across Canada are once again taking a swing at strict government guidelines which target and silence Canadian scientists who recieve any federal funding.
Their accusations fall upon what appear to be deaf ears within the Canadian government, and have not seen any momentum based within the increasingly politically disengaged Canadian public.
This type of negligence is a recurring theme in Canadian governance recently, with international worries being sparked by the Canadian government cutting and/or repurposing hundreds of scientists within Environment Canada over the past year. Surely the cuts contribute in the grander scheme to balance the Government of Canada’s budget by 2015, but the Environment Canada positions, considering their relatively tiny share of the Canadian budget, and greater share of media attention, look more like cuts made for the purpose of letting the Canadian public know that cuts are taking place.
It seems that while Canada likes having nice things, the Canadian government has largely washed its hands of the actual creation and preservation of said things.
(Ozone monitoring stations, which have been responsible for comparatively progressive UV indexes made available on The Weather Network, have been a specific target of new Environment Canada budget cuts - a move which comes only months after Environment Canada research helped verify the existence of a new hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic.)
