OTTAWA - Responding to the news that 60 Environment Canada scientists and researchers received their pink slips today, Green Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands) expressed dismay. “Cutting people from the workforce is not a smart way to reduce spending. A lot of money could be saved by examining waste in procurement, advertising and other areas. I am highly alarmed at the loss of scientists in a time when we need to be making science-based decisions,” said May.
The Harper government has slashed budgets in the public sector, cutting about 10 percent of the workforce. Cutbacks include the elimination of more than twenty percent of the National Research Council’s budget and severe job cuts at Environment Canada. The cuts are targeting scientists and scientific support staff. “Canada will feel the loss of our scientists and researchers. The deep cuts to climate sciences show the ideological basis for this exercise,” said May. “If our public sector is unable to carry out science and research, our economy will feel the long-term consequences as we will be unable to remain resilient and stable in the face of global changes.”
“The Canadian economy will not be served well by losing all of our highly trained public servants working on key scientific questions,” said May. “Without our scientists, Canada will very quickly fall behind in the global knowledge-based economy. We need to better prioritize our spending with long term planning in mind.”
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