Tag Archives: 2010 Canadian Science Policy Conference

Canadian federal scientists (or their union) have launched a media campaign and website

These are interesting times. A union representing scientists employed by the Canadian federal government has launched a campaign and website promoting science. From the CBC October 18, 2010 news item,

A union representing federal scientists has launched a campaign targeting what it calls the government’s “worrying trend away from evidence-based policy-making.”

“If the science isn’t supported … then you’re going to find that decisions are going to be made more at the political level,” Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said Monday as the union launched a website called publicscience.ca.

The site aims to highlight science done for the public good — much of it taxpayer-funded and carried out by government scientists — and to “mobilize” scientists and the public to pressure politicians to support it. It features interviews with federal scientists about their work, along with interviews with science policy experts.

The other goal of the campaign is to create a more positive public image of federal scientists by highlighting their work, Corbett said.

He said what the public hears about civil servants these days is mainly criticism of their pensions and salaries.

The union represents 59,000 federal and provincial public servants, including 23,000 involved in scientific research, testing advice and other “knowledge products.”

As of 3 p.m. ET, Natural Resources Canada said it was preparing a response to the union’s news release.

I find this quite interesting not just for the science aspect but for what it says about how the union is positioning itself, i.e., as a voice speaking out for its members’ contributions to society rather than a voice stridently demanding more money and benefits.

As for the response promised from Natural Resources Canada on this union initiative, I’m waiting with some anticipation, given the recent kerfuffle over seeming attempts to muzzle scientists in that ministry as per my Sept. 16, 2010 posting).

The timing for this union initiative seems quite auspicious, or well-timed, given that this is Canada’s National Science and Technology Week (Oct. 15-24, 2010) and the Canadian Science Policy Conference is on from Oct. 20-22, 2010 in Montréal, Québec.

The union’s website is here at http://www.publicscience.ca. I notice that Adam Holbrook (a.k.a. J. Adam Holbrook) is featured on the front page. He’s a Professor and Associate Director of the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology, Simon Fraser University (British Columbia), a member of the Advisory Committee for the Canadian Science Policy Conference coming up in Montréal, and a speaker at 2010’s public service science policy conference this spring (both conferences are mentioned in my April 22, 2010 posting).

Canada’s 2nd science policy conference in 2010

In about another month or so, the group that organized the *Canadian Science Policy Conference last year will be holding it’s 2nd annual conference in Montréal, Québec from Oct. 20-22, 2010. My June 7, 2010 posting featured their preliminary programme and five listed themes. I’ll repeat the themes here,

* Increasing the Productivity of Canada’s Economy using  Science and Technology
* Global Perspectives on Science and Technology
* Creating and Retaining Scientific Talent in Canada
* A Glance at Bioscience in Canada
* Major Issues in Canadian Science Policy

They have since attracted two keynote speakers:

  • Dr. Marc Garneau (Former Astronaut turned Federal MP of Westmount Ville-Marie).
  • Dr. Nina V. Fedorov (Willaman Professor of the Life Sciences and Evan Pugh Professor, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University, Distinguished Visiting Professor, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and Member, External Faculty, The Santa Fe Institute).

I have looked at the agenda and must admit to a little disappointment as it all seems a bit pedestrian. Given the themes, I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised but it does seem a waste when a little imagination and verve could have produced something thoughtprovoking.  For example, instead of this theme:

Creating and Retaining Scientific Talent in Canada

We could have this one:

How many scientists do we need in Canada and what should they be doing?

I’m also wondering why there are no sessions about citizen science or public engagement or the lack of industrial science or the muzzling of government scientists at Environment Canada, Health Canada, and Natural Resources Canada?

Still, there are a few unexpected sessions such as this one: Educating Socially Engaged Scientists and Engineers. In any event, I wish the organizers and attendees a very fruitful science policy conference.

* There is appears to be another group that organizes Canadian science policy conferences although their target market appears to be scientists in the civil service (and I believe they hold their conference every two years). I posted about their 2010 conference here and here.

Canadian Science Policy Conference 2010

They have a preliminary programme for the 2010 Canadian Science Policy Conference: Building bridges for the future of science policy which will take place Oct. 20 – 22, 2010 in Montréal, Canada. From the programme page,

Themes of the conference will include, but are not limited to, the following:

* Increasing the Productivity of Canada’s Economy using Science and Technology
* Global Perspectives on Science and Technology
* Creating and Retaining Scientific Talent in Canada
* A Glance at Bioscience in Canada
* Major Issues in Canadian Science Policy

There are panels and, in some case, workshops planned for each theme. Speakers have not yet been announced and I gather they are still adding themes (maybe there’ll be something on science outreach/public engagement/dialogue/etc.). Given that it’s in Montréal, I wonder if Marc Garneau (former astronaut, current Liberal MP and science critic) could be persuaded to address them or if they could arrange a science policy debate?