U.K. journal tells Harper to 'free' scientists

“A leading international research journal is calling on Stephen Harper's government to ‘free’ federal scientists to speak about their research. ‘Canada's generally positive foreign reputation as a progressive, scientific nation masks some startlingly poor behaviour,’ says an editorial in the British journal Nature this week, which takes issue with the way the federal government tightly controls media access to scientists. ‘The way forward is clear: It is time for the Canadian government to set its scientists free.’ The editorial says the Harper government's policy directives and emails, ‘reveal a confused and Byzantine approach to the press, prioritizing message control and showing little understanding of the importance of the free flow of scientific knowledge...’ ‘If the Harper government truly embraces public access to publicly funded scientific expertise, then it should do what the Canadian Science Writers' Association and several other organizations have called for in a letter sent to the prime minister on (Feb. 16): 'Implement a policy of timely and transparent communication' like those used by NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the NSF (U.S. National Science Foundation).’ Under their new guidelines, NOAA and NSF scientists and staff are free to speak to journalists without first seeking the approval of a public affairs officer. The policies state that researchers are free to express their personal views as long as they make clear that they are not speaking on behalf of the agency...”