For Steven Campana, a former senior scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (known by its former acronym, DFO), the Harper Conservative era was a time when science was simply unwanted. During this time, said Campana, he and his colleagues were banned from speaking about their research for fear that facts and logic would get in the way of the Tories’ ideological agenda.
“It was toxic – it’s the only word I can use to describe it,” Campana told National Observer. “It was like telling a medical doctor, ‘sit down in the corridor, shut up, and don’t do anything.’”
Campana says such heavy-handed control was unnecessary, as scientists are typically highly cautious when it comes to criticizing government policies.