A strong democracy needs strong science

Canada’s commitment to making decisions based on evidence, not politics, helped to build our prosperity and make our country one of the safest, healthiest, best educated and most compassionate countries in the world. Making evidence-based decisions requires investing in the science and research upon which they are founded but in recent years, our federal government has turned away from science, putting at risk the foundation of what makes Canada great.

We have seen drastic funding cuts to both federal government and academic research and the scrapping of many important evidence gathering institutions, most notably the long-form census. Government scientists are working under increasingly restrictive rules limiting their ability to openly communicate their research. Perhaps what is most alarming is that many recent public policy decisions disregard all available evidence.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to highlight science and smart-decision making in the upcoming federal election. For the first time in Canadian history there is momentum to get political parties and candidates to commit to science and evidence-based decision-making!

This is your opportunity to restore the science needed for a strong democracy by taking the Science Pledge!

By taking the Pledge, you’re showing your support for science and committing to support actions that put evidence before politics to uphold the security, health, and prosperity of all Canadians.

Both individuals and organizations are encouraged to take the Pledge.

Despite being strong supporters of science, some candidates have expressed concerns over signing a pledge during the official election period. To respect their concerns, we are no longer asking candidates to sign the Pledge and will be engaging them through other aspects of our election plans. We thank all the candidates who have signed the Pledge so far.

You can also help to get the Pledge out to by becoming a Science Pledge Ambassador and sharing a picture of your signed #SciencePledge form today!

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Kim Elliott

Kim Elliott joined rabble.ca in 2004 as managing editor. She has been publisher since 2006.