Protect science funding

Emerging news from the United States about attempts at scientific censorship are deeply troubling.

Scientists are reportedly being ordered to withdraw or retract papers containing "banned” words and face threats to their funding if their grants include "flagged” or “banned” terms.

Peer review committees have been ordered to stand down, and earmarked funding is being withheld. Federally hosted ethics training for researchers-in-training has gone offline. In my field of health systems research, that translates into a dangerous effort to erase critical analyses of disparities in health inputs and outcomes.

Those actions will unquestionably negatively impact countless individuals, including women, racialized minorities, those with lower socioeconomic resources and people with disabilities. To be clear, this is not just an issue of semantics, it is a wholesale attack on good science and social progress. These measures are, in effect, a form of censorship that must be condemned and challenged vehemently.

Canada is not immune to these threats. The United States, historically our closest collaborator and a key source of funding for Canadian scientists, is setting a concerning precedent. It is imperative that elected Canadian officials condemn these attacks on scientific institutions and take decisive steps to preserve the independence and integrity of Canadian research and funding.

I call on our local MPs to condemn these attacks and publicly state their commitment to ensuring Canadian institutions are enabled to continue their vital scientific work.

Courtney Genge , West Kelowna