Science and the Canadian Federal Election #338

October 09, 2015

This week, we're talking about politics, and the prospects for pro-science politicians, parties and voters in Canada. We'll spend the hour with panelists Katie Gibbs, Executive Director of Evidence for Democracy, science librarian John Dupuis, journalist Mike De Souza, and former Canadian government scientist Steven Campana, for an in-depth discussion about the treatment of science by the current Canadian government, and what's at stake for science in the upcoming federal election.

Guests:

  • Katie Gibbs
  • John Dupuis
  • Mike De Souza
  • Steven Campana

Guest Bios

Katie Gibbs

Katie Gibbs finished her PhD in Biology at the University of Ottawa. In the summer of 2012 she was one of the lead organizers of the Death of Evidence rally and is currently the Executive Director of Evidence for Democracy, a new organization in Canada that advocates for the transparent use of evidence in government decision making and public policy development.

John Dupuis

John Dupuis is a scholarly publishing librarian and engineering liaison at the Steacie Science and Engineering Library at York University in Toronto. John has a Masters of Library and Information studies degree, used to blog at Confessions of a Science Librarian, and currently writes the weekly-ish newsletter Covid is Not Over. His research and professional interests include science books, the future of academic libraries, open access advocacy, scholarly communications in computer science, and Canadian science policy.

Mike De Souza

Mike De Souza is an investigative resources correspondent for Reuters. Based in Calgary, he focuses his work on the energy sector, its performance and its relationship with government. Mike is a Montreal native who has previously worked as a broadcast and print journalist in his hometown, at the National Assembly in Quebec City as well as on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Steven Campana

Until recently, Dr. Steven Campana was a Senior Scientist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, where he worked for the past 32 years as the head of both the Otolith Research Laboratory and the Canadian Shark Research Laboratory. There he directed an active research program on the population dynamics of sharks and other fishes, with particular emphasis on the development of new technologies in support of age determination, stock discrimination and fish tracking. Dr Campana is now working as a Professor at the University of Iceland, where he leads several multinational projects on age determination, stock discrimination and the overall status and health of fish populations.