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A Warning Letter about Cutting Funding from Data Science

  • Writer: FTFO
    FTFO
  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read

"Cuts at Natural Resources Canada 'decimate' wildfire and flood tracking capacity, unions warn", Natasha Bulowski , Dec 05/25

Athabasca Tar Sands (Flickr SkyTruth)
Athabasca Tar Sands (Flickr SkyTruth)

How many of you remember in 2011  when Conservative  PM Harper cut  over $1.1 billion from science & technology (Watershed Sentinel), causing the loss of almost 4000 federal researchers from our civil service, closed libraries that held a huge amount of historical information for scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, forbade meteorologists from discussing climate change and blocked access to scientific data information to environmental journalists? Canada lost many excellent scientists to the US that now want to return to Canada's scientific community, thanks to Trump's agenda.


However, now  in 2025, the  Carney Liberal government's Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, (worked with Carney at Goldman Sachs and later the Bank of Canada) for the cause of cost-saving 'Austerity' measures is eliminating data collection information and scientists in Natural Resources Canada.


Data is incredibly important legally. Without credible data, lawsuits cannot provide legal protections  or prove evidence of industrial damage to Canadian public lands.


For example, PM  Harper removed environmental protections from all the Canadian rivers. When  Canadians suspected the tar-sands bitumen extraction process was poisoning the Athabasca River drainage and is the cause of the cancerous growths in the Dene First Nations population and the fish and mammals they eat, credible scientific proof was needed to present  and hold up in court. Without data-base records proving what the Athabasca River water was like before it was poisoned, there was no evidence that the tar-sands were responsible for causing those cancers.  Fortunately one of Canada's most important scientists, world-renowned David Schindler, was able to provide the proof of the tar-sands poisoning  the river from meticulous snow samples. Schindler cautioned against authorizing the "discharge of treated effluent" from oil sands tailings ponds into the Athabasca River.


Scientifically-peered data prevents dangerous health risks of all living and is not appropriate to eliminate in the cause of 'austerity'.


Eliminating data is a way to excuse industrial corporations from any kind of responsibility for damage while pillaging Canadian resources ( mostly by US Investor corporations) and poisoning Canadian lands  and its inhabitants.


Canadian taxpayer money is not saved in the long-term. Taxpayers already subsidize industry with $ billions of tax dollars, then Canadian taxpayers pay more costly bills for cleaning up the industrial damages, be it water pollution, loss of wildlife food and ecosystem function, hospital bills and funeral costs.


The only way Canadian citizens stopped the Harper destruction of data libraries, research programs and stations was by 1000s of us concerned Canadians writing letters en masse to the Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Green government politicians who were complicit or unaware in removal of the scientific data collection function from Natural Resources Canada. We managed to stop Harper from destroying most of the data libraries and research stations as  unacceptable and unlawful, but we Canadian taxpayers lost years of invaluable data and  scientists. Then we voted Harper out of office.


Missing data means we cannot protect our environment or claim reparation from Industry in the Canadian courts, data that we critically need proving the consequences of fossil-fuel and deforestation caused climate-change.  Data that undeniably shows the public that Canadians must change our methods of mineral extraction and forestry harvesting for the long-term sustainable wellbeing of our communities.


Please read the National Observer article to understand why I call upon your precious time to write to Canadian politicians: "Cuts at Natural Resources Canada 'decimate' wildfire and flood tracking capacity, unions warn." By Natasha Bulowski News Politics Ottawa Insider, December 5th 2025



Here are the Liberal Cabinet members to write :  Please note: If you Cc a group email letter, it will be counted as 1 letter.  Please send each of your letters separately to each cabinet member. It is important for them all to know that we are not accepting this data-cut  as an appropriate austerity measure.




Thank you for paying attention and responding in writing. May we prevent the grievous consequences!

 

Happy Holidays,

Susan Eyre

 
 
 

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