XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: ont.politics, sk.politics, man.politics   
   From: "@nyet.ca   
      
   > "gordo"  wrote in message   
   >> "Prestigious science journal slams Harper government’s muzzle on   
   >> federal scientists"   
      
      
   Kim Dobranski now posting as M.I.Wakefield wrote:   
   > Yeah.  You're not happy.  We get that.  But, it's well within the   
   > government's rights, and the same conditions of employment apply to   
   > everyone in the Federal public service:  scientist are not being singled   
   > out for special treatment.   
   _______________________________   
      
   Lawsuit by Democracy Watch against Harper government:   
      
   The groups allege in a newly-released 26-page report that "federal civil   
   servants in Canada, and in particular, scientists, are being muzzled by   
   the federal government:"   
      
   ~    Directly, by not being allowed to speak to the media.   
   ~    Indirectly, through bureaucratic procedures that delay approval to   
   speak to the media – delays that are incompatible with journalists’   
   deadlines.   
      
   The report also alleges that the government is "manipulating the release   
   of government information" by:   
      
   ~    Selecting which media inquiries to respond to.   
   ~    Having communications employees craft "approved lines" or provide   
   scripted answers for civil servants to deliver.   
   ~    Using "subtle means of intimidation" when civil servants speak   
   directly to the media, such as requiring an interview to be recorded or   
   requiring a communications employee to sit in on the interview.   
      
   The report examines communications policy changes and their consequences   
   at Environment Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Natural   
   Resources Canada and the National Research Council and concludes that   
   "there is a clear and significant trend showing that the federal   
   government is closing off access to government information by tightly   
   controlling and monitoring the release of government information to the   
   public."   
      
   The report adds that it is "even more alarming" that the government has   
   ignored international criticism "and seems intent on continuing down   
   this path."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)