Canada's government continues to mishandle research: international scientists

published on May 2, 2008

(Vancouver) – Canada’s federal government has breached international scientific standards through their treatment of evidence-based research, says a collective of prominent medical doctors and science researchers from B.C. and around the world.

In the May 2008 issue of the prestigious International Journal of Drug Policy, scientists discuss the “policy horror story” that is the federal government’s handling of research around Vancouver’s supervised injection site (SIS).

The issue’s contributors comment on the Canadian controversy surrounding a research proposal for the SIS that was reviewed and recommended for funding by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Despite the recommendation, funding was ultimately suppressed by the health minister’s office as part of a Canada-wide moratorium on SIS trials.

Among the commentaries published, Dr. Alex Wodak, Australia’s foremost addiction specialist, states that the Harper government has “ignored science, due process, and public opinion while also risking harm to the country’s international standing.”

Similarly, health scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Maryland write that “a well-executed piece of policy research on a promising innovation was discontinued for unstated but blatant political reasons.”

The International Journal of Drug Policy is the second world-renowned scientific publication to call out the Harper government.

In February, British journal Nature blasted the Harper government for their “manifest disregard for science.” The editorial highlighted the government’s decision to close Canada’s Office of the National Science Advisor. The office offered advice on global science and technology issues as well as providing guidance as to how government can better fund and support Canadian science.

At the end of the day, we’re talking about the health of Canadians,” says Dr. Evan Wood, researcher with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and co-principal investigator of the evaluation of Insite. “The health minister appears married to an ideology rather than being concerned about the health of this already marginalized population.”

Canadians should be very concerned that their government is excluding evidence-based research from their health policy decision-making process, says Dr. Graydon Meneilly, head of the department of medicine at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) faculty of medicine.

"Insite is only a small pilot project and it is fully utilized. If we really want to understand the health benefits of safe injection facilities then the government should expand the program across B.C. and the country so that disenfranchised addicts can access treatment options,” he continued.

In a letter made public today, Meneilly and 12 prominent leaders of medical research at UBC urge the prime minister to consider the available evidence to properly address addiction.

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Canada's government continues to mishandle research: international scientists

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