More funding in public’s ‘best interest,’ says local March for Science organizer
Fewer research dollars have become a ‘very serious concern’ across continent
Saturday was a cold, windy day in Saskatoon, but that didn’t stop a group of around 50 people from gathering in Victoria Park for the second annual March for Science.
Participants in the march, which took place in cities across Canada and around the world, hope to promote the need for all levels of government to tackle policy-making with a scientific and evidencebased approach.
Julia Boughner, one of the organizers of this year’s march in Saskatoon and an associate professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, said the March for Science is an important step to help citizens get informed and involved in the policy-making process.
“In general, I think that having an informed, scientifically literate population that can think critically is really important for citizens to ensure that policies are being made that are in their best interests and to be able to recognize when people are trying to pull one over (on them),” she said.
She says thanks to the federal government’s multibillion-dollar investment into scientific research across Canada, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the investment while also asking for more support to tackle big problems such as climate change and increase the number of jobs in the scientific community.
Marchers, some dressed in lab coats and others as their favourite scientist, held signs reading, “There is no planet B” and “Science doesn’t care what you believe” as they listened to speakers before making the trek up to Fourth Avenue and 22nd Street and back to the pagoda in Victoria Park.
“The underfunding of science in the public sector is a very serious concern,” said Gail Stevens, a member of Climate Justice Saskatoon. “This has been a trend that is happening in North America and it’s very serious because policy should not be determined by the whim of one’s opinions, but rather informed by strong science.”
Stevens adds it’s especially frustrating to see other countries making successful steps forward in clean energy, transportation, agriculture and recycling while Canada continues to lag behind the goals set out in the Paris climate accord.
University of British Columbia biology student Lauren Kasper, who is in Saskatoon on a co-op placement with the U of S, pointed out science has consistently improved the quality of people’s lives for generations, citing the discovery of the chickenpox vaccine.
“Back in my mom’s day when (chickenpox) used to be common, they just thought, ‘Oh it’s just part of growing up,’” she said. “But science and research proved that you don’t actually have to go through this — it can really improve the welfare of people’s lives.”