Dear CSMB members,
With the federal election campaign in full swing we would like to remind you of opportunities to engage with candidates to promote commitments to science support. Despite its importance for COVID recovery, science has so far not been an electoral priority in the beginning of this campaign. We invite you to discuss your work as a scientist, and the importance of federal support with your local candidate, to show your local candidate that this is important to their constituents.
Please visit the CSMB election readiness toolkit google drive here to see how you can get involved today:
This toolkit includes a letter you can customize and send to your local candidates, questions you can ask and a one-pager you can give candidates if they come knocking at your door and suggestions on how to get involved on social media.
In the google drive, you will also find the electoral platforms published by the parties, and a document highlighting the science commitments made by the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties. These commitments are copied in this document. The Green party has not yet released their electoral platform – their commitments will be added to the document once released.
While CSMB can provide information and share election resources (below), as an association we cannot get involved in the election campaign in a way that would make us appear as if we were promoting any party or candidate. As individuals, CSMB members are not restricted in this way, and we therefore encourage you to talk science with election candidates!
Imogen R Coe
President of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences.
Election resources
The CSMB Federal election readiness google drive: shorturl.at/aoFRV
Recent articles of interest:
- Canada needs to pick up the pace when it comes to fostering innovation, research and development – The Hill Times, August 2, 2021
- How do Canada’s political parties plan to prepare the country for future pandemics? – CBC News, August 23, 2021
- Other countries are investing in young researchers. Canada must up its game or fall behind – Toronto Star, August 31, 2021
Check out these resources from other Canadian science groups:
Evidence for Democracy
Evidence for Democracy (E4D) is the leading fact-driven, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization promoting the transparent use of evidence in government decision-making in Canada.
Read Evidence for Democracy’s post about the launch of the 2021 #VoteScience campaign:
Vote Science
Advocating for Science in the Canadian Federal Election
Science doesn’t usually get a lot of attention during elections, and we think that needs to change. We need your help to send a message that Canadians care about science.
Elect STEM
A Canadian evidence-based nonprofit organization with the purpose of engaging more scientists in politics.
