The Coalition to Save ELA congratulates IISD on reaching a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Government to immediately open doors of the ELA research centre.

These scientists seek to continue the experiment with previously secured funding but require the cooperation of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to allow for the weekly fertilization of Lake 227 and ELA field station.

ELA Supporters: Dr. John Downing, ASLO President & Iowa State University, Dr. Azit Mazumder, University of Victoria, Dr. Karen Kidd, University of New Brunswick, Dr. James Elser, ASLO President-elect and Arizona State University, and Dr. David Schindler, Killam Memorial Professor, University of Alberta.

Follow these two steps to wear your support and look as snazzy as these scientists:

1. Pay using Paypal or send a cheque for $25 + $3 shipping to the Coalition to Save ELA, c/o Britt Hall, Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina SK Canada S4S 0A2. (Only S and XL sizes.)
2. Send a message to support@saveela.org stating the quantity, size, and shipping address.

Don’t forget to tweet or email us a photo of you wearing the shirt.

We only have S and XL shirts left, so email to check sizing before ordering (2013-05-07).

In remarks prior to accepting the highest honour awarded to Canadian freshwater scientists, Dr. Ray Hesslein, former director of the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), warned that closure of the ELA would mean “a huge loss to the Canadian public in its ability to protect its fresh waters.”

“I hope there will be a bright future for ELA”, as “A failure to make this transfer work would mean a huge loss to the Canadian public in its ability to protect its fresh waters.”

First newspaper article

Press release

Scientists, activists, and concerned citizens alike are uniting to send a clear message to the Harper Government: it is time to stop the war on science. One of the most devastating losses to Canada’s science capacity is the defunding of the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) research center and the dismantling of its scientific team. The Coalition to Save ELA released a new video today about the Harper government’s war on science to urge Canadians to join the fight to defend public science and save Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area.

“Cutting the ELA – the only research center capable of providing a solid science basis for freshwater policy – is extremely short-sighted,” insists award-winning, world-renowned freshwater expert Dr. David Schindler, Killam Memorial Chair in Ecology, University of Alberta.

Since the Harper Government came into power, Canada has been subjected to an unprecedented, ruthless assault on its environmental science capacity. This attack has been systemic and strategic, targeting science that seeks to understand the impacts of industry on our freshwaters – information the current government considers inconvenient to its economic agenda. This will result in the significant and widespread degradation of our country’s natural waters and fishery resources.

“The Harper government is gutting all and any tools, rules, and science projects that stand in the way of corporate abuse of our freshwater heritage,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “No ELA means that the damage done to water from extractive industries will forever be hidden.”

The cancellation of federal funding for the ELA “reaches beyond basic cost-cutting measures and is a targeted strike against environmental researchers producing results the government considers incompatible with government policy,” according to Dr. Jules Blais, President of the Society of Canadian Limnologists.

“This is the only place in the world where lakes have been set aside to build a research base to save our planet’s threatened freshwater – and so we must save ELA,” concludes Dr. Jon Gerrard, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party.

“The crippling of Canada’s public science capacity under the guise of austerity measures, coupled with the weakening of federal environmental laws in the absence of open debate, is a blatant desecration of science, nature, and democracy,” asserts Diane Orihel, Director of the Coalition to Save ELA. She adds, “we need to stop this war on science, and let’s start by saving the ELA.”

The new video, ‘Stop the War on Science – Save the Experimental Lakes Area’ is available on-line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cjmlo8yBS4, and will be officially released today in Winnipeg at a press conference at the University of Winnipeg (12:30 p.m. CST), and a public rally in support of ELA at the Fort Garry Hotel hosted by the Boreal Forest Network (7:00 p.m. CST).

Yesterday, Acting Fisheries Minister Gale Shea fumbled through questions to explain the unsound decision by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to cancel its Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) program. Over six months have passed since the announcement that DFO’s ELA facility would be shut down and its team of scientists fired, but Canadians have yet to receive an adequate explanation from DFO justifying this decision.

“It’s time for the people of Canada to hear scientific fact, not political fiction,” asserted Diane Orihel, Director of the Coalition to Save ELA. “The cuts to ELA, including its staff, represent a major loss of scientific capacity within DFO to achieve its strategic outcomes of healthy, aquatic ecosystems and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.”

Minister Shea responded to questions placed on the Order Paper by MP Robert Chisholm, NDP Fisheries & Oceans Critic. Mr. Chisholm asked what analysis had been done by DFO on the impacts of cancelling its ELA program. In response, Minister Shea stated DFO “is now focusing on work being conducted at other freshwater research facilities across the country, which will more than adequately meet the departmental research needs.” But the ELA is a one-of-a-kind research center, and there are no other DFO freshwater research facilities between the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg, where the ELA science team is based, and the west coast of Canada.

“The statement by Minister Shea that other DFO freshwater facilities could fulfill the department’s needs is flat out misleading, as there is no other comparable living laboratory across the country, or in fact, around the world,” explained Orihel. “The ELA is a unique facility. There are no others like it. Period. Full stop,” echoed Dr. Britt Hall, Assistant Professor at the University of Regina.

Furthermore, ELA’s science team at the Freshwater Institute now provides much of DFO’s scientific expertise for assessing the impacts of industry on freshwater ecosystems and their fish populations. On May 17 of this year, all sixteen DFO employees in the ELA section received workforce adjustment letters, and expect to receive surplus letters any day now. Besides the ELA science team, there are less than a handful of DFO scientists at the Freshwater Institute remaining to cover freshwater issues in central Canada.

Scientist Dr. Carol Kelly, who devoted much of her career to carrying out research at ELA, stated emphatically, “ELA is only 0.1% of DFO’s annual budget, but it is 100% of its ability to study the effects of industrial pollutants on real, whole, freshwater ecosystems.”

Robert Chisholm also asked why DFO’s ELA scientists were recently awarded competitive internal grants from DFO on departmental priorities, but at the same time were given workforce adjustment letters stating their services may no longer be required by the department. This year, ELA scientists received close to $200K in new research funds from DFO’s climate change adaptation, ecosystem-based research, and aquatic biotechnology programs. Shea responded that the decision to axe ELA was part of Budget 2012, and DFO was simply proceeding with business-as-usual by awarding grants to scientists conducting research important to the department’s mandate.

Minister Shea clarified in her response that “Fisheries and Oceans Canada is currently gathering information and conducting studies to support either transferring the facility to another operator or decommissioning the site.” Why is DFO disposing of its strongest tool for understanding the threats of industrial development on Canadian aquatic ecosystems and their fish population, as well as a highly qualified science team?

According to Dr. Jules Blais, President of the Society of Canadian Limnologists, the Canadian Government’s cutting of the ELA and other federal science programs “reach beyond basic cost-cutting measures and appear more as targeted strikes against environmental researchers producing results the government considers inconvenient or incompatible with government policy.”

Read more on Minister Shea’s attempt to justify the cancellation of ELA here:

• The Gazette – Fisheries Minister Gail Shea defends water pollution cuts
• Ottawa Citizen – Minister defends cutting Experimental Lakes water facility

Yesterday, an article in iPolitics reported the federal government is in negotiations with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) to sell off Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). The Coalition to Save ELA and the Council of Canadians are denouncing the secretive and undemocratic process under which the federal government is selling a world-class freshwater research facility – paid for by Canadian taxpayers’ dollars – to a policy institution funded by government and industry.

“The ELA must remain a public science program under the purview of the Government of Canada. Handing over the ELA to the IISD is an unacceptable option,” insists Diane Orihel, the Director of the Coalition to Save ELA. “Unless the facility remains funded by the government and staffed by public-service scientists, its research priorities will cease to reflect public policy priorities or serve the public interest.”

“We are very concerned about the lack of transparency and opportunity for public scrutiny in planning the future of ELA”, said Orihel. “But most importantly, we question the autonomy of the science and independence of the scientists – either real or perceived – under a government- and industry-funded organization that needs to be ‘client-friendly’ to cover its bottom line”.

While the Coalition acknowledges the IISD as a leading policy institute, they warn this organization does not have the expertise to continue ELA’s ecosystem-scale experimental research. “The IISD is not qualified on a scientific basis to run ELA”, assessed Dr. John Rudd, former DFO Research Scientist (1977-2002), ELA Chief Scientist (1998-2002), and winner of DFO’s most prestigious award, the Deputy Minister’s Prix d’Excellence (2002). “ELA is a unique facility and its scientific research needs to be directed by scientists who know how to do these experiments, but unfortunately, almost all present and recently retired scientists have been cut out of the transfer process”.

Furthermore, the Council of Canadians warn that the IISD is not an acceptable institution to run ELA because of its deep ties to the very industries whose environmental impacts ELA must be able to investigate, independent of any interference or influence.

“Selling off the ELA to the IISD is not even remotely appropriate, given its energy and mining funders and members,” said Maude Barlow, noting the IISD receives funding from Enbridge, Suncor, Alcan, Investors Group, World Bank, HSBC Bank of Canada, International Council of Mining and Minerals, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “It would be impossible for the ELA to put out independent assessments of the impact of these sectors on Canada’s water under the auspices of the IISD, an organization that questions the internationally recognized human right to water.”

“In a world running out of clean water, the ELA must stay in public hands and it is the federal government’s responsibility to oversee the protection of Canada’s freshwater heritage,” said Barlow. “The IISD’s support for the “strategic alliance” between CIDA, mining companies, and NGOs illustrates how little concern it has about the impacts of industry on human rights and the environment.”

An Environics Research poll commissioned last month by the Council of Canadians showed that 60% of Conservative voters oppose the cancellation of federal funding for ELA. Overall, 73% of Canadians oppose the cutting of funding for the Experimental Lakes Area, with 42% strongly opposed to the cuts.

“The public should not be fooled by what is really happening: the Harper Government is cutting the ELA, yet another public science program – and its scientists – that work to understand and mitigate the impacts of industry on our environment,” said Orihel. “We have money for economic action plan ads, F-35 fighter jets, and fake lakes for photo ops, but the federal government claims not to have $2 million per year to fund ELA – an invaluable investment to sustain the health of Canada’s freshwaters and fisheries?”

Last week, the Coalition to Save ELA wrote an open letter to Minister Kent asking for the federal department of Environment to take over the operation of the ELA research center and its freshwater scientists.  ELA research is perfectly aligned with Environment Canada’s highest priorities, and is an ideal research platform for investigating the impacts of Alberta’s oil sands developments. The Coalition requested a meeting with Minister Kent, and to date, the Minister has not responded.

The Coalition to Save ELA has been informed that the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans is on the verge of transferring the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) to a private sector operator. This action is being taken under a veil of secrecy and at a time when Parliament is not in session.

In response to the impending sale of the ELA to a private owner, today the Coalition called upon the Canadian Minister of the Environment, Mr. Peter Kent, to take immediate action to stop his government from committing a grave error that would have dire consequences for Canada’s ability to secure the health of our lakes and the sustainability of our freshwater resources.

The Coalition to Save ELA, a national organization of scientists and citizens, appealed to Minister Kent to swiftly intervene to ensure that ELA remains a public program under the purview of the Government of Canada. In an open letter to the Minister Kent today, the authors called on the Minister to maintain ELA as a public science program to ensure that research at ELA continues to respond to government priorities, guide public policy, and remain in the public interest.

The authors warn that transferring ELA to private interests will change the focus of its research, the perception of the science, the ownership of the scientific data, and the communication of findings to the scientific community and the Canadian public. Furthermore, the disposal of ELA and the dismantling of its science team will significantly reduce the freshwater science expertise and capacity within the Government of Canada.

“The ELA is the only freshwater research facility capable of providing the necessary science to address the serious environmental challenges we face in Canada, now and in the future”, explains Diane Orihel, Director of the Coalition to Save ELA. “Unless ELA remains funded by the federal government and staffed by public service scientists, the ELA will cease to serve the interests of the people of Canada, and our ability to protect our lakes and rivers will be diminished.”

To read the letter from the Coalition to Save ELA sent to Minister Kent today, click here.

Related news stories regarding today’s press release:

Globe and Mail - Freshwater research station sold off to private operator, advocates say
Winnipeg Free Press - Experimental Lakes buyer found: coalition
iPolitics - DFO close to sale of northern Ontario research site: scientists
Metro News - Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area to go private, says coalition
Winnipeg Free Press - ELA program close to being sold to private buyer: coalition
Netnews Ledger - Save the ELA Coalition – Fisheries and Oceans set to transfer the Experimental Lakes Area
MarketWire - Professional Institute Joins Urgent Call for Minister Kent to Block Secretive ELA Sale to Private Sector
LabProduct News - Is the ELA being sold?
Kenora Daily Miner and News - Sale of ELA not imminent as claimed: Rickford

October 31, 2012 (Toronto) – Last night on ‘The Rick Mercer Report’, Canadian icon Rick Mercer put the Harper Government, “previously known as the Government of Canada,” to task over the termination of the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA). In one of his classic rants, Mercer tried to make sense of the senseless closure of the ELA, which will only save the government $2 million a year.

Last May, the Harper Government announced that the world-renowned ELA research facility would be shut down and its team of 17 high-caliber freshwater scientists disbanded. This will serve as a major hit to Canada, because “in the world of science, they are rock stars,” proclaimed Mercer. “They’re the people who figured out the acid rain problem.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the federal department that ‘no longer requires’ the services of the ELA, is currently mulling over three options for the ELA: transferring the facility to a third party, mothballing the facility, or demolishing the site altogether. The Coalition to Save ELA believes that none of these options would be beneficial to Canada as the ELA functions best as a public program to serve the interests of all Canadians. Additionally, “it will cost $50 million to shut them down,” ranted Mercer. “Wow, someone really doesn’t like freshwater.”

Located in northwestern Ontario, the ELA is comprised of 58 small lakes and their watersheds that have been set aside for research. For over 40 years, the ELA has been the most powerful tool the government has to understand human caused effects on freshwater ecosystems and develop strategies that will protect the health of Canada’s lakes and fish populations.

Watch the video or read the blog of Rick’s rant on ‘drowning research’ at the Experimental Lakes Area.

Please help us save Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area! Visit our “How Can I Help” page, and keep up with the latest news by following our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/savetheela) and Twitter account (@SaveTheELA, #SaveELA).