To all federal public service workers in the United States, particularly those in science and research:
PIPSC expresses our unwavering solidarity with you during these deeply challenging times. As the largest public service union in Canada representing federal scientists, we stand alongside all of you as you face unprecedented attacks on your work, your well-being, and the very foundations of scientific integrity.
We condemn in the strongest terms the attacks on science and research initiated by the Trump administration and its policies. From freezing billions of dollars in critical federal research funding to censoring research on topics such as climate change and gender, and firing thousands of public sector employees in national agencies that rely on scientific research to protect public health, the environment, and national security. This includes the Centre for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Archives, museums and libraries across the US.
These actions aren’t just an assault on the science and research community but on the fundamental values of democracy itself. Science and research provide the bedrock upon which we base our understanding of the world, solve critical problems, and shape policy to advance and safeguard the public good.
It must be free from political interference.
In Canada, we don't have to look far into the past to see how our own government attacked federal science and research here. Under the Harper Conservatives, scientific programs vital to the health of Canada's environment and oceans were gutted or eliminated, thousands of federal scientists (including PIPSC members) were fired while others, specifically those researching climate change and other politically sensitive topics, were systematically muzzled.
Canadians now face a candidate vying for the role of Prime Minister who not only supported these attacks on Canadian research and science but was a central figure in the administration that carried them out. Furthermore, this candidate has pledged that, if elected Prime Minister, he will cut over 100,000 federal public service jobs.
Public services, scientific integrity, and the good jobs that sustain them are under attack from multiple fronts. It's crucial for members of these communities and their unions to speak out and stand up in defense.
We stand with our fellow American public service professionals in the fight to protect these agencies, defend the autonomy of all science, research and knowledge-based institutions, and demand that they remain adequately funded and prioritized for the public good.