Natasha Myers, York University;
Max Liboiron, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Peter Hobbs, York University
Kelly Ladd, York University
Sabrina Scott, York University

Denver 2015: Policy

The Write2Know Project (http://write2know.ca) is a letter-writing campaign launched in response to the Canadian government’s war on science. The campaign draws attention to the cancellation of over 100 federal research programs; the closure and destruction of libraries and archives; the firing of thousands of federal scientists; and exposes government policies that constrain federal scientists’ freedom to speak to the public. Write2Know offers a platform for people to pose questions to federal scientists and ministers on matters of public and environmental health and safety. The letters address gaps between research and government policy; they grapple with issues of social and environmental justice, including the impacts of resource extraction, oil sands pollution, marine plastics, and more; and foreground the colonial context in Canada, which renders Aboriginal communities especially vulnerable. To date over 4000 letters have been signed and sent. This mass request amplifies the injustices of a government that imposes constraints on access to research and relies on ignorance as a mode of political power.