Here’s a quick quiz.
What has been the top story in western rural Canada so far this year?
a) weather b) weather c) weather
If you chose one of the above, you are obviously correct. The only other story that even comes close is labour disputes, but not getting your mail for three weeks does not remotely compare to not getting any seed in the ground.
I would very much like to try out my quiz on Conservative MPs and see if they can get it right.
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I have my doubts, because last week, 49 scientists with term jobs at Environment Canada got their pink slips. Granted, they are not permanent staff members, but this is just the beginning.
Over the next four fiscal years, the government plans to hack 1,211 jobs from Environment Canada, or 21 percent of the workforce. The only other department to be hit harder is Canadian Heritage, which will lose 33.4 percent of its staff – although the actual number of employees, at 579, is much lower.
Staff growth, unsurprisingly, will come in corrections, taxation, immigration, justice, industry, border services and a few other areas. On the bright side, Agriculture Canada will accrue 115 positions over the next few years; on the dark side, that’s a meager two percent increase.
Which cuts are the worst depends on your point of view, certainly; other people will be less happy with other departmental cutbacks.
My POV, however, is that slicing Environment Canada even further – after decades of reductions – is egregious and ridiculous.
There are so many climate-related questions. Why is the flooding so extreme this year? How can we better predict extreme weather? What might the future hold? Is there a tornado brewing nearby? Will there be two feet of snow tonight?
Has no one in Ottawa noticed that Canadians need and deserve more and better climate information? We need climate scientists and meteorologists across the country – not just a few scattered among big cities.
I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again: the industries and residents of Canada must have excellent weather and climate services. Environment Canada does its best, but it needs more resources – not fewer – to keep up with a crazy and possibly changing climate.
