What do Environment Canada and the Wheat Board have in common?

Short answer: it sucks to be them right now.

The National Science Advisor, Dr. Arthur Carty is retiring at the end of March. Why? After having his office moved from Privy Council to Industry Canada (ouch), the position and the office are being phased out. Dr. Carty has since offered his resignation and will be leaving at the end of March.

National Science Adviser Arthur Carty is expressing dismay over the Conservative government's decision to terminate his position, saying Canada needs a non-partisan voice for science at the heart of federal power.

Dr. Carty told The Globe and Mail yesterday he decided to retire from the public service after being told his nearly four-year-old position would be phased out.

"I was particularly disappointed about the office disappearing as my hopes had been that I would, as a national science adviser, help make this a permanent institution in the government of Canada at the centre of government as it is in a number of countries," he said yesterday.

Science adviser to Ottawa stunned by termination

Not content with eliminating independant advice, the government then moved on to the scientists in our employ. I guess they couldn't fire all of them so they did the next best thing - ordered them to reroute all media enquires through Ottawa.

The new policy, which went into force in recent weeks and sent a chill through the department research divisions, is designed to control the department's media message and ensure there are no "surprises" for Environment Minister John Baird and senior management when they open the newspaper or turn on the television, according to documents obtained by Canwest News Service.

"Just as we have ‘one department, one website' we should have ‘one department, one voice,' " says a PowerPoint presentation from Environment Canada's executive management committee that's been sent to department staff.

Environment Canada scientists told to toe the line

Umm, excuse me.... those scientists work for us, not the Conservatives.

But the scientists shouldn't feel singled out - Deanna Allen, a Canadian Wheat Board VP just got canned. She's lucky she lasted that long, Adrian Measner got fired as President around a year ago.

Allen said in an interview late Friday that she was "dismissed without cause" by wheat board interim president Greg Arason.

"I was told that Greg had just come in from an in-camera session with the board and that he was to inform me that I was dismissed effective immediately," she said, adding that the news "came as a bit of a shock" and that she had had no inkling that her dismissal was imminent.

Allen would not speculate on the wheat board's motivations for firing her.

Ottawa critic at CWB sacked

At least the employees at the WB know what to do to avoid being fired. They were given direction from management.

A subsequent e-mail from management, approved at the highest levels of the Harper administration, warned in part: "You are free to convey your views to your Member of Parliament, so long as you do not criticize the Government of Canada, or otherwise bring into question your ability to perform your employment duties."

www.ottawasun.com...

Busy week, eh?