Civil servants must be free to speak with the public and the press
October 23, 2025
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Recently, AWA reached out to Dr. Colin Cooke, a senior aquatic scientist with the Alberta government, to see if he could present his recent research on the past, current, and predicted impacts of coal on Alberta’s environment. Dr. Cooke was available and willing, and we were eager to announce the upcoming Talk Night, which would have been held this November.
Yesterday, we found out senior staff denied his request to present.
We’ve since written to a number of Alberta officials, emphasizing the need to ensure civil servants like Colin are free to speak about their publicly funded research with the public and press.
The letter can be read in full here: 20251022_lt_awa_governmnent_scientists_freedom_to_speak_to_public_and_press