The January Elected Canadian Government Gags Climatologist. (May 4, 2006)

    Really it's old news, goes back to the middle of April, but it gained international attention when The New York Times picked up the story a couple of days ago.

Mark Tushingham a climatologist at Environment Canada has written a science fiction novel called Hotter than Hell. His publisher is the small firm of DreamCatcher Publishing in St. John, New

 Brunswick, and they ran off a first printing of 1,000 copies.

To help publicise the book they organized a lunch at the National Press Club of Canada in Ottawa at which Tushingham was to speak.

According to Elizabeth L. Margaris, the publisher, "He [Tushingham] got a directive from the department [of the Environment], cautioning him not to come to this meeting."

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporting events said:

A spokesperson for [Environment Minister Rona] Ambrose said the speech was billed as coming from an Environment Canada scientist and even though his book is a work of fiction, he would appear to be speaking in an official capacity.

Tushingham was ordered to cancel the speech because he didn't follow the proper process, the spokesperson said. He also has cancelled some TV and radio interviews about the book.

[The Canadian Prime Minister] Stephen Harper says he was not aware of the details, but his government was elected on a platform that included developing a new plan to deal with climate change.

"And I not only hope, but expect, that all elements of the bureaucracy will be working with us to achieve our objectives," he said.

Harper has been criticized for the tight control he wants to exercise on what Cabinet ministers and civil servants say in public.  He also opposes the Kyoto protocol, which could help slow global warming.

Ms Margaris says her company is always careful to identify Mr. Tushingham as an Ottawa scientist. In other words his employment by the Canadian Government is not mentioned.

It's got something of a familiar ring, don't it.

See: "Allegations that the Government has 'gagged' CSIRO scientists are ludicrous." Julie Bishop, Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training

Oh, yes, that first print run is out of stock, and the second one is to be 10,000 copies.

Perhaps the next thing that may happen is that Tushingham will get really lucky and the Minister may sue him for plagiarising classified government documents.