NOTE: Shiv Chopra later wrote a book that documents his experience at Health Canada. And I met one of the scientists, Margaret Haydon, at the Prevent Cancer Now conference in Ottawa. These are very solid, down-to-earth people.
CONTENTS
1. (DELETED) Contact information (Ujjal Dosanjh is the new Minister of Health for Canada. Ian Green is the Deputy Minister. Prime Minister Paul Martin)
2. BACKGROUND (Newcomers)
3. ACTION
4. MY LETTER TO UJJAL DOSANJH, IAN GREEN AND PAUL MARTIN
5. CBC NEWS, July 15, 2004, SCIENTISTS TO FIGHT GOVERNMENT FIRING
6. CTV NEWS, JULY 15, 2004, HEALTH CANADA FIRES OUTSPOKEN SCIENTISTS
7. CTV NEWS, JULY 2002, HEALTH CANADA WORKERS FEEL PRESSURED TO OK DRUGS
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2. BACKGROUND (Newcomers):
I was in contact with Nirmala and Shiv Chopra a few months ago when we were working on Monsanto’s history of corruption, part of the Roundup Resistant wheat battle. The three scientists, Shiv, Margaret and Gerard, blew the whistle on Monsanto over attempted bribery (a million dollars’ worth) to get Bovine Growth Hormone registered in Canada. There was a Senate Hearing into the attempted bribery in 1998. I wanted to know more about the Senate Hearing.
3. ACTION
The threat of being fired has hung over the heads of these scientists since 1998. And now they have been fired. Many Canadians are up-in-arms.
Today the new Minister of Health was announced.
I spoke with Shiv thinking that I’d like to see the official responsible for the firing, fired.
In Shiv’s opinion the problem is not with individuals but with the system.
People, organizations, and media are calling for a public inquiry. I have used the Health Canada web-page to add my voice to the chorus.
You can send an email directly to each from the web-site: (obsolete URL)
I also sent a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin: pm@pm.gc.ca
Please consider sending in your message.
News reports on the firings appears below.
Cheers!
Sandra
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4. MY LETTER TO UJJAL DOSANJH, IAN GREEN AND PAUL MARTIN
Dear Ujjal Dosanjh,
There needs to be a public inquiry into the firing of Canada Health scientists Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert.
Monsanto is an incredibly corrupt and corrupting company.
A person, in this case the Government, can be judged by the company they keep.
There are very cosy relationships.
Governments lose the ability to perform their regulatory role when they are in bed with corporations.
I object to my tax-dollars being paid out to Monsanto to fund their research.
The whole system needs to be cleaned up. The best way to do it is through a properly mandated public inquiry.
Yours truly,
Sandra Finley
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5. CBC NEWS, July 15, 2004, SCIENTISTS TO FIGHT GOVERNMENT FIRING
Thanks to Donna for the 2002 media report below. And to Elaine for these reports.
C B C . C A N e w s – F u l l S t o r y :
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Whistleblower scientists to fight government firing, 15 Jul 2004
OTTAWA – Three scientists fired Wednesday by Health Canada after criticizing the department’s drug approval policies said Thursday they will fight the decision.
Steven Hindle, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, believes Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert were terminated because of their outspokenness vis-a-vis the approval process for new drugs.
The three were especially critical of Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone, whic h led to a Senate inquiry and a decision not to approve the drug. They also questioned carbadox, a drug used in pigs, and Baytril, which was used to promote growth in cows and chickens.
Haydon called a 2001 Canadian ban on Brazilian beef a political decision, and Chopra criticized former health minister Allan Rock for stockpiling antibiotics during the post-Sept. 11 anthrax scare.
Prior to the May 2003 discovery of mad cow in Canada, both Haydon and Chopra also warned measures to prevent the disease were inadequate. They had called for a ban on the use of animal parts in feed.
FROM OCT. 7, 2002: Restrict antibiotic use in animals: scientists
FROM NOV 19, 1999: Gov’t scientist suspended over dairy hormone debacle?
“They’ve faced various levels of discipline,” said Hindle. They’ve been verbally reprimanded, instructed not to speak to media and suspended, he added.
The three scientists weren’t fired from the Veterinary Drugs Directorate because of their public criticism, said Health Canada spokesperson Ryan Baker, adding the reasons for the dismissals are confidential and included in the letters of termination.
The scientists’ actions were applauded by NDP MP Pat Martin, who called the three “heroes.”
“If the government has signalled the way they feel about whistleblowing by firing these three prominent whistleblowers, it doesn’t bode well for the future of meaningful legislation…this is a huge step backward,” added Martin.
Hindle agrees that this action sets a bad precedent saying, “it will cause other public service employees, who have legitimate concerns, to keep those concerns to themselves.”
The union will take the case to the public service staff relations board for resolution. Its decision can be appealed by either side.
Written by CBC News Online staff
Copyright © 2004 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – All Rights Reserved
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6. CTV NEWS, JULY 15, 2004, HEALTH CANADA FIRES OUTSPOKEN SCIENTISTS
Three Health Canada scientists who have repeatedly criticized the department’s drug-approval policies have been fired.
Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert, received letters of termination Wednesday.
A Health Canada spokesman denied the terminations have anything to do the scientists’ criticism of department policies. Ryan Baker said reasons for the dismissals were contained in letters sent to the employees, which were confidential.
Steve Hindle, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service union, also declined to list the reasons given for the terminations. But he said the union would seek to have the scientists rehired, and would use the letters as the subject of legal proceedings.
Hindle did say that his “first reaction” to hearing of the letters was that the dismissals were “retribution” because the scientists had often chosen to speak out.
Mike McBane of the Canadian Health Coalition agreed the three scientists were being penalized for trying to do their jobs. He calls the firings “an ominous signal from the government,” praising the scientists as “Canadian heroes.”
The three researchers have spoken out repeatedly in recent years about policy and procedures at Health Canada they were not comfortable with.
They said they were often pressured to approve unsafe veterinary drugs.
In the late 1990s, they publicly opposed rBST, also known as bovine growth hormone, a product that enhances milk production in cows. Their criticism led to a decision not to approve the drug.
The whistleblowers later criticized carbadox, a drug used to promote growth in pigs, and Baytril, used to promote growth in cows and chickens.
The scientists said they felt pressured to approve drugs even if they had reservations. They alleged that Health Canada was pressuring them because they in turn had been pressured by pharmaceutical companies to hustle through approvals.
The health agency has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Chopra said in 2002 that following their public complaints about the Health Canada approval system, he and his colleagues had been suspended without pay, been reprimanded and demoted.
Most recently, the scientists said they were ignored when they warned their supervisors proposed measures to curb mad cow disease were inadequate. They said they were also told not to discuss their views outside the government.
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7. CTV NEWS, JULY 4, 2002, HEALTH CANADA WORKERS FEEL PRESSURED TO OK DRUGS
Note this article from July 2002 concerning the same scientists.
Pressures to approve drugs that some feel are unsafe are mounting at Health Canada. A group of senior scientists spoke to CTV News, going on the record with allegations they’re feeling pressure to approve certain veterinary drugs despite their concerns.
Four scientists at Health Canada say they’re feeling under the gun to approve certain drugs they feel may not be safe. The scientists claim that the pressure originates with pharmaceutical companies and is passed on to them by their superiors.
“We were being pressured to pass drugs of questionable safety because of the pharmaceutical companies,” scientist Shiv Chopra says.
Chopra, along with fellow scientists Margaret Haydon, Gerard Lambert, and Cris Basudde, say they are speaking out because the public needs to know what happens at Health Canada. They say they know that their jobs could be at stake, but they believe public safety is more important.
Chopra told CTV’s Newsnet that he and his colleagues have been given gag orders, been suspended without pay, been reprimanded and demoted for disputing orders to approve drugs.
“We’re being told to approve things even without receiving data from the company,” Chopra says. “If we don’t receive the date, then there’s nothing we can do. But we’re often told that the U.S. has approved it so we should approve it and we shouldn’t even ask questions.”
CTV News has obtained a letter outlining the concerns of the scientists sent to the government’s internal watchdog, the public service integrity office.
“We the undersigned employees at Health Canada,” the letter reads, “are being pressured by our supervisors to pass or maintain a series of veterinary drugs without the required proof of human safety.”
One example is a veterinary drug called tylosin, a drug used on chickens to kill bacteria. The drug is banned in Europe; some studies have shown tylosin can cause untreatable strains of bacteria that cause food poisoning and make the human body resistant to certain antibiotics.
While the drugs are for animals, there are fears the drugs could be making their way into the human food supply.
A senior drug evaluator alerted Health Canada of the possible risks. His concerns were dismissed and he was advised in a letter that his opinions weren’t supported by Health Canada. The drug was approved in May.
CTV News obtained a copy of that letter, reprimanding him for his approach in disagreeing with the approval process.
“Please consider this letter as a written reprimand,” the letter reads.
“Failure to address this behaviour, as would be evidence by another such episode, will result in more severe disciplinary action.”
Under Health Canada rules, pharmaceutical companies are required to prove their drugs are safe before they’re officially approved. For the companies to make back what they’ve invested in research and development their drug needs to be approved. These scientists say that’s what leads to pharmaceutical pressures.
Health Canada denies the allegations they’re caving in to pharmaceutical companies. “Health Canada staff are not being pressured by manufacturers,” says Health Canada’s Dr. Ian Alexander.
Still, Dr. Chopra feels the system breeds abuse.
“At risk is the public, our children, our community, our Canada,” Chopra says.
The scientists have written to every health minister in the last five years and have voiced their concerns internally at Health Canada.
They say it’s all been to no avail. Undaunted, they’re now calling for a full Senate investigation into why Health Canada is approving drugs that some of its senior scientists feel could one day harm Canadians.