Question Period Note: Scientific Processes and Excellence at Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Scientific Processes and Excellence at Fisheries and Oceans Canada

My department is proud to have implemented a policy on science integrity which is fundamental to making the right decisions for Canada’s fisheries and oceans.

The Department ensures high standards of scientific excellence, impartiality, and transparency in its scientific activities.

I have every confidence in the integrity of Fisheries and Oceans Canada science and the rigourous peer review process that is used to generate science advice.

If pressed on release of 2012 study
The publication of scientific papers in external technical journals is a process between researchers and the science journals themselves.

This generally means agreement of the authors on the contents of the paper being submitted, as well as the journal being satisfied that the paper is sufficiently rigorous – usually through a peer review process. I fully support this independent process.

• The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada wrote on November 25 2021 to the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada regarding actions that were perceived to undermine scientific excellence in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region.
• When employees have concerns, they may bring those forward through the established internal processes to be addressed. With respect to the letter regarding Newfoundland and Labrador Region science, the department is following the follow internal processes by engaging directly with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada.
• As a science-based department, scientific integrity is essential to the work of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and its employees. Scientific integrity is critical to the decision-making process, from the planning and conduct of research to the production of advice and the application of advice to the departmental decision-making processes.
• This Scientific Integrity Policy was developed in conjunction with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), based on model developed jointly with the Office of the Chief Science Advisor and Treasury Board Secretariat. The policy recognizes the importance of high quality science, free from political, commercial and client interference and the importance of this in the decision-making processes utilized by the Department. The policy applies to all who plan, produce, support or utilize science to make well-informed decisions.
• The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) coordinates the production of peer-reviewed science advice for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Science advice is prepared both nationally and through DFO’s regional offices.
• The CSAS provides a formal, transparent process for the delivery of science advice to the department’s decision makers. Advice might relate to the state of an ecosystem, the impacts of a human activity, the effectiveness of a mitigation strategy or another subject related to DFO’s mandate.
• With respect to the research that was conducted in 2012 that studied jaundice in farmed chinook salmon, the DFO and external scientists involved in the study did not reach a consensus on the interpretation of the results and therefore have not yet collectively submitted a paper for publication in a scientific journal. This is not a DFO process but one determined by scientific journals.
• Scientific journals generally require all co-authors to agree on the interpretation of their findings prior to a paper being submitted for peer-review.

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