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Canada’s federal scientists wants a new “science integrity” policy for all federal departments and the right to speak freely about their work embedded in their contracts to ensure no government can muzzle them again.

The union representing 15,000 federal scientists penned an open letter with science advocacy group Evidence for Democracy to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal science ministers Navdeep Bains and Kirsty Duncan. In the letter they argue such protections are critical to restoring evidence-based decision making and stopping “future attacks” on science.

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The letter, publicly released Wednesday, will be posted on the Evidence for Democracy website for scientists and the public to sign.

“Science should never be silenced again,” said Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, which represents federal scientists.

“By including the right of scientists to speak in collective agreements we can ensure there exists a consistent policy and a binding process to resolve disputes as well as prevent in the future the kind of chill imposed by communications policies under the Harper government.”