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Anti-rBGH Scientists in Canada Fight
Government Gag Order

Friday, Aug. 03, 2001
Whistle-blowing scientists seek right to speak to media

By DENNIS BUECKERT-- The Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) -- The Federal Court of Canada is being asked to remove a
gag order placed on two Health Department scientists who publicly criticized
the federal drug-approval process.

The scientists, Margaret Haydon and Shiv Chopra, made the news several
years ago when they charged their managers were pushing them to approve
unsafe drugs.

The controversy focused on RBST, commonly known as bovine growth
hormone, a genetically produced drug that increases the milk production of dairy
cattle.

The case is the first involving government whistle-blowers since the
guarantee of freedom of speech was enshrined in the Charter of Rights in
1982, lawyer Andrew Raven, who is representing the scientists, said in an
interview.

"This case calls for a very close examination of the standards the
government has to meet in justifying a deprivation of free speech," he said.
In his argument Tuesday to the court, Raven said the case is important not
only to public servants but also to the public, which has a right to know
what is going on within the government bureaucracy.

Raven said the scientists -- both of whom have long careers in the Health
Department -- did not act out of petty personal reasons, but out of
dedication to the public interest.

He said Haydon was pressed to approve drugs of questionable safety by her
superiors at the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs, part of the Health Protection
Branch.

He said Haydon's managers told her she could be disciplined by the bureau
or sued by manufacturers for not approving drugs. When she nevertheless
refused to approve RBST she was removed from the file.

Raven said managers in the bureau had less scientific expertise than the
employees who reported to them.

He said executives from the pharmaceutical industry sat on an internal
board which had extensive influence over bureau work.

Chopra -- who took over the file after Haydon was removed -- wrote to
former health minister David Dingwall to complain of the situation, but
says he never received a reply.

When Haydon and Chopra conducted several media interviews discussing their
concerns they both received letters of reprimand and were ordered to avoid
further contact with the media.

When the Senate agriculture committee conducted a study of RBST, it
invited Haydon and Chopra to testify.

The Senate committee eventually recommended that RBST not be approved for
use in Canada, and the Health Department has accepted the recommendation.
The legal battle on behalf of the two scientists is being waged by the
Public Institute of the Public Service of Canada.