Traveling for international meetings or even joining a call with Canadian counterparts has become impossible for some scientists from the US government, under new directives since US President Donald Trump took office.
Canadian environmentalist Aaron Fisk said he had recently tried to set up a virtual call to discuss plans with American colleagues, including a government scientist around fish.
“We tried to have a quick meeting with one of our employees … and we refused them access,” said Fisk.
Given that the great lakes – and their aquatic life – riding the two sides of the border, American scientists suddenly prohibited meetings had deep impacts.
This, combined with the freezing of funding, considerably changes the way science works in North America, at least for the moment.
Fisk, who is the president of Canada’s research in the change of Great Lakes ecosystems at the University of Windsor, receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for his work.
The NOAA, a federal agency, provides scientific information, research and forecasts, including daily weather reports, monitoring of hurricanes, climate modeling and marine surveillance.
Fisk says that the total American research funds he had frozen, total more than $ 700,000, or about $ 993,000 CDN.
This left two of his research projects on large pending lakes – one linked to the study of fish movement and one that used autonomous underwater vehicles to study how climate change affects the lake.
What the internal emails of the Noaa reveal
CBC News saw emails sent to NOAA employees, ordering staff to obtain senior approval on “all upcoming international commitments” until the end of March 2025.
The new directives of the NOAA political team indicate that the limits of “international commitments should be widely applied” to include all international trips funded by the NOAA, trips to the United States for international meetings, as well as all virtual meetings on an international subject, a policy or scientific collaboration.
Virtual meetings must also be submitted for exams if they approach a range of subjects, in particular: climate, energy, offshore wind, cartography and exploration of oceans, competitive seafood, aquaculture, ocean plastics, global meteorological organization, Arctic and Arctic Safety and Arctic Safety Arctic energy.
E-mails with international counterparts that are scientific in nature and involve the exchange of scientific data must also be submitted for examination.
CBC News has agreed to protect the identity of the sources that shared this information because they fear reprisals.
CBC News contacted several NOAA officials to request comments.
The Noaa Fisheries spokesperson Rachel Hager denied that federal scientists have been ordered to stop communicating with international counterparts.
In a separate email, Mona Allen, Director of Public Affairs for the NOAA Research, said that the agency was determined to serve the American public and that “we continue to work with partners to provide these important services” .
`Draconien ” badly changes for the planet, says the scientist
The mission statement always published on Noaa website Declares that its role “extends beyond national borders” to monitor the world weather and the climate and to “work with partners from around the world”.
But the internal emails obtained by CBC News seem to undermine this central objective.
“It’s very draconian,” said Fisk.
Throughout his career, until Trump’s recent inauguration, he said it was normal to share resources, ideas and data with colleagues south of the border.
“Great lakes are a great place to show where Canada and the United States are meeting to do very good research,” said Fisk. “It is as if the border does not exist.”
Fisk said e-mails with its American counterparts have slowed down to a minimum and that it is not the only one at the University of Windsor to have aroused their research.
From the study of the impacts of climate change to the follow -up of a hurricane while it travels from the Caribbean to the American coast in Canada, the work of the NOAA is closely linked to Canadian forecasts and research.
Many are concerned about what it means for the international research community if a world leader like the United States is leading a path of scientific isolationism.
Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Scientists concerned, simply said: “I think science is attacked in the United States.”
But she encouraged her colleagues not to abandon hope. “I think we should hold the line and take it day after day,” she told CBC News.
Former NOAA manager: the workforce could be divided by two
The imminent mass license reports of the American agency also spoke of many federal scientists.
Janne Haugen, an ecologist of the peaches, is an affiliate of the NOAA which works for a company contracted by the United States government.
Haugen told CBC News that, for the moment, she was careful and limited communication with international colleagues to technical aspects of work.
“I have emails from other employees I have not responded,” she said.
Andrew Rosenberg, former deputy director of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the NOAA, told CBC News that the 50% reduction in the agency’s workforce was discussed on Capitol Hill and within the NOAA.
“It is a transition from destruction. I have never seen anything like it,” said Rosenberg, a marine scientist.
He said it is normal for political priorities to move under a newly elected government, but nothing like it.
The fire hose for policy changes targeting American scientific institutions is not limited to the NOAA.
A communications freezing To the National Institutes of Health have created chaos and the disappearance of data sets form the centers for Disease Control sent the Canadians run to archive information Before it is lost.
Also in the reticle is the Environmental Protection Agency, where hundreds of staff were dismissed.
According to Rémi Quirion, the president of the international network for government scientific councils, it is undeniable that there will be training effects if this is part of a long -term trend towards dismantling, or at least seriously, work American scientific institutions.
“Science should be without borders,” said Quirion. “I think that in the world, it will slow down progress and research.”
No official opinion on changes, the Canadian government says
The Canadian Federal Government, for its part, said it had not received any official advice from any change in its collaboration with the NOAA.
In an email, the environment and climate change canada (ECCC), spokesperson Samantha Bayard, underlined the long-standing relationship with American counterparts.
“The ECCC and the NOA also collaborate daily on a certain number of different fronts, including in Arctic Waters and Great Lakes through joint observations and ice forecasts via the North American Ice Service, and production Meteorological models integrated as part of the North American overall forecast system, “said Bayard.
Quirion suggested that the situation could create advantages for Canada. As a Quebec chief scientist in a role advising the provincial government, he said it could be an opportunity to get talents.
“We already have investigations in Quebec … Canadian scientists in the United States who think it may be time to go home,” he said.
But for many, it is too early to see money in money.
Rosenberg, who has over 35 years of experience in government and academic work, said he was furious.
“It has an impact on Canada and the rest of the world? You are betting,” he said. “The United States has the strongest scientific business in the world and these people throw it away.”