Laurier talk and panel discussion will discuss pilot program bringing scientists to Parliament Hill

Whether it has to do with climate, technology or health, politicians regularly make decisions that affect and are affected by science. That’s why a pilot program, Science Meets Parliament, brought a group of scientists to Parliament Hill to meet with parliamentarians. Lessons from the pilot will be discussed at a public talk and panel discussion at Wilfrid Laurier University on Friday, Nov. 22.

Captain Matt McTaggart, of the Royal Military College of Canada and Canadian Armed Forces, will tell the story of Science Meets Parliament Canada, from its inspiration and planning stages through to the training workshops and nearly 100 individual meetings between researchers and parliamentarians. Following his talk, a panel discussion will feature McTaggart, Merhdad Hariri, president and CEO of the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC), and three Laurier professors.

The event is part of Laurier’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar Series. The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies is co-hosting the talk and panel discussion with the support of the Faculty of Science Students’ Association. 

The first Canadian Science Meets Parliament event was held in November 2018 and involved 30 emerging leaders in science and engineering from across Canada travelling to Ottawa for meetings and workshops. The pilot program was presented by the CSPC and Mona Nemer, Canada’s chief science advisor, and is modelled on a long-running Australian program also called Science Meets Parliament.

The goal of the program is to form and strengthen relationships between researchers and federal parliamentarians to promote science and evidence-informed policy.

McTaggart’s talk, which runs from 3:30-4:10 p.m. on Nov. 22 in room N1044 of the Science Building, will highlight the central role of diversity and inclusion in program planning, provide examples of the program’s ongoing impact and share hopes for future events.

The panel discussion, which runs from 4:15-5 p.m. in the same room, features:

• Anthony Clarke, dean of the Faculty of Science and professor of chemistry and biochemistry
• Mehrdad Hariri, president and CEO of the Canadian Science Policy Centre
• Homa Kheyrollah Pour, Canada Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Environmental Change, assistant professor of geography and environmental studies and co-chair of the program committee for the CSPC 2019 conference.
• Matt McTaggart, assistant professor of chemistry, Royal Military College of Canada
• Louise Dawe, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who will act as moderator

All are welcome and no registration is required.