Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Over the past decade, Canadians have witnessed an erosion of our national capacity for evidence-based decision-making. Apparent in communications restrictions on government scientists, funding cuts focused on public interest research, and a diminished role for evidence in policy decisions, this erosion threatens both our well-being as citizens and the health of our democracy. Evidence for Democracy, a national non-partisan, non-profit organization, has emerged as part of efforts to make the case for evidence-based decision-making. This presentation will lay out what’s happened in Canada and explain why we should be concerned. It will explain how Evidence for Democracy is responding and suggest ways we can all work to restore evidence-based decision-making in Canada. Speaker: Dr. Shannon Stunden Bower Shannon Stunden Bower is an assistant professor in the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta. She is a board member with Evidence for Demo