Dr. Patrick Provost, one of our great scientists, was suspended by his university and censored by a Québec media company: Isn’t this why we sadly and badly need bills to protect academic freedom?

Dr. Patrick Provost is a Full Professor of Microbiology, Infectious diseases and Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université Laval. He is an established researcher at the CHU de Québec Research Center/CHUL Pavilion (https://www.crchudequebec.ulaval.ca/en/research/researchers/patrick-provost/).

According to Libre Media (https://libremedia.ca/article/affaire-patrick-provost-le-quebec-a-la-merci-des-interets-prives), “for twenty years, he has been running an RNA research laboratory. He has published almost 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications. His research work on the role of messenger RNA in gene expression is one of the 10 discoveries of the year 2003 by the magazine Québec Science and the five discoveries of the year 2021 by the daily Le Soleil.

Before Quebecor withdrew its last text from all its media, Professor Patrick Provost was suspended by the Université Laval for comments he made in December 2021 on the vaccination of children. Can you imagine the level of censorship in our collectively insane times? A scientist, expert in the field, cannot express a scientific opinion or share any research findings that may challenge an apparently merely politically-driven health narrative. Is Québec (and Canada) “at the mercy of private interests” to that extent, as raised by Libre Media?

To read a translation of the Libre Media article featuring an interview with Dr. Provost, please use the following link (thanks to Google Translate): https://libremedia-ca.translate.goog/article/affaire-patrick-provost-le-quebec-a-la-merci-des-interets-prives?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp .

From the interview above, we can read the following powerful statement by Professor Provost:

I had not seen this climate coming. […] I would never have thought in my life that I would one day have to fight for my rights and freedoms in a country like Canada. I was shocked to see how people gave up their rights and freedoms because they were afraid”. 

As reported in the above article, and to end with a note of hope, Professor Provost seems to be relieved because a growing number of Canadians “have a thirst for truth and openness”. Indeed, and to borrow his own words again: “in recent days, I have received dozens of messages of support and it is still encouraging”.

Good for him! She does not know about you, but Bambi stands with Professor Provost and with his right to academic freedom and freedom of expression! Isn’t Québec’s latest bill precisely meant to protect this right (as previously posted by Bambi)?

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