First of all, Bambi will start by saluting the courage and scientific integrity of Biologist and Professor Rod Cumberland. New Brunswick (NB), Canada, and the entire world need more people like him!
You may wish to listen to this former government wildlife biologist and instructor at Maritime College of Forest Technology (Fredericton, NB) directly in the video below where he presented to the Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship on June 24, 2021. The latter day was part of weeklong meetings devoted to the examination of glyphosate use in NB forests. As a reminder, our province is 85% forested. The hot issue of glyphosate use is critical, regardless of the point of view about glyphosate use or abuse.
As you can see, biologist Rod Cumberland spoke about the effect herbicide spraying has on the health of deer and moose in the province. Bambi thanks him for caring for her and all her fellow deer (and indirectly of NB citizens, including those who are trying hard to silence him). In addition, he also spoke about the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s failure to protect the public from harmful herbicides and pesticides. Bambi also thanks him for caring for his fellow NB human beings.
This being said, Bambi would like to thank Cumberland’s former boss at the Maritime College of Forest Technology, retired Executive-Director Gerry Redmond, for creating a fundraiser campaign to support his legal fees. She is honoured to have just contributed to it. She did so both as a peer and as a grateful deer/citizen. Now, if like her, you care about academic freedom/freedom of expression in our dear province, and can afford to support Mr. Cumberland in any way you can, here is the link to this campaign: https://www.givesendgo.com/G3MXE?sharemsg=display.
As for us in NB, and by extension in Canada, we should be ashamed of ourselves for not being wise enough to know how to listen to and respect all opinions on any given topic and regardless of whether we agree with it or not.
Stated differently, everyone has the right to freely express his or her opinion, whether the latter is scientific, medical, political, religious, etc. Powerful pressure groups, governments, and individuals must urgently re-commit to this basic principle of common sense in communication and in human rights, if we want to still keep calling ourselves a democracy.
Last but not least, in the fundraiser link above, you can find more media coverage on the story. Below are a few additional ones:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/glyphosate-herbicide-cumberland-hearings-1.6078282
To conclude this post, Bambi wants to thank Mr. Cumberland again for his inspiring courage. Best wishes to him in “his” long battle, which is “ours” too. Indeed, if one of us is silenced, we are all censored. This is why Bambi is standing up for academic freedom/free speech, that is in full solidarity with this courageous scientist/citizen!
