Government plans to cut freshwater research funding

The federal government said it plans to cut the two million dollars in annual funding to the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), who focus on freshwater science research.

The Dominion says that if the government goes through with the cut, the world-renowned, one-of-a-kind research station in Northwestern Ontario will close its doors on April 1, 2013, leaving many graduate students stranded mid-project.

Many studies are under way to measure the effect of a variety of consumer products and their composites on freshwater systems and marine life.

If the government carries on with the cut, the very important results of some of these studies are in jeopardy, as some studies cannot be conducted in a regular laboratory setting.

Many are concerned that losing the ELA as a place to conduct research will have a detrimental effect not only on Canadian universities attracting top students, researchers and faculty, but also on freshwater science in Canada itself.

Without the current funding from the federal government, that research will become increasingly difficult to conduct, if not cease altogether.