In recent years, federal funding has been cut from many prominent scientific organizations, causing them to severely downsize and in many cases, shut down. Pertinent examples of this unfortunate trend include the defunding of the Experimental Lakes Area, the transformation of the National Research Council to being business and industry-based, and shutting down the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.

"The culture of science [in Canada] is being poisoned," stated NDP's Kennedy Stewart when explaining the bill for a science officer, "This is an effort to get things back on track."