Fired Quebec scientist blew the whistle on pesticide lobby influence
Quebec government scientist Louis Robert was fired from his job after a 32-year career for exposing industry influence in public research on pesticides. Image courtesy Radio-Canada.ca
By Carl Meyer
In May 2009, Quebec government scientist Louis Robert was 15 minutes away from entering a conference room to give a lecture about phosphorus when he got a phone call from his boss ordering him to call it off.
His boss threatened to move Robert into another office to perform administrative tasks if he dared to proceed with the lecture.
A year earlier, a senior public servant summoned Robert to a meeting at a restaurant with his boss, in which the scientist was told to cancel an on-camera appearance with journalists to talk about the management of fertilizers.