OTTAWA – Hundreds of scientists are stepping away from their petri dishes today to denounce the Harper government’s sweeping cuts to research.
   
Flanked by supporters, the white-coated scientists marched through downtown Ottawa to Parliament Hill.
   
A central theme of their “Death of Evidence” rally is the planned closure of the experimental lakes area, a research station that produces critical data used to combat acid rain and phosphates found in lake water.
   
But the protesters also decry the Conservative government’s overall economic agenda, which they say puts the environment at risk for the sake of creating jobs.
   
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is accused of introducing policies that weaken or abolish scientific institutions, with the aim of making it easier to develop natural resources, including the oilsands.
   
The Council of Canadians, which sponsored the rally, says scientific evidence is being destroyed through cuts to research programs at Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans and the National Research Council.