Three senior scientists who worked in the veterinary drugs directorate of Health Canada, where they were involved in drug approvals, have been fired. The three were well known for repeatedly criticizing the department's policies, claiming they felt pressured to approve certain drugs despite concerns they could present a danger to consumers.

Shiv Chopra, Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert received letters of termination on Wednesday (July 14). None has spoken publicly about the dismissals; Haydon said any comments on the matter would come from their lawyers.

Steve Hindle, the president of the scientists' union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service (PIPSC), told the CTV television network that the three would “file grievances [and make their case] to the Public Service Staff Relations Board” and might also then “go on to federal court from there.”

A Health Canada spokesman said only: "I can tell you they are no longer employed at Health Canada and this is not because of anything they may have said publicly." Ryan Baker added that the health department "fully supports and abides by the existing policy that allows for disclosure of alleged wrongdoing in the workplace.”

But Mike McBane of the Canadian Health Coalition, a public interest lobby group, said the three were being penalized for doing their jobs and that the firings were “an ominous signal from the government.”

The Coalition's Bradford Duplisea told The Scientist that the three had been fired for trying to protect the country's food supply: “Whistleblowers are among the most important people in society. They save lives. They have to be protected.”

In the late 1990s, the scientists publicly opposed the use of rBST, a bovine growth hormone from Monsanto that enhances milk production in cows, a criticism that led to a Senate inquiry, and a decision not to approve the drug. They later criticized carbadox, a drug used to promote growth in pigs, and Baytril (enrofloxacin), used to promote growth in cows and chickens, as well as the antibiotic tylosin which was banned in Europe but subsequently approved in Canada. Haydon had also called a 2001 Canadian ban on Brazilian beef a political decision, and Chopra had criticized former health minister Allan Rock for stockpiling antibiotics during the post-Sept. 11 anthrax scare. Last year they warned their superiors that the department's strategy to fight BSE was inadequate.

Their case will hinge on the balance between an employee's right to speak out and the Supreme Court of Canada's previous ruling that “as a general rule, federal public servants should be loyal to their employer.”

Both Chopra and Haydon have had prior appearances before the Public Service Staff Relations Board, and the Federal Court.

A fourth scientist, Cris Basudde, had also been among the outspoken group. He died in December while on sick leave.