“There is systematic campaign to reduce the flow of scientific evidence to Canadians,” said Scott Findlay, a U of O biology professor.

“As a result, the public hears and sees only information that supports federal government policy or ideology. That’s not evidence, that’s propaganda.”

Biology, especially environmental research, has been one of the areas hit hardest by this summer’s federal budget cuts.

This summer’s federal cuts have ended all funding to an Arctic atmospheric research lab called PEARL, and the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario.

Both are leading centres of real-world experiments to study our land and water in ways that no one can do in a lab. Both have international reputations.

"The Harper government is the most environmentally hostile one we have ever had in Canada. Harper pulled Canada out of the Kyoto protocol, gutted the Fisheries Act (our strongest freshwater protection law), and hollowed out our environmental assessment legislation, making it easier for extractive industries to get licences to exploit," said Maude Barlow, a former UN advisor on water and chair of the Council of Canadians. "It is heartlessly shutting down a programme that costs very little to run given the incredible benefits it brings, in order to silence the voices who speak for water."

Ms. Oda’s decision to step down comes ahead of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s planned cabinet shuffle, expected to start in August and continue into September. The shuffle is expected to be significant, a reflection of the mishaps and missteps of the Conservative caucus.

Thrust into the spotlight this year because of a trip to London, England, where she stayed in a luxury hotel on the public dollar and ordered a $16 glass of orange juice, Ms. Oda wasn’t expected to survive the cabinet shuffle.

Ms. Oda stayed at the Savoy hotel in London, a swanky hotel frequented by royalty, when she could have stayed at a cheaper five-star hotel. She also hired a limousine to drive her around during the trip, at a cost of $1,000 a day.

She later paid back the difference between the costs of the two hotels.