OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 4, 2026 /CNW/ -- With climate disasters intensifying across Canada, federal public service professionals will gather at the York Steps on Sussex Drive in Ottawa on Wednesday, August 5, with a stark warning: climate disasters are getting worse while the government cuts the experts who help keep Canadians safe.

The lunchtime event will feature split images contrasting Canadian summer images from the past with the floods-and-fires reality of today. The display will ask people to consider what Canada loses when public scientific capacity is cut.

Federal scientists and employees represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) will distribute information about the scientists whose work helps Canada prepare long before disaster strikes. Among those affected by cuts are experts who turn satellite and geospatial data into emergency maps, monitor wildfire smoke and air quality, study threats to Canada's forests, and strengthen flood forecasting.

PIPSC is calling on the federal government to stop cutting public science, protect the expertise Canadians rely on and be transparent about what work will no longer be done as positions disappear.

EVENT DETAILS

What: Summer Then, Summer Now visibility event and public leafleting
When: Wednesday, August 5, 2026. 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET. Media scrum at 1:15 PM (EDT)
Where: York Steps - Sussex Drive @ York Street, Ottawa (Ontario)
Media availability: PIPSC President, Sean O'Reilly, will be available for interviews at the event.

PIPSC represents over 80,000 public-sector professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government. Follow us on Facebook, on Bluesky and on Instagram.

SOURCE Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)