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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Scientist takes on Ottawa to try to save ELA
Political newbie learns how to fight for her cause
Diane Orihel (JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
OTTAWA -- Six months ago, Diane Orihel was a scientist focused on finishing her PhD.
Politics was the furthest thing from her mind.
Then the federal government announced it was pulling its $2-million annual funding for the Experimental Lakes Area, and overnight she became the main voice in the fight to save the unique program.
"It's so funny," Orihel said, thinking about the sharp turn her life took last May. "It was a snap and immediate response to the decision."
Orihel, 35, was so green to advocacy work she'd never even heard of a news release. The only politician she could think of to call was Manitoba Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard, with whom she had done some work in 2009 on sediment buildup in Killarney Lake.
He put her in touch with his press aide, who gave Orihel a crash course in news releases.
Within four hours, she had contacted other scientists to join the cause, formed the Coalition to Save ELA and issued her first media notice.
"I had never done a media interview before, and the next thing I knew there was a camera in my living room," she said.
The ELA is a network of 58 lakes in northwestern Ontario that has been used for more than 40 years as a scientific research station. It is the only facility in the world where scientists can conduct research on entire bodies of water.
In May, without any prior notice, the Department of Fisheries told ELA scientists the federal funding would end in April 2013. The reason? The program no longer fit with the government's mandate.
It wants either another organization to take it over or it will be decommissioned.
Orihel's relationship with the ELA began a decade ago when she started her master's degree at the University of Manitoba, and she has conducted numerous projects at the site ever since. As a student, she felt more free than federally employed ELA scientists to lead the charge to save the program.
In six months, she has been to Ottawa at least four times for meetings with MPs and press conferences. Her work is funded mainly from her own pocket, although some donations and frequent-flyer miles have helped. She stays with friends or ELA supporters when she travels. Gerrard said he is awed by the work Orihel has done and how effective she has been in getting people to pay attention.
"I am absolutely amazed," said Gerrard. "She has put this issue on the map. I think the government never thought it was going to be as big an issue as this."
A poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians recently found three out of four Canadians oppose the cut to the ELA, including 60 per cent of people who intend to vote Conservative. Six months ago, it's likely most of those people had never heard of the ELA.
Orihel didn't enter the political world easily. She has no personal political affiliation and said she has voted for a different party in each of the last three elections. Her parents are immigrants from Slovakia, and both are "true-blue" supporters of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
She admits the last six months haven't been easy. "It's been so crushing to see how the government is completely ignoring me and isn't giving any consideration to the point I'm trying to get across."
At first, she had support from most of her colleagues, but in recent weeks there has been pressure to stop her fight as some fear she may be harming any chance to salvage any part of the ELA.
"I know I'm fighting a losing battle, but there are some things worth fighting for," Orihel said. "This fight began about ELA but I think it's bigger than ELA now. There are many many issues that need to be brought to light."
Orihel said if she inspires others to also fight for what they believe in, she won't have lost the entire battle.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 27, 2012 A9
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