Closing of CHN site draws opposition

Community Action, Feb 20, 2008

The federal government's plan to close down funding for the Canadian Health Network website is drawing vigorous opposition from the staff and supporters of 26 organizations that make up the friends of CHN.

The website has been a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada and the organizations that provided the content for the site. The website will now be taken over by the Agency.

The move by the Agency is part of a plan to cut grants to voluntary organizations by $17 million. The CHN, with 395,000 persons each month, connects to 20,000 peer reviewed articles in english and french.

The number of users increased by 70% in 2007 from 2006. Over 40% of users are health professionals who share information with clients.

The content of the website includes a wide range of subjects. Supporters of CHN suggest that the government may find some of the subjects objectionable--e.g. abortion, adolescent pregnancy, gay and lesbian youth, and other similar subjects.

They also point out that the closing of the website is contrary to the government's statements of encouragement for voluntary organizations.

Over 3,600 persons have signed an online petition to save the website. If there is no change with the government's plan, the site will close down on Mar. 31.

www.friendsofchn.ca