(NaturalNews) On just about any given day you can Google the term climate change and find at least a couple of articles criticizing modernity and bemoaning the end of the world as we know it.

Meteorologists are increasingly entering this doom-and-gloom fray as well, though the Canadian government has just announced that its own staff meteorologists should put the kibosh on the climate-change rhetoric. The idea is that meteorologists are not climatologists; just because someone understands short-term weather does not mean that they understand long-term climate trends.

According to Vocativ.com, the Canadian government has made it clear that none of the meteorologists on the taxpayer's dime ought to be talking about climate change, per a new report. While it is not clear how long the rule has been in place, Environment Canada, the government entity which shares weather and meteorological data publicly, explained its position to the website.

"Our Weather Preparedness Meteorologists are experts in their field of severe weather and speak to this subject. Questions about climate change or long-term trends would be directed to a climatologist or other applicable authority," wrote Danny Kingsberry, a spokesman for Environment Canada.

It's all so 'scary'

As you might imagine, some scientists -- especially the true believers -- are not very happy about the rule.

"It's all very scary," said Chris Metcalfe, who is director of the Institute for Watershed Science at Trent University. "It's all about controlling the message. In my estimation, the government doesn't want the work of environmentalists running counter to their official policies."

Or, how about this -- running counter to the fact that, other than climate "prediction" and "models," there is simply no hard data proving that the earth is warming due to "climate change." In fact, it hasn't since 1997, according to a "quietly released" scientific report from the British Meteorological Office almost two years ago.

And speaking of "scary," isn't that a tactic that climate changers employ often -- "the world will soon end in floods and fire!" -- to "convince" us to buy into their argument?

Well, according to Vocativ.com, Environment Canada would not answer any additional questions, but Metcalfe said the rules regarding the referencing of climate change are part of a wider effort by the Canadian government to muzzle scientists whose messaging contradicts with key "industries." Think of the energy industry, for one.

And he says some of his peers in the government are quitting in protest of abiding by what he called Prime Minister Stephen Harper's language police.

"Several scientists are choosing to retire over their unhappiness with the present situation," Metcalfe said.

In the past, Canada has developed a reputation for being quite progressive (read liberal) on a number of matters, the website observed.

"Most Canadians don't realize they are lagging behind most of the rest of the world. They come in 27 of the 27 richest countries in environment," Owen Barder, a Europe-based economist who helped produce the Center for Global Development's "The Commitment to Development Index" study, said. "I don't think most Canadians would see themselves that way."

He added that the country's low ranking is partially the result of lax gasoline taxes, high fish subsidies and emissions of greenhouse gases.