Various and sundry Canadian media covered with relatively little fanfare or controversy the recent decision of sitting “independent” Senator Lillian Dyck to become a Liberal.  Along the way, they casually described her background, which includes a PhD in Biological Psychiatry and studies into antidepressants and antipsychotics. She’s also patented some mental health drugs herself.  So how much money from pharmaceutical companies has Dyck taken over the years? How much more does she stand to make as our government pushes the psycho-pharmaceutical agenda through its Mental Health Commission?

Interestingly, discussion at Maclean’s magazine has focused mainly on how it’s positive to have a “scientist” on the Senate.  Of course, the research shows psychiatry is much more religion and business than science (just read the summary quote from the Research Agenda for the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in CMM’s right sidebar, for example). And indeed, that’s exactly why most people won’t worry about such a blatant conflict of interest — a PhD in Psychiatry inspires such faith.