Canada's science minister won't say he believes in evolution

Posted By Joshua Keating Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 10:22 PM Share

Canada's science minister, the man at the centre of the controversy over federal funding cuts to researchers, won't say if he believes in evolution.
“I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate,” Gary Goodyear, the federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
A funding crunch, exacerbated by cuts in the January budget, has left many senior researchers across the county scrambling to find the money to continue their experiments.

Some have expressed concern that Mr. Goodyear, a chiropractor from Cambridge, Ont., is suspicious of science, perhaps because he is a creationist.
When asked about those rumours, Mr. Goodyear said such conversations are not worth having.

George W. Bush caught a lot of (understandable) flack from scientists for his partial embrace of "intelligent design" education, but even he chose a science advisor who stated clearly that "evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology."

(Hat tip: Boing Boing)

EXPLORE:NORTH AMERICA, CANADA, RELIGION, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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NEMANJA

9:58 AM ET

March 18, 2009

In Canada's lukewarm defense,

In Canada's lukewarm defense, he isn't exactly the equivalent of a science advisor, or even a Secretary of Energy - he's merely a Minister of State - which over here means a junior minister, who is outside cabinet, and assists a "real" minister on a particular issue or file. In terms of his real influence or decision making power as regards to funding for science, it's probably equivalent to zero.

At the same time, there's no denying that the optics of this are horrible, and that it reflects very poorly on PM Harper for having chosen him, not that he had a wealth of superior candidates to choose from.

LEONARD

4:05 PM ET

March 18, 2009

Faith-based terminology

Evolution is a matter of empirical evidence and the scientific method. One does not "believe in" evolution any more than one "believes in" gravity.

JOSHUA KEATING

4:22 PM ET

March 18, 2009

I'm pretty solid on gravity

photosynthesis is a fairy tale though

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