A month ago, if you had asked the average Canadian who Gary Goodyear is, she or he likely would have responded that Gary had something to do with car tires. Not so anymore. Gary Goodyear, a Conservative Member of Parliament for Cambridge and Minister of State for Science and Technology, has made the news recently for comments he made regarding evolution. Evidently, he was asked if he believed in evolution, and responded that he felt it was inappropriate for the reporter to question his beliefs as a Christian (I’m paraphrasing here). This story probably would have been nothing more than filler material in the Globe & Mail if Mr. Goodyear was a regular, run-of-the-mill MP, but because of his Cabinet position as Minister of State for Science and Technology, it raised a few eyebrows. Obviously the fear is that Mr. Goodyear may not be willing to designate funding for scientific research that is not in accordance with his Christian beliefs, and make no mistake, that is a legitimate fear to have. However, I have not yet seen evidence that would suggest that Mr. Goodyear has allocated funding based on his beliefs. If this was the case, he should be replaced immediately. In actuality, the Harper government has been underfunding all scientific disciplines, regardless of their research. But for the moment, I am willing to give Mr. Goodyear the benefit of the doubt. Do I agree with his beliefs? No. Do I think his attempt to state his belief in evolution was rather pathetic? Yes. But I don’t think his beliefs necessarily proclude him from performing his job.
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Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Jon, and I’ve lived in the heart of Canadian politics – Ottawa – for each of my 22 years. This is my first foray into the blogosphere, and I have been critical of it in the past. The main issue I had with bloggers is that many tend to hide behind the anonymity and security of their online personae. The distance created between the blogger and his/her audience by the internet allows the blogger to say things that she/he would not say if standing face-to-face with another person. So, I make a promise to you, my reader. Every word that you read in this, and any future postings I make, are words that I would be proud to speak, no matter the situation. And with the preamble now out of the way, let me tell you how Barack Obama will change the world.
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