We interrupt this broadcast of the Alien-Predator grandmaster chess tournament to bring you important breaking news:

In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Gary Goodyear, the federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, said the following when asked if he believed 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,”

What? Hmm... it seems that a reporter asked the Honourable Mr. Goodyear a question about evolution, and he responded as if it were a question about religion. Not only is this a dangerous confusion of science and faith, but it would seem to suggest that our federal Minister of Science is a creationist.

Naturally, this touched off a huge furor in the blogosphere and scientific community. So in a CTV interview yesterday, Mr. Goodyear responded with some additional comments about whether he believes in evolution:

"Of course I do, but it is an irrelevant question... We are evolving every year, every decade. That's a fact, whether it is to the intensity of the sun, whether it is to... walking on cement versus anything else, whether it is running shoes or high heels, of course we are evolving to our environment. But that's not relevant and that is why I refused to answer the question."

Well, let's break that down, shall we? It seems to me after reading this statement a couple of times, that we can surmise one of two things. Either, a) Mr. Goodyear is deliberately trying to muddy the waters about his stance on Darwinian evolution, or b) Mr. Goodyear doesn't actually understand what evolution is.

Now, I don't know about you, but as a liberal Canadian, there are reasonable limits of Conservatism I am willing to tolerate. Having a creationist as our federal Science Minister is beyond those reasonable limits. Canada is a culture of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists; and our government should be representative of our pluralistic culture. That means appointing a science minister who is capable of recognizing the scientific consensus on the history of our planet, the foundation of genetics, and the system which all biological taxonomy is based on. It does NOT mean appointing a man who confuses science with the literal interpretation of Genesis.

It is darkly ironic that, at this moment, our Canadian forces are fighting in Afghanistan against the Taliban, whom we call so terribly evil because of their insistence on theocracy and use of the state to foist their conservative religious beliefs upon all members of society. Truly, our actions at home show us to be utter hypocrites.

But we need to show both sides of the story. I'm sure that there are those among you who feel that Mr. Goodyear must have some professional qualifications for this job...

Gary Goodyear briefly studied biomechanics and psychology at the University of Waterloo before dropping out. He then attended the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and became a Chiropractor.