Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: Opinions

How would Canadian politics change with scientists in government? Art: Corrie Jackson

When asked by a reporter for The Globe and Mail whether or not he believed in evolution, Gary Goodyear responded "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 just happens to be Canada's federal Minister of State for Science and Technology.

The fact that Goodyear even brought religion into his response to a question about science is problematic. Evolution is the foundation of all modern biological thought, from population ecology to immunology. It is not a belief, it is a truth. A politician who does not recognize it as such has no place creating policy on the direction of scientific research in this country.

However, the Goodyear fiasco is merely one component of a much broader problem in our society: the paucity of scientific representation in government. According to Preston Manning (the founder and only leader of the now-extinct Reform Party), out of about 400 MPs and senators, only 8 or so have a strong science background. Instead, most seem to have come to politics from law, business, or economics.

While these are all disciplines which should be represented in federal politics, they are insufficient to address the vast array of policy issues that are fundamentally scientific in nature or that include scientific components. Such policy areas include energy, the environment, natural resources, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, biodiversity, health care, physical infrastructure, industry, transportation, defence, the space program, and technological innovation.

Many scientists care about the frequent misinterpretations of science in politics, but few seem riled up enough to put their name on a ballot. We are in desperate need of individuals with the winning combination of strong oratory skills, political prowess, and scientific knowledge to fill this void in government.

The list of policy failures which have resulted from this missing scientific voice in Canadian politics is extensive. The collapse of the cod fishery off the coast of Newfoundland in the early 1990s could have been avoided if politicians had heeded the warnings of scientists about the over-exploitation of cod stocks. The deplorable lack of any meaningful steps towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has meant that Canada is falling farther and farther behind in our Kyoto Protocol commitments and has become an international laughingstock when it comes to climate change policy.

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