No, I’m not kidding. The newly-elected Canadian government has officially declared that science is not a subject of importance to the citizens of the country, that no well-informed person is in charge of science education, and that the country has opted to take a back seat among the civilized nations of the world, in that respect.
For their new cabinet, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party has selected a man without any science credentials, not a scientist nor a technologist, to serve as Minister of State for Science and Technology. And what are his qualifications for this critical position? Ready? This man, Gary Goodyear, is a practicing acupuncturist and chiropractor! Neither acupuncture nor chiropractic have any supporting evidence, they are both internationally recognized examples of quackery, they have been tested endlessly all over the world, and they have failed all examinations.
Perhaps PM Harper was persuaded to appoint Goodyear because one of his important positions before he reached this exalted position was as Chairman of the all-party Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group. After all, there are literally hundreds of Canadian citizens who have Armenian roots…
However, the rumor that Harper is planning to appoint Uri Geller as Minister of State for Cutlery, is a base canard.