Gary Goodyear

Gary T. Goodyear, PC, MP (born March 10, 1958 in Cambridge, Ontario) is a Canadian politician. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, having been elected to represent the riding of Cambridge as a Conservative in 2004. On October 30, 2008 he was named Minister of State for Science and Technology within Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Cabinet.^[1]

Education and chiropractic career

Goodyear was raised and educated in Cambridge. After high school he attended the University of Waterloo, studying in Biomechanics and Psychology, but left without completing a degree.

He afterwards attended the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, where he graduated cum laude, was class president, and valedictorian. Goodyear then received a fellowship in sports injury^[2]. He started his full-time practice in Cambridge in 1984 where he was Clinic Director, Director of Patient Services and Past President of Future Recovery Canada. He was a co-designer of the three year post-graduate Sports Fellowship Program. He also co-authored “Practice Guidelines” and was Public Relations Director and Past President for the College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences in Toronto ^[3]. He was also the health columnist for the Cambridge Times newspaper from 1986 to 1996, and has taught at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and the University of Waterloo.

Political career

In the 2004 federal election, Goodyear defeated incumbent Liberal Janko Peric by 224 votes (as confirmed on recount) to win the Cambridge riding. After the election, Goodyear was named Ontario Chair of the Conservative Party caucus.^[4] He was re-elected in 2006 with the endorsement of Vote Marriage Canada, and was also endorsed by the Canadian Islamic Congress receiving a grade of A ^[5] In 2006, he won the riding of Cambridge by almost 6,000 votes.

After the 2006 federal election Goodyear was elected Standing committee chair of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (of which he chairs the Subcommittee on Parliament Hill Security.) In March 2008 the Procedure and House Affairs Committee ousted Goodyear by moving a motion of non-confidence in him. The committee then elected Conservative MP Joe Preston as the chair against his will, and he called no meetings before resigning from his position. The committee currently has no chair and has not met since March 6. Jay Hill, Conservative party whip, said he is adamant that unless the opposition is willing to meet to re-elect Mr. Goodyear as the chair and to withdraw the motion to study the In and Out scandal, there will be no Procedure and House Affairs committee meetings.^[6] The Speaker of the House made a ruling on the events in this committee and others which stated rulings by committee chairs are being routinely overturned by majority votes, even when the rulings are procedurally sound. Such a state of affairs has led to "general lawlessness" at committees.^[7] Goodyear also chairs Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure He was also named Chairman of the all-party Canada-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group.

A former campaign manager for Conservative MP Gary Goodyear admits he negotiated a lease for a campaign headquarters in 2004 that said the landlord would make a political donation to Mr. Goodyear's election bid. In a compliance agreement with the Commissioner of Canada Elections, Reg Petersen "acknowledged an act that constitutes an offence" under the Elections Act.^[8]

Role in Cabinet

Following the Conservative victory in the 2008 federal election, Goodyear was appointed to the cabinet portfolio of Minister of State for Science and Technology.

Political Controversies

Evolution Controversy

In a March 2009 interview, The Globe and Mail asked Goodyear if he believed in evolution. He responded, "I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate." While many scientists and educators expressed shock at this,^[9] others defended the minister, citing statistics that show a majority of Canadians believe God played a role in creation.^[10] Later that day, however, Goodyear said that he believed in evolution during an interview with CTV News.^[11] However, when asked to clarify this belief, he did not say that he believed that evolution is the process that created the diversity of life on Earth or that we share a common ancestor with other species. This is important since many of the labs that are funded through Goodyear's department use these model organisms on the basis that they share a common ancestor with humans.^[12] Furthermore, some scientists questioned the examples of evolution he gave in the interview, suggesting they represent lifestyle adaptations rather than evolution.^[13]

Funding Cuts

In early 2009, Goodyear oversaw $147.9 million in funding cuts ^[14] for science programs, the most prominent being the lack of any funding for new projects for Genome Canada.^[15] Critics of the cuts, including a team of neuroscientists who lost funding, argued that when coupled with the Obama administration's increased funding for science, the cuts could produce a brain drain as researchers move to the United States and secure funding.^[16]

June 2009 saw Minister Goodyear recommending the SSHRC withdraw a $19,750 funding grant for a future of Israel and Palestine conference^[17] because it was deemed by the Minister to be too anti-Israel.^[18]

Imagine Adoption Bankruptcy

Gary Goodyear and his wife Valerie are co-owners of Constant Energy Inc. Constant Energy is a creditor in the bankruptcy of Imagine Adoption. Macleans.ca reported Kitchener-Waterloo Record allegations that only one of the three locations rented to Imagine Adoption was used by the agency, 780 King Street East. Constant Energy Inc rented 382 Queen Street West in Cambridge to the agency. Constant Energy’s total outstanding claim at $96,000 is the first entry on the list of preferred creditors for wages/rent/etc. TheStar also reported on the issue. "He declined through his spokesperson yesterday to be interviewed or answer written questions about the company's business dealings with the agency".

Electoral Record

References

External links

• Gary Goodyear
• Federal Political Experience

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