When 20-year-old Ellen Page from Halifax got an Academy Award nomination for best actress, we all cheered. When our hockey team won gold at the World Juniors, we all cheered. Now you don't have to be a movie fan or a hockey fan to be moved by this stuff. You just have to be a Canadian.

And likewise, you don't have to be a genius to be very proud of the fact that Canadian scientists won the Nobel Peace Prize. I mean this is the mother of all prizes. In fact, Mother Theresa got one.

So what happened this past week when these Canadian scientists came to Parliament Hill for a reception in their honour with their Nobel prize tucked up underneath their arms? The Prime Minister, the guy who's job it is to represent us at these things refused to attend. The Canadian cabinet refused to attend. And why? Because these scientists, who - I don't know if I've mentioned this or not - won the Nobel Peace Prize, had the gall to do it by formulating a plan to fight climate change. And my guess is it doesn't call for an increase in oil sands production. So as a result, not a single cabinet minister would cross the hall and shake their hands.

Now remember, this is the same government that just recently fired the national science advisor. A guy whose job it was to advise the Prime Minister and cabinet on all issues pertaining to science. Well they just didn't see the need for that guy. With this crowd being a science advisor is a bit like being the Maytag repairman. The phone just doesn't ring.

What I want to know is: how did we get here? Canadian scientists discovered insulin. We invented the Robertson screwdriver for God's sakes. And suddenly science is the new enemy.

I understand that in politics people and parties have enemies, and destroying your enemy is the name of the game. That's the way you win. But we cannot allow the government to declare war on knowledge, otherwise we all lose. Unless of course they start passing out Nobel Prizes for idiocy.