Canadian MP quits Harper government to tout creationism

A veteran Conservative MP quit Prime Minister Stephen Harper`s government Tuesday in order to freely defend his denial of evolution, claiming there is a concerted Canadian effort to stifle creationists` views.

MP James Lunney, who was first elected to parliament in 2000, said he will sit in the House of Commons as an independent but will continue to vote with the ruling Tories.

The British Columbia MP said he took the decision to leave the party just six months before a general election in order to "defend my beliefs and the concerns of my faith community."

He pointed to an alleged plot that reaches into the "senior levels" of Canadian politics seeking "to suppress a Christian world-view," and criticized the media for provoking a "firestorm of criticism and condemnation."

Lunney had expressed doubts back in 2009 about Charles Darwin`s theory of evolution, saying that "evolutionists may genuinely see his ancestor in a monkey, but many modern scientists interpret the same evidence in favor of creation and a creator."

His comments in parliament were roundly dismissed.

He provoked controversy again in February for saying in a Twitter message: "Stop calling #evolution fact!"

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