Firstly, let me say that the present action by many at UNBC regarding the appointment of James Moore as chancellor is not a witch hunt. That type of comment is factious and should properly be disregarded.
It is appropriate to look at the past of James Moore regarding his appointment as chancellor. It does little good for one to say of their past "that was then and this is now," a closed chapter with all forgotten.
Mr. Moore was an active member of The Harper Government (and that is how it mandated it be called instead of The Government of Canada). That government, as our recent election showed, had many policies directly contrary to the principles for which UNBC stands.
Our former mayor, Shari Green, has posted her support for Mr. Moore online. While I appreciated her comment, UNBC has striven to be the "Green University" and a home for scientific research - those are two reasons why it is rated as "number one" amongst small universities in Canada.
The record of The Harper Government was at odds with both of those goals.
The Harper government, in which James Moore was an active participant, was certainly not noted for its pro-environmental policy (i.e. rivers protection), cut arts and humanities funding to the bone, had a poor relation with First Nations, and muzzled scientists, closed libraries, and directed all research funding to only matters that had commercial value ignoring pure research.
In 2008, Harper stated that "ordinary people" did not care about arts funding and appointed Moore to be his point man on that premise as Minister of Canadian Heritage; the anti-intellectual, anti-science stance of The Harper Government has been well documented.
To say, as Moore has, that his role in the Harper government is a "past chapter" is distressing. He may be a nice fellow, kind to children and dogs, but his past, like that of all of us, is not something one can simply place in the closet and forget.
Our UNBC chancellor should not be a ghost of the past but rather an inspiration to go forward.
Unfortunately, James Moore's past is not in accord with the firmly held principles of UNBC.
Willow C. Arune
Prince George
