Should UNBC have a core set of values to which all must adhere if they want to join our community? That is the position taken by a number of my colleagues who wish to exclude James Moore as our next chancellor.
Let me respectfully disagree.
In my view, it is fundamentally illiberal to discriminate against others based on their alleged values.
It is one thing to talk about values in an open-minded, aspirational and inclusionary way, as we do in academic planning exercises. But it is something entirely different to talk about "our core values" for the express purpose of excluding someone.
In my view, the very idea is offensive. It is the sort of thing you'd hear from Donald Trump and those who want to limit immigration because they don't like the supposed "values" of those different from themselves.
My anti-Moore colleagues do not want to change government policies.
The government they disdain is no longer in power.
All they want to do is express their dislike for an individual based on his past political associations.
The talk of "our core values" is just a byword for intolerance.
It is a disreputable form of politics that should be opposed.
Boris DeWiel
Prince George
