Patrick Moore will not be speaking at the 2020 Reimagine Conference this spring in Regina.
Mike O’Donnell, who serves on city council and as co-chair for the conference, provided the announcement from Regina City Hall on Friday afternoon.
O’Donnell told reporters Moore will not be replaced with a different speaker, adding they want the public to know this conference is about sustainability and not a debate on climate change.
He said this was about refocusing on their topic of “Roadmap to Sustainable Cities”.
“We wish to have a wholesome discussion on sustainability and [different] uses of energy resources that could help us as a city and other municipalities as well,” said O’Donnell.
When asked on why a decision was made to bring Moore on board as a keynote speaker in the first place, O’Donnell mentioned that the topic they suggested to him at the time was on a sustainable energy future – something he had presented on in the past.
However, after Moore showed interest on discussing a different topic at the conference, organizers decided to cancel his appearance.
The City of Regina drew criticism from the public on social media for deciding to bring in Moore as a speaker after he has been known to be a public denier of climate change.
O’Donnell admitted that he was expecting some reaction from people after the decision, but it ended up being more backlash than he expected.
O’Donnell said all he wanted to do was have people attend the conference and start going forward on how to make the community sustainable.
“Do I worry about how this affects that? Of course I do, I’m human,” he noted. “I did my best job at that time, and I will stand by that.”
Despite Moore’s cancellation from the conference, O’Donnell mentioned the city will still honour his contract following discussions with the National Speakers Bureau regarding payment details.
The initial payment agreement was $10,000 in whole, including expenses of $1,400.
Moore responded to the news on his personal Twitter account, saying quote, “I have been de-platformed, cancelled, and round-filed by the great City of Regina for daring to question the God-Given wisdom of the catastrophists.”
He continues by calling the conference a “stupid exercise” and says it’s impossible to make a city a hundred per cent renewable.
I have been de-platformed, cancelled, and round-filed by the great City of Regina for daring to question the God-Given wisdom of the catastrophists. Actually, I don’t want to be part of such a stupid exercise. It’s impossible to make a city 100% renewable. https://t.co/MDX3aU1Ln3
— Patrick Moore (@EcoSenseNow) February 7, 2020
