Tom Flanagan is a famous professor of politics at the University of Calgary. He was an advisor to the Reform Party, a Western regional party which later merged with the Progressive Conservative party to form the Conservative Party, which governs Canada today. He was also a member of a group of faculty members who mentored Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, and was a close advisor until recently. A very well-known man.
Imagine my surprise therefore upon reading that he is in a firestorm for remarks made about child pornography. Flanagan made these remarks in response to a question, roughly to the effect that the consumers of child pornography should not be jailed, only the producers. He was immediately dumped on by the Prime Minister's Office and Alberta's right wing opposition Wildrose Party. Which is understandable, and right.
I was more worried by a comment by the University of Calgary's President Elizabeth Cannon, who said that Flanagan's statements “absolutely do not represent the views” of the institution. She also announced that Flanagan would retire from the University. Is this right? Should a University President take or deny responsibility for the statements of faculty members? Should she announce a faculty member's retirement?
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