Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Greens call for independent inquiry into Rod Cumberland’s firing and MCFT management practices
Fredericton – The Green Caucus is calling for a public inquiry to investigate the firing of Rod Cumberland and the dismissal of Gerald Redmond from the Maritime College of Forest Technology.
“Rod Cumberland was fired for expressing his professional views on glyphosate. The principle of academic freedom is a cornerstone principle of our democracy and our education system,” says Green Party Leader David Coon. On July 3, 2019 Coon called on the Minister of Post-secondary Education, Training and Labour to launch an independent inquiry into Cumberland’s dismissal and make the results public.
With subsequent dismissal of Gerald Redmond, former Executive director of MCFT, who came out in support of Cumberland, it is clear that the scope of the inquiry needs to look into the overall management of the college.
“MCFT exists in legislation and receives over half of its budget from taxpayer dollars. Like the inquiry into the management of the Restigouche Hospital Centre this spring,” says Coon, “it essential to have an independent third-party investigation of the management practices of this publicly funded college.”
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Read the July 3, 2019 article from CBC:
