Article content

Last December, after a senior University of British Columbia official called John Furlong’s agent to say the school was pulling the plug on an appearance by the former Vancouver Olympics CEO, the discussion turned to what to tell the public about the cancellation.

One idea floated by the UBC official: Furlong, whose booking had reawakened controversy over historical abuse allegations and sparked criticism of the school, could say he had to withdraw due to “scheduling conflicts.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Emails reveal UBC's scramble to deal with controversy over Furlong speech and ‘vitriolic’ backlash to cancellation Back to video

That did not sit well with the agent who was already upset over the cancellation.

“Absolutely not,” the agent said. “Say it as it is.”

More than 900 pages of email records obtained by the National Post through a Freedom of Information request reveal the behind-the-scenes scramble last winter as UBC’s top administrators tried to put a lid on what they perceived to be a growing controversy over Furlong’s appearance — a move that ultimately backfired and resulted in an embarrassing mea culpa.