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Shanon Zachidniak, founder of local environmental group EnviroCollective, had been outspoken about wanting Moore removed from the agenda.

After hearing that he will now be speaking at his own event, Zachidniak said this felt much more appropriate.

“While I feel that Patrick Moore’s objective here is to derail the city’s progress on meeting the goals that it set out to be 100 per cent renewable, this is the more appropriate format for him to come speak,” she said.

“Perhaps it’s a good thing that those who want to hear him will now have the opportunity to do so outside of the conference. It’s true, I for sure don’t agree with his belief system, but that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have the chance to say his views. It’s just about whether or not that conference was the appropriate venue for it, and it wasn’t.”

But Zachidniak is concerned that Moore’s speech will increase divisions between Regina residents, preventing the city from having meaningful conversations around sustainability in the future.

“That’s the part that makes me feel disheartened,” she said.

“All of our future is at stake here. Nobody likes it. It’s not convenient for any of us. We don’t have time to sit around arguing about it.”

Levant will be attending Moore’s speech, saying in his email, “I want to be there for what is shaping up to be the largest event of its kind since Dr. Jordan Peterson spoke in Regina.”

He also said re-platforming Moore is a rejection of “the cancel culture that is sweeping our establishment institutions.”