Okanagan Conservatives pull controversial Facebook post targeting Harjit Sajjan
A controversial post criticizing Harjit Sajjan's appointment as an example of affirmative action has been pulled from a Facebook page run by the Conservative Party of Canada's Kelowna-Lake Country Electoral District Association.
The post was connected to a news article about a Canadian Forces Flight in 2017 that reportedly cost $337,000 and featured a photo of Sajjan.
"This is what happens when you have a cabinet based on affirmative action," the comment above the article read.
The post was deleted on Thursday following criticism on social media platforms that the comment was racist in tone.
Kelowna-Lake Country Liberal MP Stephen Fuhr called out the post on Twitter.
"I am not ok with what this implies. You are an 'Okanagan Conservative' @DanAlbas are you?," he wrote.
MP apologizes
Albas, Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, responded by tweeting he also found the post inappropriate.
"Stephen, although there is much that we may disagree about, on this point, I am in full agreement with you. This FB post came from another EDA account, and I have asked that it be removed. Although I did not authorize it, I would like to apologize to @HarjitSajjan," he wrote.
Albas told CBC News on Friday he contacted the Kelowna-Lake Country Electoral District Association about the comment.
The post was taken down and replaced with an apology to Minister Sajjan on Thursday afternoon. The apology has since been removed from the Facebook page.
The offending comment was made by a volunteer with the electoral district association who has since been removed from the role of posting to social media for the association, said Albas.
The volunteer was a young Indo-Canadian man, who was disappointed with how Sajjan was fulfilling his role as defence minister, according to Albas, who stressed the post was a mistake in judgment and not an indication that racist views are held by Conservative party volunteers.
"I don't like this kind of rhetoric. I don't stand for it whether it be in my own riding association or an adjacent one or right across the country." Albas said.
"That being said, I think it's important that we recognize that people will make mistakes on social media but there should be consequences and in this case there was."
Conservative Party of Canada's Director of Communications Cory Hann responded in an email to CBC News denouncing the post.
"It obviously doesn't reflect the view of the party. It's inappropriate, shouldn't have been posted, and those responsible have been removed from the Facebook group," Hann wrote.
On Friday, Sajjan said he was surprised and disappointed by the post but appreciated the apology.
"This type of language has no place in Canada," Sajjan said. "I was heartened also at the same time to see that Conservative MPs have stepped forward, apologized and denounced this type of wording and discussion."
