Tory executive blasted for ‘ morbidly obese’ comment
A high- ranking Progressive Conservative party executive was lambasted on social media Monday after he publicly attacked Alberta’s health minister, suggesting her appearance undermines her legitimacy as a lawmaker.
In a Facebook post, southern Alberta vice- president Jordan Lien body- shamed Health Minister Sarah Hoffman and suggested her decision Sunday to ban the sale of menthol tobacco products should be followed by a ban on sweets and soda.
“Our morbidly obese Health Minister Sarah Hoffman is going to ban the sale of menthol tobacco products in Alberta as of September,” Lien wrote. “I would assume then that if health is the chief concern, that all sodas, candy, processed sugar products and fast foods ... should then follow?”
Late Monday, he apologized on the social media network Twitter, calling the comments “dumb” and “insensitive.”
A spokesman for Hoffman declined to comment.
After learning of the incident, PC interim leader Ric McIver said while comments on policy are always acceptable, personal comments are not.
“I will have a discussion with the author of the comments,” McIver said. “All Albertans must be respected. All Albertans must be treated with dignity.”
Clare Beckton, executive director of the Ottawa- based Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership, said Hoffman’s weight has nothing to do with her ability to govern.
“The comments that were made were totally inappropriate and the person who made them should resign,” she said. “It’s misogynist. It’s inappropriate. Since when has appearance had anything to do with legitimacy in terms of your intelligence and ability to be a legislator?”
She said comments such as Lien’s would never be made about a male politician.
Former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Dave Hancock has said he was 100 pounds overweight when he held the health portfolio between 2006 and 2008.
His weight was never the subject of public scrutiny until he lost 75 pounds in 2008, at which point he was featured in a story celebrating his healthy lifestyle.
“Everything else became the priority,” Hancock said of his weight at the time.
Beckton said the body- shaming episode is evidence that stereotyping and bias against women politicians are still real issues.
“There are a certain number of people who still want to pull women down,” she said. “It’s a small minority of men who would make these kinds of comments. They’re not the majority.”