UCP founding chair under fire for tweet

UCP party founding chair Ed Ammar came under fire over a social media post he made Sunday. In response to a tweet by federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen about anti-racism in Canada, Ammar tweeted: “Don’t bring this to Canada you f---ing loser.” He said on social media Monday the tweet was “ill thought out” and apologized for how it was perceived. At a news conference, Premier Jason Kenney said that while he did not see the tweet he generally disapproves of vulgar language. He also said he denounces racism and police brutality, and pointed out that Canada isn’t perfect.

“People are quite rightly outraged about the ... incident that occurred in Minneapolis,” he said, adding that Canadians have a right to protest but encouraged people to avoid “super-spreader events” because COVID-19 threatens lives and health of Albertans. The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said anyone attending a protest should keep two metres of distance from others and wear a mask when that isn’t possible. NDP Leader Rachel Notley said at a news conference Ammar’s comments were “very disappointing.” She also called on the UCP to restore funding for anti-racism initiatives first introduced by her government two years ago. “We cannot just condemn racism, we must right racism and we must be anti-racist,” she said. Postmedia News