Derek Fildebrandt, the MLA for Strathmore-Brooks and Wildrose finance critic, has been suspended by the party in connection with a social media comment deemed ‘unacceptable’.
Wildrose leader Brian Jean announced the suspension late Friday evening.
“Mr. Fildebrandt made an unacceptable comment on social media that does not represent the values of the Wildrose Caucus,” said Jean in a statement. “He has been suspended from our Caucus effective immediately.”
The suspension stems from a remark placed on Fildebrandt’s Facebook page, in which a constituent applauded the MLA’s actions during Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s visit to the Legislature on Thursday.
Fildebrandt launched an attack on Wynne’s economic management – calling Ontario a fiscal basket case. He later appeared to personally insult the openly gay premier when he responded to a commenter on his Facebook page who congratulated him for “telling the truth about Mr. Wynne or whatever the hell she identifies as.”
The MLA said he was “proud” to have the commenter as a constituent.
Fildebrandt insisted he’d misread the supporter’s comment and had not intended a personal attack on the premier’s sexual orientation.
In a statement released on Saturday, Fildebrandt said he did not read the Facebook comment as carefully as he should have. “If anyone felt that I shared those sentiments, I do not, and I apologize.”
“My colleagues know that those views do not reflect my own opinion and they recognize that I made an honest mistake, so I was surprised by this decision. I accept this decision,” he stated.
While the Ontario premier, who was in Edmonton at the invitation of Premier Rachel Notley, accepted the Opposition party’s apology, she suggested a man might not have been treated the same way.
"Yes, I accept the apology," Wynne said Saturday during a session on women in politics at the federal Liberal party's national convention.
"But, you know, I think it was an interesting confluence of things. There's a woman premier in Alberta, I'm there as a woman, we're talking about climate change.
"And I think the attack, the viciousness of the attack, had a particular quality to it. So, I will just say we need to pay attention to that."
Wynne acknowledged that there are "vicious women in politics" as well but she "suspects" a female politician wouldn't have launched the same kind of attack.
The Wildrose party has not disclosed the length of Fildebrandt’s suspension or whether the MLA’s tenure with the party is in jeopardy.
With files from CTV Calgary and the Canadian Press
