'Communications failure': UCP minister tells reporters to stop asking about essay award
A UCP MLA shook her head in frustration and said "wow" while walking away from a microphone Friday, as the fallout continued over an "abhorrent" essay that her government awarded.
Whitney Issik, minister of environment and parks, twice told reporters to stop asking her questions about the controversy. She is the first UCP minister to make herself available to journalists since the story broke earlier in the week.
"A mistake was made and an error was made, and they've apologized for it," Issik said.
"I think that should be our last question on that issue."
But the inquiries kept coming about the third-place winner in the “Her Vision Inspires” contest, particularly how the government could award such words and if anyone would be demoted because of it.
The essay written by S. Silver has been called sexist and racist for stating that "women are not exactly equal to men." It also asked women to have more children because we should not "import foreigners to replace ourselves."
"Personally, I do not hold any of the beliefs that were expressed in that essay," Issik said.
On Tuesday, the associate minister for the Status of Women, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, apologized for the award, but neither she nor Premier Jason Kenney have made themselves available for questions.
Issik instead wanted reporters to ask her about an economic development initiative she was announcing on the outskirts of Edmonton, but none came until a government staff member stepped to the microphone to ask one.
When the essay contest was launched, Issik was the associate minister for the Status of Women, but said she wasn't aware of what any submission said until the controversy erupted Tuesday.
Issik was asked whether or not Armstrong-Homeniuk and fellow MLA and contest judge Jackie Lovely should resign.
"The two women, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk and Jackie Lovely, have both said unequivocally that it was an error and they have apologized, and to me, that's the end of it," Issik stated.
'LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS BEING ASKED'
Meanwhile, a pair of political scientists agreed Friday that there were unanswered questions. They also concurred that the government has not handled the situation well.
"They haven't taken responsibility. In a case like this, you want to put distance between the government and the decision that was made, then the (associate) minister should step down," said Lori Williams from Mount Royal University.
"It's expected that the government would try to set it aside or focus on something else. But there are legitimate questions being asked about a government that's made a decision to give an award to somebody who's written an essay that contains very sexist and racist remarks."
Williams called the UCP's reaction to the outrage a "communications failure" for not making the people responsible available to take questions from journalists.
Political scientist Lisa Young agreed, saying the government is "extending the pain" of a mistake by simply emailing apologies and hoping to move on.
"If the government is committed to women's equality, then presumably the premier would remove (Armstrong-Homeniuk) from this role, but he's made it fairly clear that he's not going to. So we're left with this situation," she said.
Young added that the government was not immediately forthcoming on details like who judged the contest and how many entries there were, which she believes also made people angrier.
"Government can't simply pick and choose the questions that it wants to answer," Young said. "Government should expect journalists to do their jobs, which is to try to understand what happened."
Issik suggested Friday that reporters ask questions of speaker Nathan Cooper, but in a statement to CTV News Edmonton he pointed out that his office posted the awards but did not judge them. He called the essay "abhorrent" and said he had it removed from a government website.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.