A United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate from Alberta apologized on Wednesday for comparing transgender youth to a “teaspoon of poo in a cookie recipe,” in one of the “worst” transphobic comments made by a political candidate.
“This is an extremely sensitive topic for so many people and I need to do a much better job of communicating my concerns and goals in a respectful way to teachers, parents, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” Jennifer Johnson reportedly said in a statement reported by The Globe and Mail.
In September 2022, the electoral candidate reportedly spoke to the Western Unity Group in Stettler to express her concerns about the problem of transgender children in schools, which would tarnish the image of the Alberta education system. , in his words.
“These children who identify as cats – and the teacher adds a litter in the class for them,” she would have argued, adding further that “we can be in the top 3%, but this little amount of poo is what destroys [l’accomplissement]“, according to the English media.
She would have compared the situation in schools to a cookie recipe in which fecal matter has been added, to ask if the food still has the same appeal.
The candidate also reportedly continued her streak by worrying about young girls who are no longer girls after undergoing double mastectomies and being “chemically sterilized” before they were even of legal age to buy beer.
These would be “some of the worst and most homophobic and transphobic comments that have ever been made by a political candidate”, reacted Kristopher Wells, of the Canada Research Chair in the Public Understanding of Sexual Minority Youth and of kind, at The Globe and Mail.
As the Alberta election approaches on May 29, candidates from opposing parties have demanded that the candidate for Lacombe-Ponoka be withdrawn by her party leader, current Premier Danielle Smith.
“The Prime Minister said it herself: don’t judge me by what I say, judge me by what I do. Here is the opportunity for Danielle Smith to take action,” said NDP candidate David Shepherd.