Manitoba’s premier says comments a cabinet minister reposted about U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the day he was shot are concerning, but that she will remain in cabinet.
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine shared a message from @che_jim, a U.S.-based Indigenous activist, for several hours Thursday on her Instagram page before removing it.
The post criticized Kirk as a “racist, xenophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic” individual who “stood for nothing but hate.”
Premier Wab Kinew said Friday he spoke to Fontaine after he found out about the post and asked her to issue an apology.
“I wrote my will before the last election … because I recognize that there is a non-zero possibility that being a person in the public eye, I can be, you know, somebody who has some violent thing like this happen,” Kinew told reporters during an unrelated announcement about funding for a permanent home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR).
“I asked our minister to apologize because I want us to be … a force for openness and dialogue and taking the temperature down,” Kinew said.
WATCH | Kinew talks about writing his will:
Wab Kinew elaborates on what prompted him to ask Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine to apologize for a social media post she shared after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Given the tone of political rhetoric these days, the premier says he knows there’s ‘a non-zero possibility’ he could be the target of violence.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck Wednesday while speaking to thousands of students at Utah Valley University and was soon pronounced dead.
He had more than 10 million followers on Instagram, and used his popularity to debate people on all kinds of issues, from immigration to abortion. Reports say Kirk was answering questions about gun violence when he was shot.
The day of the shooting, Kinew called the killing “deeply disturbing,” and offered condolences to Kirk’s wife and children.
Fontaine’s repost on Instagram came the next day.
In response to a request from CBC Manitoba, Fontaine’s press secretary on Friday released a statement from the minister.
“I apologize for sharing a post yesterday on the murder of Charlie Kirk. Violence has no place in our democracy. Political debate is achieved with words and discussion,” it read. “In a world too often divided, we should strive to show empathy to everyone even those we don’t agree with.”
Premier doesn’t believe in ‘cancel culture’
It’s the second time in as many months that Fontaine has apologized for her actions. In July, she was caught on camera and swearing into a hot mic about sharing a stage with a sign-language interpreter.
Fontaine said the interpreter shouldn’t have been on the stage because they distracted her and blocked her view of the audience.
“Yeah, I’m like, ‘F–k, why did I have her on the stage?’ Jesus! I’m like, ‘you need to leave,'” the minister is heard saying into a hot mic in the APTN video.
When asked whether he still had confidence in the minister, Kinew said he did.
“Everyone here is going to want to write the story, ‘Are you going to kick her out of cabinet?'” he said. “That would be too easy. I don’t believe in cancel culture, and I think people need to be brought along and shown.”
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said the original repost by Fontaine speaks louder than her apology.
“When you share something, you’re implicitly saying that you support what’s being said,” Adams said.
“The fact of the minister is sharing something, which is really a piece that criticized the man who was assassinated, is sort of crossing the line for a cabinet minister.”
‘A bit of a pattern’
Fontaine needs to learn to take more of a pause and “do some discerning” before responding to situations, Adams said.
“We’re seeing this as a bit of a pattern.”
Adams said the minister’s actions have overshadowed her own government’s NCTR announcement, which would see the province provide $20 million to support construction for the centre’s permanent home at the University of Manitoba.
He said Kinew’s post about Kirk’s death was “very dignified,” whereas Fontaine’s decision to repost a message that explicitly states “no empathy” was a big misstep.
“Manitoba has to have a good relationship with the United States. We have to be very cautious and strategic in what we say and what we do on social media,” he said.
“We understand Nahanni Fontaine stands up for the protection of the vulnerable, for the rights of Indigenous peoples, for those who are marginalized. We have no doubts about that, she’s been very consistent in her messaging on that.
“[But] someone’s been murdered and then to talk nasty about that person, that’s different than taking positions on social issues. That’s the lack of judgment.”
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine has apologized for resharing a social media post criticizing Charlie Kirk a day after his assasination. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he asked Fotntaine to apologize but added he won’t be removing the minister from cabinet.
