A Progressive Conservative party official is under fire after making some comments about Alberta's new health minister, Sarah Hoffman, on his Facebook page.
Jordan Lien, vice president of southern Alberta for the Progressive Conservatives, called Hoffman "morbidly obese" on his personal Facebook page, and suggested her size could affect her ability to do her job.
Though Lien was taking issue with the province's recent ban on menthol tobacco products, his criticism didn't stop there:
Where does the nanny state begin and end? I would assume that if health is the chief concern, that all sodas, candy, processed sugar products (all bazillion of them) and fast foods etc should then follow? As well as flavoured liquor products etc? Ridiculous.
Party leader Ric McIver said Monday he'd have a chat with Lien about his comments, saying that he's OK with policy criticism but not "negative personal comments."
"This has got to be a respectful place. All Albertans are equal. All Albertans must be respected. All Albertans must be treated with dignity," McIver said, according to the Huffington Post.
"If a member of our party has fallen short, we will be having a discussion about correcting that in the future."
Lien issued an apology for his "dumb comment" on Monday evening under his handle @lien_machine.
I recognize I made a dumb comment. I apologize to @shoffmanAB and all who read it for my insensitive remark. Once again, I'm sorry. #ableg
But that didn't stop the slew of replies he received calling out his post as sexist, body-shaming, and just plain rude.
.@lien_machine your twitter handle is "dumb" your comments are misogynistic and hurtful. https://t.co/SVt3oVDoEy
@lien_machine @shoffmanAB your comment was disgusting, not 'dumb'. It reflects poorly on you and the rest of your party.
.@lien_machine @shoffmanAB The comment was discriminatory and cruel, not "dumb." Way to minimize your bullying of others Mr. "Lien Machine."
BuzzFeed Canada has reached out to Hoffman and Lien for comment.