EDMONTON — United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith says a party candidate who compared transgender students in schools to feces in food wouldn't sit in her caucus if elected on May 29.
"The UCP candidate for Lacombe-Ponoka, Jennifer Johnson, used offensive language and a vile analogy when speaking about the 2SLGBTQIA+ community for which she has apologized," Smith said in a statement Thursday.
"I have informed Ms. Johnson that should she win a seat as the UCP candidate for Lacombe-Ponoka, she will not sit as a member of the United Conservative caucus in the legislature."
Earlier this week, audio surfaced from Sept. 1, before Johnson won the UCP nomination, featuring her speaking to the Western Unity Group in Stettler about “The Hazards of the Public Education System and Homeschooling/Pod Schooling as a Solution.”
Johnson is heard telling the group that Alberta’s high-ranking education system counts for little set against the issue of transgender students.
She repeated a long-denied assertion that public schools allow students to identify as cats and set out litter boxes for them. She said girls are getting double mastectomies and being chemically sterilized at age 14.
She said hard-core pornography is available in elementary schools and advocated for the total elimination of sex education.
She compared the presence of transgender students to a batch of cookies laced with feces.
“That little bit of poop is what wrecks it,” says Johnson on the audio.
“It does not matter that we’re in the top three per cent in the world. Who cares if they got an 89 in Chemistry 30? Who cares that they are entering post-secondary if they are chemically castrated?”
That's not acceptable, Smith said.
"Elected officials have a responsibility to represent all communities. Although there are certainly legitimate policy discussions to be had on youth transgender issues, the language used by Ms. Johnson regarding children identifying as transgender is simply unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our party or province."
Johnson has apologized for the remarks.
"I apologize for the way I discussed these issues in September of 2022," Johnson said in a statement Wednesday.
"I have nothing but love and compassion for everyone equally and am embarrassed that I have caused hurt in this way."
She said, if elected, she would seek advice on how to communicate and discuss her views.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.
The Canadian Press
