Premier says apology punishment enough after Alberta MLA's comments
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 | 4:27 PM MT
CBC News
Edmonton-Calder Conservative MLA Doug Elniski is vowing to be more careful about what he posts on his blog.
The politician apologized late Monday afternoon for controversial comments he posted on his blog and insisted that he is not sexist.
"I can't defend or justify this action in any way at all," Elniski said.
On Tuesday, the rookie MLA was called to a meeting with Premier Ed Stelmach about the situation.
"These are all distractions they're totally inappropriate, they don't reflect my values, they don't reflect the values of our government, they don't reflect the values of the caucus nor of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party," Stelmach said Tuesday.
The apology given by Elniski is enough punishment and the MLA will not be removed from any of his committee assignments, the premier said.
A guide will be distributed to all Conservative MLAs outlining what is appropriate to write on social networking sites, according to Ron Glenn, the premier's chief of staff.
In his blog, Elniski offered advice to junior high school girls. He suggested that a girl wear a smile when entering a room, and that men don't want to hear about that "treated equal" stuff.
Elniski's blog was taken down on Monday afternoon. He will now have his postings reviewed before he re-starts the blog, Elniski said.
