MLA in hot water

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt is finding himself on thin ice among some constituents, after a social media frenzy followed his comments regarding social issues.
Prompted through the online medium of Twitter on March 1, whether the Wildrose Party was going to weigh in on social issues – in conjunction with schools preparing to implement new guidelines in relation to the LGBTQ community – Fildebrandt took to the Internet stating that while social issues are important, they didn’t rank in his 100 reasons of running for office and that he finds such debates stale.
His comment, which has since been removed, quickly gathered attention online, including comments from various New Democratic Party and Progressive Conservative politicians. In particular, NDP MLA Michael Connolly, who was one of the first three openly gay persons to be elected to the Alberta legislature and who visited Strathmore during the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo, replied to Fildebrandt’s tweet asking whether, “homelessness, income inequality, inter-partner violence, addictions, hate crimes, and LGBTQ rights are ‘stale’?”
Although the Strathmore-Brooks representative did not reply to the responses, in an interview with the Strathmore Times, Fildebrandt acknowledged that the issues are important and that the Twitter platform was not the proper forum to have meaningful debates.
“It was a glib comment that is typical of Twitter where you only have 140 characters to express yourself and it’s not necessarily the best way to do it,” Fildebrandt said.
“Of course I care about social issues. What I meant by it was that my focus right now is dealing with unemployed Albertans and addressing the serious economic fiscal challenges of the province. Having an endless debate about issues not focused on the real challenges facing unemployed Albertans, is just not my priority.”
Nonetheless, his Twitter comments had constituents questioning his reaction. While some felt it was raising concern, others stated social issues played a big part of their jobs as politicians. According to Fildebrandt, the social media debate provided reassurance of the importance of meeting and discussing issues with constituents in person.
“Twitter is becoming an increasingly silly medium where it’s difficult to have a calm and rational discussion about the time of day,” he said. “Of course people on Twitter love to work themselves into a frenzy at any perceived controversy. It’s a reminder why I engage with constituents face-to-face as often as possible.”
In response to the issue of the new LGBTQ guidelines as per Bill 10, which was passed by the previous government last year, he recognized its complexity and said he’s been encouraging concerned constituents to contact the Minister of Education directly.