Alberta United Conservative Party MLA Jason Stephan (Red Deer-South) said he was upset NDP MLA Rod Loyola (Edmonton-Ellerslie) brought a British Islamic extremist supporter to the legislature. “I’m disappointed that someone would be invited that in good faith we are welcoming,” said Stephan in a Friday interview.Loyola praised British Islamic cleric Musharraf Hussain in the Alberta Legislature on Tuesday, despite him supporting Muslim terrorist groups. READ MORE: Alberta NDP MLA honours British Islamic extremist sympathizer in legislature“He has translated the Quran — a book that encourages justice and peace for all of humanity,” said Loyola. He called for his fellow MLAs to rise and give Hussain a warm welcome. The MLAs stood up and applauded Hussain for about 10 seconds.Stephan went on to say guests who endorse terrorism, ideas going against the public interest, or those contrary to Alberta’s values should not be invited. He added Loyola “has a stewardship and a duty to vet his guests in a way that it doesn’t bring disrepute to our legislature and to the chamber.” While no one is perfect, he said this is an extreme matter. If Loyola knew about Hussain’s background, he said he has weakened the trust of all MLAs. He called for him to answer for this. No special recognition was given to Hussain. While every person should be valued and respected, Stephan said Loyola should have done his due diligence. He said there should be ramifications if he knew about this. This would have to be done to provide accountability. Since Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka was honoured in the House of Commons two months ago, he said the timing is unfortunate. As elected officials, people should have an understanding of who they are inviting. Former speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota said in September he made a mistake by honouring Hunka in the gallery. READ MORE: UPDATED: House of Commons speaker apologizes for bringing Nazi to Zelensky speech“I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so,” said Rota. “I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or my remarks before I delivered them.” Stephan concluded by saying MLAs should “be welcoming of everyone who attends the legislature.” “I love and respect everyone,” he said. “But it’s important that we invite guests that don’t bring the legislature or government into disrepute.”
