At a press conference on Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith commented on Bruce McAllister's comments at an Alberta Next panel, when he cut off a high schooler, stating: "Bruce made an off-color comment.""He apologized.""I consider it at an end."McAllister, the Executive Director of the premier's Calgary office, moderated the panel on Monday, where a Calgary high school student asked:"Like many high school students, I'm very concerned about what's gonna happen with the upcoming Alberta teacher strike when just an hour ago they voted 89.5% in favour of striking — my question is, why is the government handing out four —"The student's question was then cut off by someone turning off his microphone. ."I applaud you for coming here to speak, I don't applaud how you're trying to speak, it's not making any sense — so we're gonna move along," McAllister responded.The crowd, reacting to the incident, began to boo McAllister."I know you'd love some chaos, but your parents should turn you over your knee," he added, implying that the student's parents should spank him for his comments. Smith said Tuesday, "I always take the view that you have to engage with people respectfully.""That's my expectation of my staff, and I've asked him to do better next time," she stated regarding the issue. McAllister released an apology on Tuesday, in which he said, "I'm committed to ensuring these conversations remain respectful and constructive.".Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
