MacKay Won’t Apologize For Tweet

MacKay spent his time speaking to the audience of supporters about his past experiences, his time watching the Canada Winter Games here in Thunder Bay and what he would do if elected the leader of the party.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Fort William First Nation held a rally outside the speaking event saying MacKay’s tweets were harmful to Indigenous residents and were inappropriate.

Tweets they feel are inappropriate include the one below. A now-deleted tweet also read “Glad to see a couple Albertans with a pickup truck can do more for our economy in an afternoon than Justin Trudeau could do in four years.”

When asked if he would apologize for his tweets, MacKay told reporters absolutely not.

“What I did was recognize that people took it upon themselves to move material that was blocking a railway. This was not a counter-protest, it was not anything other than people doing something that I feel was the responsible thing to do,” MacKay said.

MacKay said he offered to meet with some of the leaders prior to the rally but it didn’t work out. He had this message for those who rallied outside his event:

“I would like them to express themselves, they are welcome to do that but impeding people’s access to important goods like propane, medicine, food, and blocking other people’s ability to get to work and travel. That’s not part of what I consider to be a peaceful expression and that’s why police are being called on to do their job.”

MacKay added he has a good working relationship with Indigenous leaders including his past experience as an MP in Nova Scotia and he’s met with leaders since he’s been on this campaign for the leadership race.

He goes on to say that his campaign for leader is positive. MacKay stressed he wants to focus on solutions and opportunities that are being missed in the resource sector.