Government House Leader Karina Gould condemned the comments of fellow Liberal MP Ken Hardie while speaking with reporters on Tuesday.
Hardie made a post to social media on Monday suggesting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was responsible for a shooting in Winnipeg on Monday that left four people dead.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing four people and leaving one person severely injured in a residence on the 100 block of Langside Street.
Winnipeg Police Services have not yet confirmed whether or not the shooting was targeted and no suspects have been identified in the case, however, the victims in the shooting were known to local police.
Hardie took to social media following the news of the shootings to lay the blame at Poilievre’s feet, writing, “Beyond troubling to see another mass shooting in Canada, now in Winnipeg. And we’ve lost so many police officers. Might it be the anti-social ‘burn everything down’ far-right attitude we’re seeing creeping in from the US? And the ‘creep’ on the Canadian side? Pierre Poilievre?”
The post received a swift and large backlash from many Canadians.
On Tuesday, Gould was asked if Hardie’s comments were appropriate for a Liberal MP to make.
“No, they’re not,” she responded.
Gould was then asked if she would be speaking with Hardie about the issue.
“Yes,” answered Gould. “It is absolutely inappropriate and it’s not something anyone should be suggesting from any political party.” She went on to say that she had plans to tell Hardie just that.
Hardie has since posted an apology for his previous comments on X, writing, “A reaction to the reaction to my post yesterday: It was unacceptable on my part to leave any suggestion of a direct link to the tragedy in Winnipeg. There was not. For that, I apologize.”
