Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson said she will take anti-Islamophobia training amid calls for her to resign after she called Palestine a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it” during a Jewish leaders panel.
“I am committed to making amends, learning from the pain I have caused and doing whatever I can to rebuild relationships,” Robinson said in an emailed statement Monday (Feb. 5).
READ MORE: Selina Robinson under fire for calling Gaza ‘a crappy piece of land’
Last week, after the comment made by Robinson surfaced on social media platform X, a number of Muslim and Palestinian groups spoke out. Critics have also seized on her comments about First Nations as evidence of a colonial mind-set incompatible with Reconciliation.
In her statement Monday, Robinson said: “I know that my comments have additionally caused pain, including among Indigenous communities, for perpetuating harmful narratives of colonialism. The experiences of First Nations people are not mine to manipulate. That was wrong and I am deeply sorry.”
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New Democratic MLAs are currently meeting for a retreat in Surrey, where protesters are expected to rally Monday morning.
More to come.