‘I’m deeply sorry’: BC NDP leader John Horgan says he was wrong about white rights in the debate

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Horgan said he had no intention of offending people with his discussion remarks.

“I left my facility last night and I’m going to reflect on that,” he said. “I’m deeply sorry that I drove people away and hurt them last night.”

Earlier in the day, in a statement on Twitter, Horgan said he would like to give a different answer during the debate, when he asked three party leaders how they counted with a white right.

Saying “I have not seen the color” causes pain and makes people feel invisible, “he wrote.” I’m sorry. As a white man, I never fully understood the reality of systemic racism. I listen, I learn, I continue to work every day to do better. ”

In the discussion, Wilkinson discussed his time working as a physician in indigenous communities in rural BC, where all people should be treated equally.

He elaborated on his remarks on Wednesday at a campaign stop in Kitimat.

“I am well aware of the special struggles of the indigenous people in the medical practice, in dealing with the health care system and other structures in society,” Wilkinson said. “In our society it is not acceptable for people to think differently about the color of their skin or where they grew up or who their parents are.”

He said he was lucky to be a white man and realized that he had been treated differently than others until his teenage years.

“This is wrong. It’s not fair,” Wilkinson said. “I suggested at the (liberal) forum that everyone in the regional government should have anti-racism training.”