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Horgan: Trudeau must acknowledge ‘absolutely foolish’ mistake

Premier John Horgan said he has done “stupid things” in his life, but none that he would characterize as being culturally offensive.

Premier John Horgan said he has done “stupid things” in his life, but none that he would characterize as being culturally offensive.

Horgan offered some advice Thursday to Justin Trudeau after photos of the federal Liberal leader surfaced showing him wearing blackface and brownface on at least three occasions.

The premier said he was shocked to see the images.

Horgan said his advice to Trudeau would be to acknowledge that what he did was “absolutely foolish,” especially considering that one of the events was in a school setting when Trudeau was a teacher.

However, he said he is not without fault either when it comes to stupidity and he is “very grateful” that he grew up in an era without Facebook.

The premier said people are an accumulation of all the things they’ve done and who they’ve met, both the good and the bad.

B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver did not mention Trudeau by name, but alluded to the issue on Twitter on Wednesday evening: “Let the person who has never done anything they regret in high school cast the first stone. Silence. Enough said. This federal election campaign is in the gutters and I am disgusted.”

On Thursday, Weaver posted a seven-tweet thread condemning Trudeau’s actions.

“There is no excuse for the racist behaviour shown by @justinTrudeau. The @BCGreens & I unequivocally condemn any act that mocks or minimalizes the past & present lived experiences of any Canadian,” he wrote, calling for a broader conversation about systemic racism and discrimination in Canada.

“Canada is confronted with significant threats: climate change; rising inequality; racism and the rise of populism. These are issues every Canadian wants solved and that every political leader has a responsibility to address,” Weaver wrote.

“The @BCGreens call on all political leaders to show Canadians a substantive vision for how we will together as a diverse and dynamic nation overcome these challenges. It is simply not good enough to only denounce other parties.”