A view of Kinosoo Beach on Cold Lake from the Water Treatment Plant, located in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. (Wolfmum/CC BY-SA 4.0)
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An Alberta city councillor who posted a meme with an anti-Christian theme on social media has publicly apologized as a city resident says the meme was a “personal attack” against him for objecting to an upcoming event that advertises a drag artist as the main feature.
As a result of the post and circumstances leading up to it, the resident Leighton Grey says city councillor Chris Vining, who is also a school principal, violated the codes of conduct for city councillors and educators. Vining, for his part, says he has received harassing emails and calls and that he and his family now feel unsafe in their home.
The incident occurred in Cold Lake in northeastern Alberta and involves a youth conference scheduled for April, aimed at those aged 12 to 17, featuring Chelazon Leroux, who self-describes as a “Two-Spirit Dene First Nations multidisciplinary artist.” The event poster shows Leroux’s photo as the main image and states “featuring guest speaker Chelazon Lerous, drag artist, comedian & content creator.”
At a Feb. 28 city council meeting, Grey—a business owner, parent, as well as a constitutional lawyer—presented his concerns. He professed his Christian faith and played a video clip of Leroux performing in revealing clothing. While he said Leroux was “obviously a very talented artist,” he noted that “burlesque” shows, regardless of whether the performer is transgender or biologically female, are not “appropriate for children.”
In his letter seeking to address city council and to have the event cancelled, Grey said using public funds “to sponsor an event designed to groom children is misappropriation.”
“I am confident that the majority of rate payers do not support subsidizing moral degeneracy. This is sexually explicit entertainment that is inappropriate for children,” Grey said.
A March 3 letter sent to city council by Grey’s lawyer says that during question period at the meeting, Vining tried to undermine Grey’s creditability “by suggesting that Mr. Grey’s ideas were based on bigotry and prejudice.”
The letter was sent two days after Vining, who is also principal of Cold Lake Elementary School, reposted a meme on Facebook on March 1 that was originally posted by a different Facebook user on Jan. 22.
In a screenshot provided by Vining to The Epoch Times, the meme is seen showing a man dressed as a woman standing in front of a blue brick wall, wearing black high heels, a yellow wig, and a purple bathrobe, carrying a pink gun. The words on the wall read, “The Biggest Danger of Taking Your Child to a Drag Show Is That a Christian Could Show Up With a Gun.”
The screenshot shows that Vining wrote “Sad but true” when he first reposted the meme.
‘Error in Judgment’
In a media statement Vining sent to The Epoch Times along with the screenshot, he explained that his page is private and only viewable to his Facebook friends, and that he removed the post “within a period of less than two hours” once he “had the opportunity to give it an appropriate amount of second thought.”
However, according to Grey’s lawyer’s letter to council, it was Mayor Craig Copeland who on March 2 “directed that the offensive message be deleted.”
Vining also posted an apology on March 2, which was reposted the next day on the Facebook page of a group called “We The FREE – Alberta.”
In his apology, Vining expressed his “deepest apologies” and said the meme was “callous, insensitive and downright cruel” and was posted “in an impulse born in frustration but without justification.”
Also on March 2, Vining contacted Grey asking to apologize privately, according to the letter by Grey’s lawyer.
In his media statement, Vining said his post “was never directed towards any specific parties.” He further noted: “To be very clear, the original post was never directed at or intended to be directed at Mr. Grey.”
Alberta constitutional lawyer Leighton Grey, Q.C., of Grey Wowk Spencer LLP, a father and local business owner, has lived in Cold Lake, Alta., for 22 years. (Photo Courtesy of Leighton Grey)
He said he made an “error in judgment” and has been receiving “several harassing anonymous emails and phone calls that have made my family and I feel very unsafe in our own home.”
Vining’s Twitter and Facebook accounts are no longer accessible. In an update he provided to The Epoch Times on March 5, he said, “Due to the harassment I received, they have been deactivated for my family’s protection.”
Claims
Vining wrote that he has served as a city councillor of Cold Lake for the last 13 years and has also “spent the last 20 [years] as a member of our Christian faith community.”
“Anybody in our community that knows me would never believe that in my heart I have any malice towards our Christian community or any specific individual. People that know me also know that I have spent the last 35 years as a fierce ally to our 2SLGBTQI+ population and will continue to support them and their inclusion in our communities,” Vining wrote.
The letter issued by Grey’s lawyer, alleged that Vining’s conduct and social media posts were “unethical, libellous and hateful” and had “seriously harmed” Grey’s reputation.
The letter said Vining had a “pattern of social media abuse, including vilification of constituents who refused COVID-19 vaccination.”
“Councillor Vining is not merely a private citizen sharing his views on social media, he is an elected official of the City of Cold Lake. His conduct represents council as a whole. Councillor Vining is required to follow the Council Code of Conduct. He is expected and bound to conduct himself as an elected official with an appropriate level of respect, professionalism, and ethics,” the letter said.
It alleges that social media users immediately connected Vining’s March 1 post about Christians with Grey’s attendance and profession of faith at the city council meeting the night before, and that the posts were a “personal attack,” in violation also of the code for educators required by the school division and the Alberta Teacher’s Association, as well as Criminal Code provisions involving the offence of publishing hate speech.
The letter by Grey’s lawyer calls for Vining to resign from his councillor position and issue a formal written apology to Grey, among other remedies, by March 10 or face a defamation action in court.
Council to Review Funding for Event
The council meeting concluded by city council agreeing to review the city’s funding commitment to Cold Lake and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) for the event, and to do so at the next council meeting in March. A councillor also said he believes Leroux will not be performing at the event but will only be “speaking,” noting he will get confirmation of that.
Council also clarified that the City of Cold Lake contributes less than 20 percent of the FCSS funding, with 80 percent coming from the Alberta government and the remainder from the Municipal District of Bonnyville and the City of Cold Lake.
In addition, council noted that FCSS is only a partner in the event, which is being organized by the 4 Wing Military Family Resource Centre Society (MFRCS), a separate group that can continue to hold the event with or without funding from the City of Cold Lake.