'I don’t believe in cancel culture': Nahanni Fontaine won't be fired over Charlie Kirk comments, Wab Kinew says

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine won’t lose her job over comments she made online about Charlie Kirk’s assassination , Manitoba’s premier Wab Kinew said in a statement. Fontaine was told to apologize instead.

Kinew’s cabinet minister, Fontaine, reshared a post on Instagram on Thursday that called the slain 31-year-old political commentator a “racist, xenophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic” individual. Extending condolences to Kirk’s family, Fontaine went on to say that she has “absolutely no empathy” for him. “The man stood for nothing but hate,” her post, in part and since removed, read.

While speaking to reporters on Friday, Kinew said, “It would be too easy to show her the door. It is a much harder task to say we’re going to work through this together and I am going to try to help you understand why we need to bring people together and not divide people at this time.”

He added, “I don’t believe in cancel culture and I think people need to be brought along and shown if we want a society that is one where we can express ourself freely and have debate then we need to be showing empathy and compassion for people even when we don’t agree with them.”

Fontaine posted an apology on her Instagram story. The statement read: “I apologize for sharing a post yesterday on the murder of Charlie Kirk. Violence has no place in our democracy. Political debate is achieved with words and discussion. In a world too often divided, we should strive to show empathy to everyone even those we don’t agree with.”

The reshared message by Fontaine that sparked criticism stayed online for several hours Thursday before it was taken down. Meanwhile, Kinew on Wednesday, the day Kirk was assassinated, called the killing “deeply disturbing.”

Kirk was killed by a single shot in a “targeted attack” that the governor of Utah called a political assassination. At the time of the fatal incident, he was speaking at a debate at Utah Valley University, where he was gunned down in broad daylight on the university campus and pronounced dead at a hospital a few hours later.

The apology by Fontaine is the second one this year. She landed in hot water in June for her hot mic comments that she made after sharing a stage with an American Sign Language interpreter. “Yeah! I’m like, f— why did I have her on the stage,” said Fontaine. “Jesus, I’m like, ‘You need to leave,’” she said.

A written apology issued by Fontaine read: “I sincerely apologize to the deaf and hard of hearing community, and to all Manitobans for my comments,” Fontaine wrote.

“Yesterday, during a private debrief with my staff, I was reflecting on my public speaking performance and remarked I had been distracted by the interpreter’s hand movements. I was expressing frustration on my own poor planning to ensure clear sight lines at the event.”

• Wab Kinew must remove Nahanni Fontaine from office immediately for Charlie Kirk comments
• Haunting photo of Charlie Kirk's widow, fighting back tears circulates online

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