The Alberta NDP is calling for an apology from a United Conservative candidate in southern Alberta after comments about victims of heart attacks.
Chelsae Petrovic is running for the conservative party in Livingstone-Macleod. She appeared on a podcast called The Canadian Story in February, where she said people who suffer from heart attacks need to be held accountable.
“This might be political suicide here what I am about to say, which is fine with me but it needs to be said. I think we have gone into a society that we have become so dependent on being saved and so dependent on the amount of Facebook likes that we have, that we honestly don’t know how to do anything else,” she said. “We have become sort of dependent, we have become tunnel visioned on our own life and thinking that someone’s going to come and save us, there is always gonna be a superman around the corner to save us and so we actually haven’t had any accountability. We can look at this, and I see it in healthcare — I’m going to say it — maybe the reason why you had a heart attack was because you haven’t taken care of yourself. You’re extremely overweight, you haven’t managed you congestive heart failure, you haven’t managed your diabetes and there is no personal accountability but they come into the hospital and it’s all of a sudden, it’s everyone else’s problem but their own and let’s start looking at what can we do as a society to prevent things.”
Kevin Van Tighem, the NDP candidate for the same riding, is calling on Petrovic and Premier Danielle Smith to apologize for the comments.
“Last year Danielle Smith said Albertans are responsible for developing cancer. Now her candidate blames Albertans for having a heart attack. This is a pattern of cruel and hurtful language that kicks Albertans when they’re down,” said Van Tighem. “The role of government is never to judge people for their personal choices. It is to ensure that people have good public health care where they need it, and when they need it.”
In a statement, Petrovic said she believed the comment was taken out of context. “I was speaking for several minutes about the challenges our health-care system is currently facing, not only as the mayor of Claresholm, but as a frontline nurse,” she said. “I understand my comment could be offensive when removed from the longer interview, and I should have chosen better language. I believe we should be a province that not only focuses on reactive health for those in need but also one that teaches our kids to practice healthy living, which includes taking care of our physical and mental health.”
