Lethbridge UCP candidate Torry Tanner resigns
By Al Beeber & Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 31, 2023.
Torry Tanner has resigned as the UCP candidate in Lethbridge West after the surfacing of inflammatory comments in a social media video made during the nomination process about Alberta students being exposed to pornography and being helped to change their gender identity by teachers.In the now deleted video, Tanner stated “we are seeing increasing instances where kids, even those attending kindergarten, are being exposed to pornographic materials.”
She added “worse yet having teachers help them change their gender identify with absolutely no parental consent or knowledge whatsoever.”
Tanner went on to say “this needs to be stopped immediately. We need to get involved on school boards, on parent councils so we can keep those precious little ones safe from this kind of outrageously inappropriate behaviour. . .silence isn’t an option.”
In a Thursday statement, Tanner said “my decision to run for office was rooted in a desire to make sure a UCP government was elected to keep Alberta on the right track forward. During the nomination process, I made a video that, at its core, spoke to my commitment to protecting children. However, its’ clear that my choice of words have distracted not only from the issue I was trying to discuss, but are being used by my political opponents to hurt our chances of winning across the province.
“Accordingly, I have resigned as the candidate for Lethbridge West.”
A statement provided to The Herald by the West Lethbridge Constituency from Premier Danielle Smith said she accepted the resignation Thursday morning.
“I will be working with the local constituency and the party to appoint a replacement in the near future.”
Jason Schilling, a former Lethbridge resident and president of the Alberta Teachers Association said Tanner’s apology lacked remorse and he expects the premier and Minister of Education to disavow her words.
Schilling said in a phone interview he was “extremely disappointed in every sense of the word” when the video surfaced.
“Because what you have is someone who wants to be a representative of the community that is making ludicrous claims.”
He said he’s glad Tanner resigned but from his perspective her statement didn’t necessarily say she was sorry for the words she actually used in the video.
“So I still think the premier and the Minister of Education need to address and disavow these words from this individual and issue an apology to the teachers of Lethbridge and the province,” added Schilling.
Schilling there was no indication of remorse “for the damaging words that she said about the teachers in the city.”
The ATA president said her words “are not a representation of Lethbridge.”
NDP MLA for Lethbridge West Shannon Phillips told the Herald while attending the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs session Thursday “these are dangerous distractions. People are worried about things like health-care, they’re worried about affordability, they’re worried about better jobs, better education. That’s what people in Lethbridge are concerned about and when you’re spreading dangerous lies about teachers or LGBTQ people, that’s just not who we are as a community.”
Phillips said Tanner’s resignation was a good thing but “this tells us about what kind of candidates Danielle Smith has on the ballot and what has happened to the takeover of the UCP by her faction. These are a group of people who do not represent Albertans’ views. They don’t represent who we are,” said Phillips.
Holy Spirit Catholic School Division provided a written statement to The Herald on the matter:
“Holy Spirit Catholic School Division fully supports the amazing work that our educators do to ensure that our schools are safe and welcoming places for all students and their families. Our staff work tirelessly and collaboratively with home and parish to ensure that the Catholic worldview is presented in a sensitive and pastoral way that respects diversity and protects the dignity of each individual student; who is a unique and precious gift from God, entitled to love and acceptance.”
The Lethbridge School Division in its own written statement said it “unequivocally supports” its schools and the professionalism of division teaching staff.
“The Division is grateful for the hard work our teachers do, along with everyone throughout the education system, to ensure our students are cared for and engaged in quality learning experiences on a daily basis.
“As always, the Division, and our dedicated staff members, are committed to ensuring students are instilled with the values of learning, inclusion, respect, wellbeing and leadership.
Allison Purcell, LSD board of trustees chair, added in the statement “our educators work tirelessly to ensure our students grow as learners and achieve their educational goals. Supporting learning and attending to student wellbeing are at the core of what our staff members do each and every day.”
Tanner’s website as of late Thursday afternoon had not been updated to include her resignation.
Tanner won the UCP West nomination earlier on March 14 against Rick Dempsey.
In a statement to The Herald before the nomination, constituency president Davey Wiggers told The Herald “Torry has a legal background, she is primarily a mediator, and she has her own business.”
Her website said her father attended Lethbridge College and her two sisters graduated from the U of L.
Tanner was part of a lawsuit filed in the Court of Queen’s Bench by two churches and three people against Deena Hinshaw, then Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province. The lawsuit was a constitutional challenge to certain orders made by Hinshaw under the Public Health Act involving the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit argued that certain orders “should be declared invalid on the basis of Charter and Bill of Rights grounds.” 2
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