B.C. premier apologizes after social media mistake on Holocaust Remembrance Day

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s premier has apologized after he says a member of his staff posted an incorrect message in social media posts linking to his statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday.

David Eby says on the social media platform X that the mistake was noticed immediately and removed, “but it should not have occurred.”

Andrew Reeve, the press secretary for the BC United Opposition leader, shared a screenshot of the initial post from Eby’s account, which said, “We stand with the Muslim community throughout Canada on this sorrowful day of remembrance.”

The original post provided a link to Eby’s full, correct statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday.

Jan. 29 is the anniversary of the deadly shooting at a Quebec City mosque in 2017, and further screenshots show a post from Eby’s Instagram account on Saturday with a message paying tribute to those killed in the attack.

In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Eby says he’s sorry for any pain the mistake may have caused, as well as the “distraction from such an important day.”

Eby’s actual statement said this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day came “in the shadow of the deadliest act of violence against Jewish people since the Shoah.”

Almost four months ago, he said the world watched in horror as Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 people hostage in southern Israel.

The B.C. government has committed to working with the Jewish community to make Holocaust education mandatory for all high school students, he added.

Eby’s press secretary, Jimmy Smith, did not respond to an email with questions about the mistake on social media.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press