A transgender Albertan says it would be a slap in the face if Premier Danielle Smith allows back into the government caucus a member who once compared transgender children to feces.
Victoria Bucholtz, with the group Queer Citizens United, said Lacombe-Ponoka legislature member Jennifer Johnson has not rebuilt trust or exhibited understanding.
Bucholtz was one of five people who met last week with Johnson in the hopes of bettering the politician’s relationship with LGBTQ+ Albertans.
“It wasn’t clear that any of her views had changed,” Bucholtz said.
If Johnson returns to caucus, Bucholtz said it would be a sign to LGBTQ+ Albertans that “we do not belong.”
Johnson currently sits as an Independent in the legislature. During the 2023 election campaign, she ran under Smith’s United Conservative Party banner.
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She was turfed from the UCP caucus days before the vote, when audio surfaced of a 2022 meeting where Johnson compared transgender youth to a batch of cookies laced with …