Tory candidate won’t apologize for joking that polar bears could deal with homeless
By Canadian Press on February 7, 2025.
WINNIPEG — A candidate for leadership of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives says he won’t apologize for making a joke about tackling homelessness by letting polar bears roam free in Winnipeg.
Wally Daudrich made the comment earlier this week in the Manitoba capital while speaking at one of the meet-and-greet events he has held recently.
Daudrich, who runs an ecotourism and polar bear tour business in Churchill, Man., said there’s no homelessness issue in the northern town for obvious reasons.
He told the event that his plan is to bring 10 polar bears to Winnipeg and release them in front of the legislature.
A party member who was at the event, Thomas Rempel-Ong, says there’s no reason to joke about vulnerable people becoming bear food.
The Opposition Tories are to choose between Daudrich and legislature member Obby Khan in the leadership race, set to be decided April 26.
Daudrich’s comment, first reported by CBC, came at the start of his speech Wednesday evening.
“I always say where I come from in Churchill, we don’t have any homeless people. Anybody take a guess why?” Daudrich is heard saying on a video of the meeting posted on social media.
“When there’s serious repercussions for a bad lifestyle, people smarten up very quickly. So my plan is to import 10 polar bears and let them go in front of the (legislature) … and let them have at ‘er.”
In an interview Friday, Daudrich said he won’t apologize.
He said homelessness is primarily caused by drug addiction, and he’s against drug addiction.
“Obviously being out on the streets has serious repercussions and that is the point of the comment,” he said.
“It’s a joke. There’s no apology. I’ll probably say it again next week.”
Rempel-Ong, a Winnipeg resident who volunteers with an agency that serves the homeless, said he was taken aback when he heard the comment.
“In my world, you don’t joke about feeding homeless people to the polar bears.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2025.
Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
20-19
And if it were the NDP or Liberals who made such a joke, media would have laughed and shrugged it off.
I thought media was supposed to be objective and unbiased, but not anymore I guess. It is all about selling news, whether it is true or not, as we have seen in the reporting of the Gaza war. CP, AP, CBC, BBC, and even Global spew misinformation often, while showing their complete bias for one political party, Even small newspapers now reflect their bias to one particular party. They focus on using polical scientists who share their bias and ingore listening the unbias, professional political scientists.
They banish people from their social media sites when they call out leaders, with facts, after the perps complain, ignoring facts and truth!
There are a couple of major newspapers who still are professional and objective, and we know who they are and respect them.
Most of the major television networks are also leaning the way of bias, unprofessional reporting, as we have seen in the CBC, BBC, and Global is moving towards this with CTV slowing following.
True journalism should be the unbiased reporting of the facts of the day !!!