CALGARY — A candidate vying for the Alberta Tory leadership is apologizing for comments he made about the case of a Calgary toddler whose death has been ruled a homicide.
Doug Griffiths, the MLA for Battle River-Wainwright, made the comments at a Calgary Conservative candidate forum on Sunday.
Griffiths was speaking about an Alberta government report released last week that highlighted a series of failures that led to the death of the 14-month-old girl in May 2010.
He told the forum that the parents and family bear the ultimate responsibility and that his parents would have kicked the door down.
The comments angered the girl’s grandparents, who went to Children’s Services and RCMP about their concerns in March 2010 after the child was taken to hospital with broken legs.
Griffiths called the grandfather on Monday and apologized, saying he wasn’t suggesting the grandparents didn’t do enough.
“Imagine being in their situation — this is horrible, and then to think that somebody stood up and said they didn’t do enough, I would be upset, too, and I wanted them to know that was not what my intention was and apologized for causing more grief,” Griffiths said.
Alberta Children’s Services Minister Yvonne Fritz released a report into the toddler’s death last week and admitted that social workers, police officers and doctors could have worked together better.
All three agencies decided it was in the best interest of the child to remain in the home with her mother.