Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says Essex Town Council will take action if Councillor Chris Vander Doelen doesn't apologize for COVID-19 comments posted to Twitter.
On April 9, Vander Doelen called COVID-19 the "Chinese flu" and also tweeted COVID stood for "Chinese Origins Virus etc" in place of it's actual meaning — Corona Virus Disease 2019.
A tweet from Essex Ward 3 Councillor Chris Vander Doelen posted on Friday April 9, 2021 (Photo via Twitter/@winstarvander)
Many saw Vander Doelen's comments as an example of Asian hate that's been on the rise during the pandemic.
The deputy mayor and his fellow councillors issued a statement demanding a retraction and an apology that have yet to materialize.
"He's taking the stance that he's done nothing wrong here and the rest of council believes the statement that was made is inappropriate," says Meloche.
He says the Ward 3 councillor needs to show he understands how his comments effected the community at Monday night's council meeting.
"Of course we want it to be meaningful. We don't want it just to be 'okay I'm sorry'," he says. "It has to be an apology that comes from the heart."
Meloche expects council to move forward with action against Vander Doelen if he chooses to stand by his statements.
"We will be, as a council, submitting to the Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze to look at the whole situation to evaluate and determine what can be done," he says. "He'll come back with recommendations for council on how we should move forward on this."
If Vander Doelen doesn't issue a sincere apology, Meloche says council will likely take the immediate step of having him removed from town committees.
"Council could vote and have him step down, but that's yet to happen," he added.
Vander Doelen has deleted the tweet calling COVID-19 the "Chinese Origins Virus."
He told AM800 News he will not be removing the tweet calling the virus the, "Chinese flu."
"I'm not taking down the one about having Chinese flu because that's what I had," he said. "I caught COVID-19, so that's not a joke. Twenty-three thousand Canadians have died and we know where this came from, so I guess I broke a big secret by saying that it came from China."
Vander Doelen went on to say he will not be issuing an apology, because he can't control how people interpret his tweets and he had no malicious intent.
"I don't walk around tiptoeing because of the way somebody else might see something, that's their problem," he said. "I can view the world the way I please and speak the way I please. Free speech is rapidly disappearing in this country and while I still have the ability to speak the truth I will and this is the truth."
Essex Town Council gets underway Monday at 6 p.m.