Sask. Party candidate, during appearance with party leader Moe, makes 2nd apology for racial slur
David Buckingham calls comment a 'very dumb mistake'
A Saskatchewan Party candidate has repeated his apology for saying a racial slur a year ago, this time in person and with party leader Scott Moe.
"It was a really dumb mistake, something that's not OK. We're a country of inclusivity, and my comments talking about that were completely, completely inappropriate," David Buckingham told reporters Wednesday at an unrelated party announcement in Saskatoon.
"One word and it can change your life, and I'm very sorry. To the people involved, I offer my apology again. I wish I could bring it back. Unfortunately, I can't," Buckingham said.
Moe says the Saskatchewan Party followed its policies after the slur was made, with Buckingham apologizing and taking sensitivity training.
"We very much strive to be a diverse and inclusive party, very much with the policies that we have enacted with the honour of forming government over the last decade and a half," Moe said.
WATCH | Buckingham apologize for 'dumb mistake':
NDP Leader Carla Beck, asked by reporters about the apology, said Moe, in his role as leader, needs to be accountable for what goes on in his caucus.
"These are really shocking things for anyone to be saying," Beck told reporters in Saskatoon.
"It's not something that most people would stand for. We're in the middle of an election. People in [Saskatoon] Westview will have the opportunity to register what they think about the actions and the apology."
Buckingham is seeking a third term in the legislature in the Oct. 28 election.
He was first elected in the constituency of Saskatoon Westview in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. He has also served as the Saskatchewan Party government caucus chair.
Buckingham apologized in a public statement Tuesday, shortly after former caucus colleague Randy Weekes told reporters about the slur.
Weekes said a caucus staff member told him she overheard Buckingham use a racial slur referencing a Black person.
Weekes, who was Speaker during the last legislative sitting, said the woman, who is Black, was traumatized and reported Buckingham to human resources.
She later quit, Weekes said.
Weekes is not running in the upcoming election. He lost the Saskatchewan Party nomination for his constituency of Kindersley-Biggar last year.
He later quit the party after accusing those in the governing caucus of bullying him.
WATCH | Former Speaker Randy Weekes describes Buckingham's remark:
With files from CBC's Kelly Provost