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Kelowna-Mission MLA called out for liking “out of line” tweets

Renee Merrifield has since ‘unliked’ the tweets
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Social media can be useful and sometimes it can distract from the message.

That’s what Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield said after columnist and former NDP strategist Bill Tieleman called her out for liking tweets that were deemed out-of-line.

One of the tweets was from a parent who retweeted a claim that school-aged children are being used for herd immunity against COVID-19. Merrifield said she liked that parent’s tweet, not as an attack on Dr. Bonnie Henry and public health orders, but to encourage people to keep asking questions about health policies during the pandemic.

“It had nothing to do with me believing that what we’re doing is herd immunity,” she said.

“But the way it was warped by the NDP pundit (Tieleman) was disgusting. Because for me, it was about that parent and that parent’s heart cry.”

Merrifield added that the tweets she liked highlight that the questions she brings up at the legislature echo the concerns that parents have.

She has since ‘unliked’ those tweets and has apologized to Dr. Bonnie Henry.

“Honestly, I don’t want to distract from the message with social media… and I don’t want to be misinterpreted and I certainly don’t want (Twitter) used against the message,” she said.

READ: Two Kelowna restaurants temporarily close following COVID-19 exposure


Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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