POUCE COUPE, B.C – Pouce Coupe Mayor Lorraine Michetti chose to keep her seat on council after councillors and several Peace Region leaders requested her resignation.
Michetti’s response Sunday came after a special council meeting on Saturday where council unanimously voted to remove her from all committees and boards after a controversial social media post.
“Council did not elect me to do this job, neither did social media community groups or local media, people did. The people of Pouce Coupe that I have taken an oath to represent, and will continue to until those same people decide otherwise during a general election. I have at my own expense committed to taking sensitivity training, as well as courses designed to mitigate and eliminate racism of all forms in municipal and business settings,” Michetti wrote in the statement.
The meeting took place after screenshots of a Facebook post on Michetti’s personal page began circulating social media around the Peace Region late last week.
Michetti’s Facebook post read, “Don’t want pipeline’s? They want to protect our land. Yeah ok”. The caption was followed by pictures of garbage surrounding multiple homes.
Michetti says the “controversial meme” was originally posted “more than a year, or two ago”.
“I have formally apologized for this post and will continue to do so as we all move forward. I love serving Pouce Coupe, it’s people and working with our neighbours. This post does not change who I am, and for those that know me, have worked with me on council, or businesses and residents in the community who have become friends, know that my loyalty and dedication to serving them is unparalleled.”
Michetti’s first statement before the special council meeting was posted through Richard Mineault’s Facebook page on Friday evening. Mineault told Energeticcity he assisted Michetti with the apology after urging her to release a statement.
In the statement, Michetti apologized to those offended by the post and said, “it was directed to address an issue that was not of cultural nature”.
“Beginning now, I will be taking a proactive approach to address the cultural indifference that has been embedded into our communities by learning more about diverse cultural people in our area, and I will that by taking an awareness and learning program that is currently available by a First Nations member of our community,” says Michetti’s statement on Friday.
This story is developing, and more information may be included once it comes out
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