Alberta NDP nomination contestant apologizes for transphobic comments

A nomination contestant for the NDP in Edmonton-Decore has apologized for transphobic comments he made in 2015.

This comes after Sharif Haji was called out on social media for the tweet, which was in response to a CNN post about Caitlyn Jenner.

“Unfortunately you can’t change your entire biological makeup,” Haji wrote.

Sharif Haji, NDP nomination contestant for #Edmonton-Decore (he calls himself the NDP candidate on his voicemail), has made some transphobic comments in the past. I reached out to his office & NDP several times for comment, they failed to provide any. #yeg #abpoli #ableg #Alberta pic.twitter.com/KP26uefJNE

— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) June 20, 2022

CityNews reached out to Haji’s office numerous times for comment, but they declined to comment.

He posted a formal apology on social media after more people began sharing his transphobic tweet.

“I have since deleted my tweet from 2015 because it was hurtful, wrong, and because I don’t hold that view,” he wrote on social media.

“I unreservedly apologize for my actions and the harms they have caused. The post I made in 2015 was factually wrong.”

Haji admitted his views at the time were wrong and noted he has since educated himself on the topic. He then listed his work experience and claimed to have done a lot of work to help the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Still, I have more work to do and I recognize the profound harm my comments coming to light have caused and that I have put trans people in danger. As such, I will be reaching out to leaders in the transgender community to see if they are willing to meet with me to discuss these

— Sharif Haji (@SharifHaji) June 20, 2022

“[When] I read the initial tweet, I was like, ‘Ugh, here we go again,'” Canadian-certified inclusion professional Marni Panas told CityNews.

“And then [I came back], I saw his response, and to see someone who this was brought to his attention, and corrected it right away. There wasn’t [any] stumbling along the way,” she continued.

“I take it for what it is. I would then look at what are we going to do from here on in, what are the actions that any person, anybody who tries to be an ally, what are they going to do moving forward, and turning those words into meaningful action,” Panas added.

Panas says words are powerful but “the behaviours from this point going on will be that true test of whether he means them or not.”

NDP spokesperson Malissa Dunphy says Haji’s social media post was not found in the original vetting process.

“But the elected table offices have seen the apology and the commitment to the work in the days ahead,” she told CityNews.

“They look forward to seeing progress on that work immediately.”