Vancouver man fired over riot Facebook comments

VANCOUVER – Connor Mcilvenna was downtown during the Vancouver riots on Wednesday night, and whether he may or may not have participated in any of the rioting, his boss at RiteTech Construction in Delta is not taking any chances.

Justin Reitz fired 21-year-old Mcilvenna after he received more than 100 emails and 20 phone calls from concerned citizens saying his employee had posted about the riots on his open Facebook page, and had RiteTech listed as his employer.

While Mcilvenna’s Facebook wall is no longer public, there are a few screen grabs of what he wrote after the riots circulating the web, and Reitz said all of it was inappropriate.

"He’s a good kid and stuff," he said. "It’s damage control, it’s something that we do not condone."

Reitz was not 100 per cent sure Mcilvenna was involved in causing any damage during the riots, but he received so many emails and comments demanding he fire Mcilvenna, that he decided to look into the matter further. "I’m quite disgusted and disturbed by what happened," he said.

He spoke to Mcilvenna directly, said the young carpenter was very upset, and told him he was not directly involved in what happened. "He did admit he was there," said Reitz, "and he said he didn’t do anything. [But] if I would have been there I would have left right away."

Whether Mcilvenna may or may not have been involved, Reitz said "you’ve got to be responsible for what you say."