CALGARY – Premier-designate Rachel Notley says she’s accepted a “very genuine apology” from NDP MLA Deborah Drever, who’s been at the centre of online controversy after photos of the young woman circulated on social media.
“I spoke with her about it today and indicated to her that I thought the images she was part of were highly inappropriate,” said Notley. “She agreed with me and she offered her very genuine apology and I’ve accepted that apology.”
Drever appeared in a photo on an album cover for Calgary metal band Gatekrashor, which shows her lying on the ground, legs apart, as a man bends over her. He appears to be ready to assault her with a bottle.
READ MORE: New MLA in Facebook controversy apologizes for ‘offensive’ album cover
“The photo I appeared in was in poor taste, and I apologize for its offensive content,” Drever said in a statement provided to the Calgary Herald by the NDP on Friday.
That photo emerged a week after some of her Facebook photos involving marijuana and a middle finger in front of a Canadian flag made headlines. She issued a statement calling the circulation of those photos “partisan smears.”
Notley said she’s also asked Drever to present a plan to reach out to groups that work with vulnerable young women in an effort to expand education on the issue of violence against women.
Twenty-six-year-old Drever is a sociology student at Mount Royal University who lives with her grandmother, according to a campaign biography that has since been removed—along with her Facebook and Twitter profiles. Drever was elected in Calgary-Bow, beating out Progressive Conservative hopeful Byron Nelson.
READ MORE: Petitions call for NDP MLA to resign in wake of pot T-shirt, Canada flag flip off posts
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