SNOLAB, the prominent scientific research facility in Sudbury, has issued a sincere apology following an unsettling remark made by one of its staff members pertaining to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The comment was made on the social media platform, X, which has now been deactivated for the staff member, Ian Winsor.
The incident transpired underneath a Halloween-themed post by Trudeau who had shared a picture of his children’s costume, among which was a ‘headless ghoul’. Upon seeing this, former Tory MP Lisa MacLeod expressed her concerns about the costume, labeling it as unsuitable given the ongoing violent circumstances in the Middle East. Winsor, further escalating the discussion, posted a comment stating, “I wish someone would behead his dad.”
Jodi Cooley, the Executive Director of the facility, addressed this problematic behavior, stating, “I want to make it clear that SNOLAB does not condone these comments, does not condone violence of any kind, and does not and never has taken positions on matters of politics.”
SNOLAB, known for its leading role in the domain of underground science worldwide, affirmed that such comments are a blatant breach of their social media guidelines and policies. They assured the public that pressing action has been undertaken to rectify the grievance, lining up with their standard procedures.
Cooley further expressed, “SNOLAB has clear policies and guidelines on social media use, and these comments are in clear violation of those policies. These comments are not representative of SNOLAB science or the SNOLAB community. We apologize unreservedly for any harm the actions of our employee has caused.”
In response to this, one social media user expressed their hopes that Winsor was terminated. Another demanded severe repercussion and suggested lodging a complaint with the RCMP. It should be noted that although SNOLAB didn’t disclose any specific actions taken due to privacy concerns, Winsor’s LinkedIn profile now designates him as an “experienced IT leader looking for my next opportunity.”
SNOLAB made additional efforts to distance themselves from Winsor’s unsettling remarks. They reiterated their apology and stressed upon the comments being against their values and policies, while they continue striving to rectify the damage wrought by the inappropriate content.
