Winnipeg MLA Jon Reyes, one of two Filipino-Canadian members of the legislative assembly is in hot waters for his tweet. (Photo: Manitoba Government)
Winnipeg,Manitoba
Manitoba Filipino politician “shows gratitude” for his wife by watching her shovel snow
Opinion
Teodoro ‘Ted’ Alcuitas
A Manitoba cabinet minister’s tweet about his wife shovelling snow after a 12-hour nursing shift has ignited a storm of protest from all over the world.
Conservative MLA Jon Reyes tweeted this on Saturday, January 8.
His wife Cynthia is a nurse at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre.
Reyes was appointed minister for Economic Development and Jobs last July after a stint as Special Envoy for Military Affairs after being elected in 2016. He is one of two Filipino-Canadian members of the legislative assembly , the other being Malaya Marcelino of the NDP.
In response to a request for comment from CBC’s Ian Froese, Reyes tweeted, “I’m happy that she is getting the worldwide recognition she deserves, and it serves as a reminder to everyone — especially me today — that we can never do enough to show our gratitude to healthcare workers.” The Winnipeg Sun reported.
I wonder what kind of gratitude this man has for healthcare workers much more his own wife , who must have been tired after a 12-hour shift as a nurse.
I lived for 25 years in the frigid, brutal winters of Winnipeg. Our house had no garage and a 30-ft. long open driveway. I never remembered for once letting my wife nor my three daughters shovel snow from the driveway.
International attention
As of Monday, the original tweet had garnered 5,439 retweets, over 20,000 quote tweets and 42,400 likes. It also garnered a Canadian Heritage Minute parody and tweets both in support and questioning his original tweet, according to the Winnipeg Sun.
Not only did Reyes was tweeting about his wife but he allegedly tweeted that he was also watching tennis at the time of the incident. Reyes is an avid sports fan.
He had his share of supporters though:
Jon Reyes Cynthia Reyes I’m truly sorry that this has been blown way out of Proportion. People are quick to cast stones before they know the whole story.
Good on you for making her breakfast! It’s crazy how people judge and make negative assumptions when they don’t know anything about you. Love you both!
The cabinet minister responded to the international attention in a statement to Daily Hive.
“My wife is amazing, both at home and at work. I’m eternally grateful for her and everything she does. I love her very much,” he said. “I’m happy that she is getting the worldwide recognition she deserves, and it serves as a reminder to everyone — especially me today — that we can never do enough to show our gratitude to healthcare workers.”
“Reyes tweets hard, but the internet tweets harder,” wrote Filipino-Canadian reporter Daily Hive’s Isabelle Docto.