Deborah Drever, the MLA for the riding of Calgary-Bow, is reaching out to the people who voted her into office, apologizing for a series of online missteps that ended up with her suspension from the NDP caucus.

On her Facebook page, Drever is apologizing to the gay and lesbian community after an Instagram image depicting Conservative party members along with a homophobic caption circulated last week.

Other images have also gotten Drever into trouble, including an album cover featuring the MLA as a victim of sexual assault, photos of her posing with a marijuana t-shirt, and one with a lewd gesture aimed at the Canadian flag.

The Calgary-Bow MLA has now addressed all the images, apologizing for all of them.

"My flippant attempt at humour backfired and I sincerely apologize to my constituents and to all Albertans for that,” Drever wrote. “I am also sorry that I was the source of significant distraction from what should have been a time of celebration for Premier Notley and the NDP caucus. I appreciate the Premier’s past advice and will live up to the expectations she has set out for me over the coming months.”

The controversy around Deborah Drever has shown that, going forward into the digital world, politicians will be under a lot more scrutiny online.

Political scientist Melanee Thomas says that it will only become more vital as representatives are younger.

“This means that there is going to be scrutiny that other generations haven't faced before and I think we need to have a conversation about what's appropriate to have scrutinized, and what isn't. Lots of stuff isn't scrutinized for other politicians. I think it's worth asking whether it's okay to troll through someone's Instagram feed and use that to pillory them.”

Drever also vowed to earn back the trust of her constituents every single day she is in office.

Her full statement on Facebook:

 

 

I have taken much time to think and reflect on the events of the past few weeks. I would like to acknowledge certain...

Posted by Deborah Drever on Tuesday, 26 May 2015