Ontario minister says she apologized after giving ‘feedback’ to Sens owner

Jul 5, 2019 | 8:42 AM

An Ontario cabinet minister says she has apologized to the owner of the Ottawa Senators — a statement that comes after she reportedly launched into a profane tirade against him at a Rolling Stones concert.

Lisa MacLeod says on Twitter that she gave Eugene Melnyk some “feedback” at the show on Saturday because she has serious concerns about the state of the hockey team.

She says she apologized to him for “being so blunt.”

The Ottawa Citizen reports that MacLeod saw Melnyk at the concert, yelled at him that she is his minister and swore at him, calling him a loser.

The newspaper reports that Melnyk complained to the premier’s office and that both MacLeod and Premier Doug Ford later called him.

Ford’s office told The Canadian Press that it had no comment beyond MacLeod’s tweet. Melnyk was not immediately available for comment.

MacLeod was recently demoted to Tourism, Culture and Sport from Children, Community and Social Services after her handling of the autism program sparked outrage.

Melnyk’s hockey team has endured a series of on- and off-ice controversies since coming within a goal of making the Stanley Cup final in 2017. Melnyk himself has been the target of criticism among some Ottawa fans.

The Canadian Press