Former Conservative MP Stockwell Day is apologizing for insensitive comments he made this week.

On Tuesday, as protests against racism and police brutality raged in the US, Day tried to equate his school age experience of being called “four eyes” with the struggles many in the black and other communities face.

Day says based on the feedback from many in those communities, he realizes his comments were insensitive and hurtful.

He has resigned from the board of directors at Telus and as a strategic adviser to the law firm McMillan LLP and has also stepped down from his role as a commentator on the CBC.