The question Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw has to answer is: why is he only now claiming that Premier Wab Kinew is allegedly a bully who mistreats staff and MLAs?
Wasyliw made the accusations Monday after he was expelled from the NDP caucus. Until then, he was happy to remain in caucus and support his government.
“(Kinew) will bully people instead of trying to build consensus,” Wasyliw charged. “He is very demeaning to staff and MLAs when he talks to them. He will run them down — very disrespectful. The man couldn’t pass a respectful workplace review.”
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Mark Wasyliw leaves the Legislative Building Monday after being removed from the NDP caucus.
Those are pretty serious accusations. It’s also the first we hear of this alleged behaviour by Kinew.
All political leaders, especially first ministers, exercise some degree of dictatorial authority. Some are more abrasive than others. It goes with the territory.
However, to be branded a “bully” who is “demeaning” to staff and MLAs is a far more serious charge.
No one should have to work under those conditions, even in the rough-and-tumble world of politics. Any leader who treats people that way should be held to account.
So why has Wasyliw never said anything before about this? Only now, after he was punted from caucus, is he levelling these charges.
It’s suspect at best, especially coming from a guy who, when passed up for cabinet last year, sulked like an eight year old who didn’t get picked for the school basketball team.
Politics is a team sport. It’s a team sport with a hierarchy, at least in Canada’s parliamentary system. The leader is at the top of the food chain, followed by cabinet ministers, senior political staff and then caucus. Like it or not, that’s how it works.
If you want to be on that team, you have to play by those rules. If you don’t, you will find yourself outside of caucus and sitting as an independent.
You don’t throw hissy fits when you don’t make cabinet; you work hard to show your worth and try to get appointed next time.
You don’t publicly bash your leader or your caucus. You engage in meaningful discussions with colleagues behind closed doors and you emerge united afterwards. That’s how party politics works. If you don’t like those rules, don’t join a party.
We’ll probably never know all the reasons why Wasyliw was removed from caucus. The official line is that he was expelled because his legal associate Gerri Wiebe is representing disgraced fashion businessman Peter Nygard, who was sentenced last week to 11 years in prison for sex attacks on four women.
It is arguably a thin reason to kick someone out of caucus. However, Wasyliw could have avoided all this had he wound down his criminal law practice and committed his time to working as an MLA.
Being an MLA is a full-time job. MLAs are paid full-time salaries and benefits, they are eligible for a pension and receive generous severance packages when they’re defeated in an election.
They should devote themselves entirely to that job, including performing constituency work and legislative duties. They should not be in courtrooms defending clients or anywhere else that takes their energy and focus away from their full-time responsibilities as MLAs.
Wasyliw did stray from his job as an MLA and that’s part of his falling out with caucus and the premier (who he snubbed by not shaking his hand when MLAs were sworn in last year).
So now Wasyliw claims Kinew is a tyrant who treats people with disrespect and “couldn’t pass a respectful workplace review.”
If that’s the case, why did he decide to remain in caucus this long? Why did Wasyliw not call out the premier earlier for this alleged demeaning behaviour?
He was prepared to look the other way as long as he remained in caucus, but now that he’s been tossed, he’s decided to make these serious charges? It’s pretty weak.
Wasyliw also appears to be the only one making these accusations, which is problematic — for him.
Whatever the case, his political career is over. His decision to run down his leader the way he did after being kicked out of caucus seals his fate as an elected official. Wasyliw will sit as an independent and if he decides to run again in the next provincial election (scheduled for 2027), he will almost certainly lose because independents rarely get re-elected.
For his part, Kinew has little to worry about politically from this dustup, unless there is some truth to what Wasyliw is alleging. If there is, it would have to be corroborated by others.
Until that happens, the record will show that the Wasyliw affair is little more than a case of sour grapes from someone who let his self-interest interfere with his job as an MLA.
tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
Tom Brodbeck
Columnist
Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom.
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