Mark Wasyliw has been removed from the Manitoba NDP caucus “effective immediately,” the party said Monday, because one colleague in his law practice is defending convicted sexual predator Peter Nygard in court.
In response, Wasyliw is now calling the premier a “dysfunctional and toxic leader” who pressures, bullies and demeans those who disagree with him.
The NDP caucus expelled Wasyliw after learning of his legal colleague taking on Nygard as a client, NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes said in a news release Monday morning.
“MLA Wasyliw’s failure to demonstrate good judgment does not align with our caucus principles of mutual respect and trust,” Moyes said.
“As such, MLA Wasyliw can no longer continue his role in our caucus.”
Wasyliw said in an interview he will remain the MLA for Fort Garry. A former Winnipeg School Division trustee, he was first elected as an MLA in 2019.
NDP’s rationale is ‘rich’: Wasyliw
He doesn’t believe his expulsion from the NDP’s ranks has anything to do with the Nygard case. Gerri Wiebe began representing the convicted sex offender on his Ontario cases in June.
“I mean, that’s rich, right?” Wasyliw said.
“I’m not a law partner with Ms. Wiebe. I cannot dictate who other lawyers take on as clients. I don’t profit financially from this. I have absolutely nothing to do with that Nygard case. And I have no control about what another person does.”
The MLA faced heightened scrutiny from inside and outside his party last year when he revealed he would continue his law practice as a criminal defence lawyer after his party was elected into office.
Wasyliw’s decision to continue working as a lawyer, after being overlooked for cabinet, disappointed Premier Wab Kinew, who said late last year “all of us should understand that public service is more than a full-time job.”
“They needed a reason to silence critical voices in the legislature,” Wasyliw said.
Wasyliw said the relationship between him and Kinew deteriorated well before the disagreement over the Fort Garry MLA’s law practice.
Dating back to their time in Manitoba’s Official Opposition, Wasyliw said he wasn’t afraid to disagree with Kinew’s decisions when warranted. He said Kinew didn’t like that.
“Wab Kinew is a dysfunctional and toxic leader and he’s created a dysfunctional and toxic legislature and culture and not having to be part of that, I’m a little, quite frankly, relieved,” he said.
“Wab’s a bully and when he cannot convince people to do things, he needs to pressure them, bully them, demean them.”
The NDP is choosing not to respond to Wasyliw’s accusations.
‘Screaming matches’
Wasyliw said the two of them would get into a “screaming match” every six months or so. Other MLAs have faced a similar treatment, he added.
“He’s somebody that will get into screaming matches with MLAs in the hallway and will berate them in private and talk about how, ‘He’s the leader, he’s the premier. You have to listen to him,'” he said.
“It’s his way or you’re out — and I don’t respond well to that. I never have.”
He said he’ll remain focused on representing his Fort Garry constituents and he’s happy to adopt the New Democrats who’ve become bewildered by a government “solely concerned with public relations” rather than good policy.
Wiebe, the attorney now representing Nygard, said she’s frustrated the NDP is impugning the reputation of criminal defence lawyers who are entitled to give everyone a vigorous defence.
“I’m disappointed because to say that Mark has exhibited bad judgment by associating with me is obviously an indictment of me, but it’s an indictment of what I do,” Wiebe said.
The NDP’s comments suggest the party doesn’t fully understand the role of criminal defence lawyers, she said.
“It scares me because these are the people that make funding decisions about our justice system,” she said.
“If they’re this fundamentally misinformed … what kind of decisions are they going to make about the people proceeding through that system?”
Lawyers’ groups concerned about rationale
The Manitoba Bar Association and the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba expressed concern about the NDP’s stated rationale.
“Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in safeguarding the rights of individuals and ensuring a fair and just legal system,” Jessica Schofield, president of the bar association, said in a statement.
“This decision undermines the essential function of criminal defence lawyers, whose work ensures that the justice system remains balanced and accessible to all.”
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says he sees the dispute as being more about “sour grapes” between Wasyliw and Kinew.
“This is something that I see on the political side rather than the legal side that the reasoning is obviously something inside the caucus and people did not get along with with this MLA and they decided they didn’t want them to be inside the tent, they want him outside the tent,” Adams told CBC’s Up to Speed host Faith Fundal.
In an email to CBC News, Wayne Ewasko, interim leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, called the decision to remove Wasyliw from the NDP’s caucus as one that shows poor leadership from Kinew.
“[The] decision only highlights how far the NDP still needs to go in showing leadership and, as we’ve now learned, creating a respectful workplace. Kinew previously said the NDP ‘deserved to lose’ the 2016 election because of a disrespectful workplace.
“If it is indeed still disrespectful, we want people to feel safe coming forward.”
Adams said he’s not surprised to see the NDP ousting Wasyliw, given the grievances between him and Kinew, and said he believes the party’s strategy is to hope the controversy blows over.
“Wasyliw is going to be independent in the legislature. He’s not going to get a lot of time to speak,” he said.
“Right now he’s got the microphone and he can speak about Wab Kinew. But I don’t think that we know the whole story right now.”