SLOBODIAN: Manitoba's party of jerks?

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has been accused of being “toxic and dysfunctional” by an MLA who was ousted from the NDP caucus Monday.An atmosphere of bullying, screaming matches in the halls, and hostility toward staff and MLAs permeates the legislature, said Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw.His claims prompted the opposition PC Party to demand a third-party inquiry.“There’s a lot of bullying that goes on at the legislature, demeaning behaviour, treating people really disrespectfully. It’s a toxic work environment and that all comes from the leader,” said Wasyliw.This isn’t the first time Kinew and other NDP MLAs, some now serving as cabinet ministers, have been accused of violating workplace protocol or inappropriate behaviour.“It is an established pattern of behaviour by the NDP,” PC spokesman Matt Preprost told the Western Standard Wednesday.And it casts a bad light on Kinew’s ability to unite despite declaring when elected premier to lead a majority government last October: “We can do amazing things when we stand together as a province.”“These are shocking revelations and behaviors that are unbecoming of any premier, though not a surprise,” said Wayne Ewasko, interim PC opposition leader.The serious allegations prompted him to urge House Speaker Tom Lindsey to call for third-party investigation “to restore respect, trust and professionalism in the premier’s office.”It should be launched immediately to either clear Kinew’s name or ensure public servants are protected. No employee in any workplace should be threatened by, or at the mercy of bullying or bad moods.“This isn’t about politics and the fallout between Wab Kinew and Mark Wasyliw,” said Ewasko.“This is about civil servants and staff at the Legislative Assembly — protecting the respectful workplace they deserve and ensuring that people feel safe coming forward to report any misconduct by the premier.”“Manitobans expect a leader who inspires confidence, not fear. The allegations being made are by a lawyer who understands due process and an MLA who is telling Manitobans who their premier really is behind closed doors,” said Ewasko.“We should take his comments seriously and, as elected officials, we have a duty to report wrongdoing and to protect those who are reluctant to come forward in fear of retaliation.”Ewasko called it a “culture crisis of the premier’s own making.”The NDP party said Wasyliw, a criminal defence lawyer who continues to practise law, was thrown out because Gerri Weibe, another lawyer in his practice, is defending Peter Nygard, a former fashion mogul and convicted sexual predator.Nygard, 83, was sentenced to 11 years in prison this week after being found guilty of four counts of sexual assault.“MLA Wasyliw's failure to demonstrate good judgment does not align with our caucus principles of mutual respect and trust, and because of this Wasyliw can no longer continue his role within the caucus,” NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes stated in a news release.Kinew said Tuesday in response to Wasyliw being ousted: “You can be affiliated with the NDP, or you can be affiliated with Peter Nygard, but you can’t do both.”“There are a ton of court dates coming up with Peter Nygard here in Manitoba. This is going to cause concerns and issues for the team. We’d like you to make a decision between working with us or working with Peter Nygard and this MLA made his choice.”“And if these are the things he is saying about me, then I just might have to take him off the Christmas card list this year,” he joked.Wasyliw said he is not law partner with Weibe, doesn’t profit financially, and has no say in who colleagues take on as clients.Wasyliw said the decision to expel him had nothing to do with a colleague representing Nygard and that Kinew and him have a history of locking horns and would, in fact, get into screaming matches disagreeing over policies.“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 told media.“He’s not somebody that wants to work with people. He wants the spotlight and if he feels he has to share it with somebody, he finds that threatening.”“This is a defensive measure on his part that he is trying to get critical strong voices out of caucus so that he is not challenged or questioned on some of these poor decisions he is making.”“My crime that I committed is the fact that I will not allow myself to be bullied.”He claimed there are many caucus members “deeply unhappy with Wab.”“The problem is, they are making big salaries and they have families to feed, and they have to worry about that and that can keep people scared and quiet.”Wasyliw claimed in a post on X that Kinew tried to “distance himself” from the decision to oust him by blaming caucus. Concerns about improper behaviour have been raised in the past.Kinew was scorched in 2018 for telling quadriplegic MLA Steven Fletcher, to keep his mouth shut.In 2020, while in opposition his finance critic and Manitoba’s current finance minister Adrien Sala was found to have breached the respectful workplace policy after harassing the secretary of the Treasury Board, out of his job.In 2021 Kinew and his caucus rejected the findings of an independent, third-party respectful workplace investigation.NDP families minister Nahanni Fontaine harassed MLA Cindy Lamoureux and her family on the legislature steps in 2019. NDP advanced education minister Renee Cable harassed an opposing candidate while out door knocking.Ironically, in 2016 Kinew said the NDP deserved to lose the 2016 election for a toxic NDP workplace culture that involved ministers of the Crown inappropriately touching staffers and planting cameras under their desks: Wasyliw, who was first elected in 2019, said he will remain the MLA for Fort Garry and is “relieved” to be out of the NDP caucus.