Backbencher out of Manitoba NDP caucus over Nygard link, accuses premier of bullying

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s governing New Democrats ousted backbencher and defence lawyer Mark Wasyliw from caucus Monday, and Wasyliw fired back by accusing Premier Wab Kinew of being a micromanaging, toxic bully.

The NDP said it removed Wasyliw because a partner at his law firm is representing convicted sex offender and disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

“Wasyliw’s failure to demonstrate good judgment does not align with our caucus principles of mutual respect and trust,” caucus chair Mike Moyes said in a written statement. The NDP said no further comment would come, and Kinew was in Minnesota and unavailable.

Wasyliw said he believes the reason for his removal is that he has butted heads with Kinew on some issues.

“Wab Kinew is a toxic and dysfunctional leader,” Wasyliw said in an interview Monday.

“It’s not a collaborative environment. It’s sort of Wab telling people what to do and then being horrible to them when it’s not done perfectly.”

The premier ignores caucus and cabinet concerns, Wasyliw said, and forces others to take the blame when things go wrong.

“He controls all the decisions at the legislature. Nobody has any agency. All the decisions are his,” Wasyliw said.

“He gets an idea in his head … and he goes ahead with it no matter what the damage. And I don’t want to be part of that, frankly.”

Wasyliw said he will continue to sit in the legislature as an Independent and to speak for constituents who feel the NDP has strayed from its traditional values.

The Criminal Defence Lawyer Association of Manitoba condemned the rationale for Wasyliw’s ouster.

“When criminal defence lawyers are told that they will be punished for their work upholding important constitutional rights such as the right to a fair trial, it creates a chill in our system of justice and sends the message that we can be punished for having unpopular clients,” the group said in a press release.

Nygard, who founded his fashion empire in Winnipeg, was sentenced earlier this month to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women at his company’s headquarters in Toronto. The 83-year-old continues to face charges in Manitoba, Quebec and the United States.

The NDP defended Wasyliw in 2019, when the Progressive Conservatives criticized him for representing impaired drivers. At the time, the NDP caucus said defence lawyers play an important role in ensuring the constitutional rights of Canadians to a fair trial.

Wasyliw’s comments are the first public sign of dissent within the NDP, which swept to power last October. The government continues to ride high in opinion polls and has, until now, presented a very united front.

A political analyst said the NDP’s reason for removing Wasyliw doesn’t make sense and there must have been ongoing friction between Wasyliw and others in the caucus.

“There’s more to the story,” said Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

Wasyliw, the legislature member for the Fort Garry seat in Winnipeg, was first elected in 2019. Before the NDP formed government in 2023, he served as the party’s finance critic.

There were possible signs of tension between Wasyliw and Kinew last fall. Wasyliw did not get a cabinet post and didn’t shake hands with the new premier after being sworn into office. Other caucus members shook Kinew’s hand, hugged or offered a fist bump.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

Brittany Hobson and Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press