B.C. NDP factions brace for weekend showdown

Both sides of the B.C. NDP caucus are bracing for a high-stakes political showdown this weekend when the party leaders meet for a secret summit that will likely determine the fate of party leader Carole James.

On Thursday, the Opposition leader appeared with 13 MLAs at a news conference in Vancouver after the party's longest-serving MLA, Jenny Kwan, unleashed a scathing critique of James's leadership and called for an immediate leadership convention.

Flanked by supporters, James said she has no plans to step down and instead called for an emergency meeting of the party's caucus, executive and other high-ranking officials at an undisclosed location this weekend to deal with the growing dissent within her caucus.

Divided caucus

Veteran MLA Harry Lali is among a faction of 13 dissident MLAs heading into this emergency meeting hoping James will agree to hold the leadership convention.

"There's a tight-knit group of advisers around Carole James who have been giving her bad advice and they have been giving her bad advice consistently for years and that's why we have come to this very critical juncture in the history of the New Democratic Party," said Lali.

Lali said the NDP leader should not be trying — in his words — to beat 13 people "over the head with a hammer" to bring them into line.

"I think if it was one or two dissidents, yeah, you could do that, but when you've got 13 people in the caucus, that's 40 per cent of the caucus, you just don't have the moral authority to do that," said Lali.

Kwan, meanwhile, said the caucus is deeply divided, and divisions won't disappear unless James seeks a new mandate. 

"The situation is such that we do have a major problem," said Kwan.

The party has become "irrelevant in the hearts and minds of British Columbians" because of James's inability to deal with difficult policy choices, she said.

In Kwan's statement Wednesday, she said B.C. voters want to get rid of the governing Liberals, but feel they have no real alternative in the NDP.

Rookie MLA Lana Popham agrees.

"Non-stop I get feedback from constituents who are questioning our direction," she said.

Other dissenters include Leonard Krog, Lana Popham, Claire Trevena and Doug Routley, as well as Gary Coons, Nicholas Simons, Robin Austin and Michael Sather.

A vocal minority

During her speech on Thursday, James called Kwan and other dissident MLAs a vocal minority and refused to concede Kwan's demand for a leadership convention.

"All of us at some time ... have faced a vocal minority trying to silence a majority, and people are often afraid to speak up," she said.

"Well, I'm speaking up, because it is time to say enough of this kind of behaviour," said James.

The upcoming emergency meeting will allow caucus to talk about members' "unacceptable" actions over the past several months and about getting back on the path of rebuilding and uniting, James said.

It will also be the setting where caucus members can decide what should be done about Kwan's very public and thorough denunciation, she said.

"It isn't simply Jenny speaking out against me, she is speaking out against the party and the direction the party has set," James said, explaining how the situation differed from her expulsion of former Quesnel-area New Democrat Bob Simpson.

Despite accusing Kwan of assailing the whole caucus, James noted she still believes it's possible to get the four-term MLA from East Vancouver back on board.

Recent vote of support

At a meeting of the party's provincial council less than two weeks ago, party members voted 84 per cent in favour of keeping James on as leader.

But the vote failed to quell the controversy that began with Simpson's public criticism of James in September.

His expulsion sparked the resignations of caucus chairman Norm Macdonald and caucus whip Katrine Conroy, and resulted in the public outing of at least a dozen NDP caucus members with issues about James's leadership.

None of the NDP MLAs standing beside James would say what might happen next if the meeting doesn't cool the smouldering split.

"I think people are angry and people are frustrated, but what's important is finding a way through this," said Mike Farnworth, Opposition house leader. Farnworth refused to say whether members would be expelled if they don't get on side.

Health critic Adrian Dix said he doesn't believe one meeting alone will resolve all the tensions, but he expressed hope caucus members will find a way to work together.

"I never base my actions on the assumption of failure," he said when asked for the next steps if the meeting changes nothing.

Many in the room, including James, agreed they were "disappointed" by Kwan's remarks.

"No one is above the party and no one is bigger than the caucus and the will of the majority and the compliance of the party constitution applies to all of us," said transportation critic Harry Bains.