Ousted MLA was disrespectful, deceitful long before removal: Manitoba NDP caucus chair

The Manitoba NDP caucus chair says an MLA booted from caucus earlier this week had shown a pattern of deceit and disrespect before he was removed.

The NDP said Monday it was removing Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw from caucus immediately because a colleague in the law practice where he works is representing convicted sexual predator Peter Nygard in court — which the NDP said was a failure by Wasyliw to "demonstrate good judgment."

On Wednesday, caucus chair Mike Moyes said that was just the "straw that broke the camel's back."

"There's been many disrespectful incidents where he has disrespected numerous caucus members, cabinet ministers and the premier, and there's been incidents where he didn't follow our process," Moyes told reporters.

"It unfortunately has come to a place where we needed to make a choice."

Wasyliw, who is a defence lawyer, promised to wind down his law practice prior to the NDP's victory in last fall's provincial election, but changed course after he was not named to Kinew's cabinet, Moyes said.

Caucus leadership met with Wasyliw repeatedly to discuss their concerns and worked to help Wasyliw — first elected in 2019 — become a "team player" and "role model for our new MLAs" over the past year, according to Moyes.

At a caucus meeting Sunday, it was agreed he needed to be removed, said the chair.

"We offered a clear path forward — leave your law practice or leave caucus," he said.

Echoing Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's words from last fall, Moyes added that being an MLA is "a privilege and public service — it's not a side hustle." 

Wasyliw, however, denies there was consensus, a meeting or a vote.

"It would be very easy to prove me wrong," he told CBC Wednesday. "Pull out the other 34 [NDP] MLAs and they can stand behind the mic with Wab and say, 'Yeah, we agree that he should've gone.'

"They will not be able to do that. There was no consensus." 

MLA 'lied numerous times,' caucus chair alleges

After his dismissal on Monday, Wasyliw accused Kinew of being a bullying leader.

Wasyliw doubled down on those comments Wednesday, accusing Moyes of being part of the party's "toxic, dysfunctional culture" and calling the caucus chair's comments "bizarre and untrue." 

The Opposition Progressive Conservatives have called for an investigation into the bullying allegations.

Moyes contends Wasyliw's accusations are an attempt to "distract from his behaviour by peddling falsehoods about cabinet, our party and the premier." 

While Moyes wouldn't provide specifics about incidents with Wasyliw, he did say there was one concerning a private member's bill.

"When you work in a caucus, you work as part of a team. The way that Mark Wasyliw went about that violated that team aspect," said Moyes.

When questioned about it "numerous times … he was deceitful with it," and only later "admitted that he had in fact lied numerous times to numerous people," Moyes alleged. 

He declined to say what the private member's bill concerned, or elaborate on how Wasyliw had lied.

'Refused to be bullied': Wasyliw

Wasyliw, though, claimed that stemmed from a mistake.

He said the private member's bill, which addressed real estate wholesaling, had been drafted, and a lawyer who had worked on it mistakenly put it on the docket. Wasyliw says he was then accused of trying to push it through by Moyes and the premier.

Moyes "immediately accused me of lying … and I defended myself in that meeting," he said. "I refused to be bullied in that way."

Wasyliw also said Wednesday he thinks Kinew owes lawyer Gerri Wiebe — his colleague who is representing Nygard — an apology. 

A number of law associations have condemned the NDP's rationale for removing Wasyliw, including the president of the Manitoba Bar Association, who noted the "crucial role" of defence lawyers in "ensuring a fair and just legal system."

Moyes said the NDP caucus understands that "everyone deserves a defence."

But echoing comments Kinew made Tuesday, he added that "not everyone deserves or has a right to have an MLA defend them.

"So he had a choice to make."