Cabinet door closes, simmering backbench argument opens

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This article was published 30/10/2023 (719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just as it appeared the most exciting period of Mark Wasyliw’s political career had started, it collapsed in a heap of poor judgment.

The MLA for Fort Garry, lawyer and a reasonably strong performer in Opposition was not among those tapped this month by Premier Wab Kinew for the first NDP cabinet in more than seven years.

The omission prompted Wasyliw to make the very obvious point of not shaking hands with Kinew following the swearing-in ceremony. It also triggered the public admission: “Given that I’m not in cabinet, I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands and I’m going to be taking more cases and working as a defence lawyer still.”

Wasyliw said he would continue attending community events on evenings and weekends, but otherwise had huge holes in his Monday-to-Friday daytime schedule.

If all that were not enough, Wasyliw also responded to some constituents who criticized his behaviour, arguing as a backbencher, he only needs to be in the legislature 60 days a year. “There is no meaningful role for backbench MLAs in the legislative process,” he wrote.

There’s a lot to unpack, but let’s start with the fact for all intents and purposes, Wasyliw’s future with the NDP may be quite limited.

In snubbing the new premier and suggesting his MLA workload was so light he could continue practising law, Wasyliw has pretty much convinced everyone in a position to promote him he is not built for a life as a cabinet minister.

However, Wasyliw may have also convinced his party he isn’t built to be an MLA. His comments, no doubt a result of anger and disappointment, are a bit of an insult to all elected officials in the legislature.

Memo to Wasyliw: if you’re a full-time MLA and you only have enough to do to fill part-time hours, you’re not doing it properly.

Memo to Wasyliw: if you’re a full-time MLA and you only have enough to do to fill part-time hours, you’re not doing it properly.

Being a cabinet minister is a good gig and no one should fault the Fort Garry MLA for wanting the role. However, in expressing his anger, he erroneously insinuates the work MLAs do in the Manitoba legislature in the making of laws is really the only major responsibility he has as an elected official.

Wrong. The most important, most impactful work is at the constituency level, where MLAs help citizens navigate government programs, mediate and solve disputes, and generally help people connect with, and get the most out of, the provincial government.

Most provincial and federal elected officials find constituency work — not the “attend community events” category Wasyliw mentioned — is intense and time-consuming. If Wasyliw really cared about his constituents, he could double down on that work and never run out of things to do.

Wasyliw’s decision to openly criticize his party for leaving him out of cabinet is also a reminder to Kinew the moment you win an election, you start fighting political wars on two fronts: with the opposition parties and with forces within your own party.

There are few moments when you are more at war with your own people than when it comes time to assemble a cabinet.

The first minister needs to balance important qualities such as gender and ethnicity with things such as sexual orientation, language and past performance while in opposition.

If that weren’t enough, the premier also needs to consider using cabinet to promote the personal brands of new MLAs holding strategically key seats won in the recent hard-fought election.

When the music accompanying Kinew’s cabinet deliberations came to a sudden stop, a few worthy MLAs were left without chairs.

All of which is to say, when the music accompanying Kinew’s cabinet deliberations came to a sudden stop, a few worthy MLAs were left without chairs. That kind of experience can burn a lot of bridges between political allies.

But was Wasyliw really a cabinet candidate?

Party sources confirmed Kinew and leadership had, prior to winning the Oct. 3 election, let Wasyliw know they were unhappy with his decision to continue practising law. They were doubly unhappy when the then-governing Progressive Conservatives learned about Wasyliw’s moonlighting and fashioned an attack ad based on the somewhat provocative advertisements he used to promote his firm.

“Drinking and driving is not against the law” and “Facing sexual assault charges in Winnipeg? We can help!” may be excellent slogans for attracting new clients, but they are not really suitable for a lawyer who is, first and foremost, a member of the now-governing party in the Manitoba legislature.

When you combine a somewhat chequered past with Kinew’s desire to create the most diverse cabinet in Manitoba political history — and it certainly is — it was fairly certain there were going to be some white men left on the outside looking in.

At some point, men like Wasyliw have to acknowledge while theoretically they could serve in cabinet, practically it was time to give under-represented groups the opportunity to grasp the levers of power.

If Wasyliw can’t rationalize his place in that very complex equation, he is destined to suffer some pretty obvious consequences.

Just as there is no “I” in team, there will be no Wasyliw in the NDP cabinet.

dan.lett@winnipegfreepress.com