MLA ousted from NDP caucus sues premier, cabinet minister for defamation

Former New Democrat MLA Mark Wasyliw is suing Premier Wab Kinew, his natural resources minister and another NDP caucus member, alleging the trio conspired to defame him as an excuse to oust him from the party.

Wasyliw, now an independent Member of the Legislative Assembly representing Fort Garry, was booted from the NDP in September 2024, which the party claimed was due to Wasyliw’s former law partner representing convicted sex offender and disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard.

Wasyliw’s lawyers filed a statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench just before Christmas naming Kinew, Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie and Seine River MLA Billie Cross as defendants.

“At the time the plaintiff had been ousted from the NDP, the defendants made public statements directed at the plaintiff which were reckless, false and defamatory with a complete disregard for truth or accuracy,” reads the Dec. 23 court filing.

Wasyliw, who is a defence lawyer, claims statements the three defendants made in September 2024, linking him to Nygard or accusing him of lying, harmed him and his reputation.

“The defamatory statements were false to the knowledge of the defendants and were published maliciously as both an unjustifiable and misleading excuse to oust the plaintiff from the NDP and to reduce his political standing in the community,” reads the court claim.

He alleges the three politicians either orchestrated a scheme to make defamatory statements about him to intentionally cause him harm, or that when they made the statements in concert they ought to have known harm would have resulted.

“He can be affiliated with the NDP or he can be affiliated with Peter Nygard, but he can’t be both,” Kinew told reporters on Sept. 17, 2024, a day after Wasyliw was kicked out of caucus. “That’s the choice that was put to this MLA, and he decided to go with his law practice instead of with the team.”

“The defamatory statements were false to the knowledge of the defendants and were published maliciously as both an unjustifiable and misleading excuse to oust the plaintiff from the NDP.”

Further, in an exchange with a reporter, Kinew denied Wasyliw’s claims the premier “lunged” at him in 2019, that he said “I’m the leader, you do what I tell you to do” and that he was asked to “lie for Wab,” were at all true.

Wasyliw claims those statements, among others, were defamatory.

In the court filing, he points to claims he did not have “the requisite values” to be a member of the NDP, the implication that there is “something unseemly or immoral about being a defence lawyer,” that he was associated with Nygard, that he lacks integrity and that he’s a liar, as particularly defamatory.

Further, the court papers claim, Kinew’s allegations were “highly deleterious” to Wasyliw’s business, political, professional and personal reputation.

Wasyliw says the premier’s statements were made maliciously with the intent to cause embarrassment, humiliation and loss to him.

“Kinew’s statements are designed and intended to negatively alter the perception of the plaintiff in the community and were further designed to diminish the character, reputation, goodwill and standing of the plaintiff in the community,” reads the court filing.

“As a result of Kinew’s statements, the plaintiff’s reputation has been seriously injured, with his image in the community catastrophically damaged beyond repair.”

The court papers claim Cross made statements that same month about Wasyliw’s “abuse” of members of the NDP leadership team — saying she used the term because he raised his voice — as well as his alleged connection to Nygard, all of which he said defamed him.

Further, Wasyliw claims, Bushie made statements accusing him of a “pattern of deceit and dishonesty,” of “peddling falsehoods” and about his alleged association with Nygard, which he says were defamatory.

Wasyliw is seeking an injunction barring the defendants from directly or indirectly defaming him or from making “any other kind of communication” that defames hims.

Further, he’s asked the court to order them to publish a full apology and retraction of the claims that Wasyliw says defamed him.

He’s also asked for various unspecified monetary damages for the alleged irreparable harm to his reputation.

None of the defendants has responded to the claim in court. On Monday, Wasyliw and NDP officials declined comment on the lawsuit.

The NDP’s decision to link Wasyliw’s ouster to his former colleague, defence lawyer Gerri Wiebe, representing Nygard sparked outrage from defence lawyers and others in the legal profession in Manitoba and across the country.

Kinew later apologized to Wiebe and to defence lawyers more broadly.

“I cannot recall a situation in which a sitting MLA sued his or her party over how they were treated within the governing party.”

University of Manitoba political studies professor emeritus Paul Thomas said “rogue MLAs” have resigned or been evicted from party caucuses for a variety of reasons.

“However, I cannot recall a situation in which a sitting MLA sued his or her party over how they were treated within the governing party,” Thomas said Monday.

Like most parties, the NDP insists on loyalty to the leader, its brand and presenting an outward image of party unity, he said.

“After having been excluded from cabinet, Mr. Wasyliw apparently could not abide with the constraints of being a backbencher whose main task was to be a cheerleader for the premier and a brand messenger for the party,” he said.

Wasyliw, Thomas said, “clearly harbours some deep-seated resentment and personal animosity towards the premier and other party officials.”

In addition to bitterness, the lawsuit is probably motivated Wasyliw’s desire to rehabilitate his public reputation in case he intends to run again in 2027, he said.

Wasyliw said Monday that he hasn’t made a decision yet about whether he will run again in the next provincial election.

— With files from Carol Sanders

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

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