Opinion: Mark Wasyliw and the public pout
‘There is no meaningful role for backbench MLAs in the legislative process.”
— Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw
After reading Dan Lett’s column (Cabinet door closes, simmering backbench argument opens, Oct. 31) I felt compelled to write a letter to the editor of the Free Press.
This is not a decision I take lightly. So I struck a committee of ethical advisers. This is always risky because some who are willing to sit on committees bring the kind of passion that makes them argumentative.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Files
Mark Wasyliw during the swearing in ceremony at the Manitoba Legislative Assembly on Oct. 23.
But this committee did not bog down in the mud of unproductive disharmony. They took minutes to arrive at a consensus. They informed me that I had disqualified myself from writing letters to the editor.
If the editor chooses to publish my letter, it means that another reader is being denied the privilege of having theirs published. That other reader isn’t getting two scoops of public attention each week in Free Press newspaper columns.
I spent some time reviewing the committee’s decision and so here you have it in writing: I have chosen not to write a letter to the editor. Instead I will, in this column, deploy the Dan Lett quote that inspired my desire to write a letter. “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.”
Fort Garry MLA Mark Wasyliw publicly refused to shake Premier Wab Kinew’s hand, after the swearing in of the new cabinet on Oct. 18.
Wasyliw expected to be in that cabinet. So his feelings of rejection motivated him to disrespect his leader and to make public remarks about the minimal amount of time he plans to spend on being a backbench MLA and the maximum amount of time he would devote to his full time job — his legal practice.
Had Wasyliw struck a committee made up of my advisers, I am confident Mr. Lett would never have written his column and I wouldn’t be typing this one.
Full disclosure: I live in the provincial constituency of Fort Garry.
My decision not to vote for Wasyliw in the Oct. 3 provincial election has been reinforced by his public pout. Not shaking the premier’s hand because he didn’t appoint you to cabinet, is like being on the losing side of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and not shaking the hands of the winners. In both the NHL and the provincial legislature, that’s poor form.
And I can tell you that without consulting my ethics committee. It’s just something I know, having been mentored by a grandmother who told me that poverty, something she was familiar with, didn’t prevent people from being honourable. But choosing to live without honour was, in her view, life’s poorest decision.
When my MLA chose not to shake the hand of the premier, he dishonoured democracy and all the people of Manitoba. That includes the many who, just like me, did not vote NDP.
Regardless of which party I favour, I demonstrate respect for the democratic will of the people, by congratulating the winner. The grandmother who taught me about honour had no use for sore losers. So I am confident that if she’s getting delivery of the Free Press in heaven, she would approve the following sentence.
Fort Garry NDP MLA Mark Wasyliw needs to resign now.
I don’t expect he’ll be taking advice from me. But he is my MLA and even though he did not get my vote, I have the right as a constituent to tell him to keep his full-time job as a lawyer and to stop treating the MLA job as a side hustle.
Mr. Wasyliw, you need to resign today to give the people of Fort Garry an opportunity to elect a full-time MLA, and possibly one whose good judgment qualifies them for Premier Kinew’s cabinet. You’ll be qualified for a senior role in government after you climb Mount Everest without a backpack or a parka.
If that’s too subtle, Mr. Wasyliw, that means I agree with the premier.
You’re not qualified.
You have dishonoured democracy, public service and the people of Manitoba. So I wish you good luck in your full-time legal career. As for your career in elected public service, time’s up, Mr. Wasyliw. Please leave your parking pass at the entrance to the People’s House.
Rest assured, the people of Manitoba will approve a decision to remove your charming personality from their property.
Charles Adler is a longtime political commenter and podcaster.
