Gazan one of three NDP MPs to question election of interim leader
Manitoba's only NDP MP is one of three caucus members who signed a letter questioning the process that chose the interim leader, Don Davies.
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan, along with Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan, sent the letter to the NDP federal executive and council days after Davies was appointed interim leader May 5. The letter says the process was done behind closed doors and 'failed to uphold democratic and transparent principles.'
As per party rules, the NDP national council is responsible for choosing an interim leader. The three MPs said there was no formal consultation on who should be appointed.
DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Don Davies (right) was chosen as the NDP's interim leader after Jagmeet Singh stepped down.
'As a party that espouses democratic processes, we must model transparent and democratic processes in rebuilding the New Democratic Party,' the letter reads. 'Regrettably, the process so far has missed the mark and risks sowing deeper division.'
The letter was leaked to media and reported by the Globe and Mail.
On May 5, Gazan reposted the announcement about Davies' appointment on X: 'Great finding out through the news…. Go 'team' NDP.'
The letter suggests the council take its decision to the party caucus and require that it be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote.
Gazan, Idlout and Kwan are three of seven New Democrat MPs elected to Parliament April 28, down from 24 before the writ was dropped.
Davies, a Vancouver MP since 2008, was named interim leader after Jagmeet Singh stepped down following his loss in his own riding.
Gazan did not respond to a request for comment, but in a tweet Saturday, she called the leak 'unfortunate.'
'We value and respect all our caucus colleagues, including Don Davies. In writing the letter, we were seeking to review and discuss our concerns with the process and come to an agreement on how we move forward together,' she wrote in the post, which was co-signed by Idlout and Kwan.
'We must return to our roots in ensuring an inclusive and democratic engagement. We must rebuild our party based on a foundation of trust and solidarity.'
The decision to send a letter that questions a core party process is a strong show of pushback against what Kelly Saunders, a Brandon University political science professor, describes as 'omniscient party discipline' in Canadian politics.
'MPs that do this, do it at enormous potential personal cost and professional cost as well. I think for her to do that she would have had to weigh all of that carefully,' she said.
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'She's not a rookie politician now, she's experienced. I'm sure she weighed all of that and and clearly made the decision that the stakes were simply too high for her to remain silent.'
Saunders said the huge electoral loss and the importance of the interim leader's role toward rebuilding the party likely pushed the three MPs to act, Saunders said.
'It all begins with the interim leader,' she said.
'If the process is not seen to be legitimate or open and welcoming and inclusive, then that's going to taint everything that happens moving forward.'
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
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