Where is the punishment in politics?

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/10/2018 (2157 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pallister government had little choice, and so, as of Monday, Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon is out of the Progressive Conservative caucus and will sit as an Independent.

The PCs had to do something after it came to light that Graydon had acted inappropriately to female staffers. The 70-ish MLA had undergone “sensitivity training” — whatever that means — in the past and has now gone on sick leave, while still getting a paycheque. But if Premier Brian Pallister was to maintain any kind of credibility, his caucus had to take decisive steps in dealing with this complaint.

So, it’s out with the old, very old, way of thinking, and Graydon is in the penalty box of the Independents.

It was only last February that Pallister and his government talked about implementing a “zero tolerance” sexual-harassment policy for all government employees, with “no wrong door” approach to reporting. At that time, two high-profile NDP staffers had come forward, describing their harassment at the hands of former NDP cabinet minister Stan Struthers.

In an interview then, Pallister said, “In recent weeks, several courageous women have come forward to speak about harassment in the (Manitoba legislature) workplace, and they have prompted others to do the same. Their decisions have made it very, very clear to me and my colleagues that we must do our utmost to change the culture that has led to their complaints in the first place.”

Five women described inappropriate conduct that ranged from language to tickling and groping. Struthers did apologize and NDP Leader Wab Kinew has described it as a “failure of leadership.”

So, fast-forward to Monday, and Graydon is out of caucus, joining Independent MLA Mohinder Saran, a former New Democrat, who also was thrown out of his party’s caucus after allegations of sexual harassment.

Saran was expelled in January 2017. He had initially been suspended in 2016 after a staffer told interim leader Flor Marcelino that Saran had sexually harassed her. It was the second sexual-harassment allegation against Saran, the first having come late in the mandate of the former NDP government.

But is being relegated to the ranks of the Independents really punishment?

Other than losing face — and for Graydon, the added bonus of being in government — both of these men will still have access to the legislature, to benefits, to salaries and to constituency events.

There’s been very little in the way of updates on how the women who were subjected to the harassment will be protected from either men, although in the case of Saran, media reports say one complainant has been moved to another job. One woman who reported inappropriate behaviour from Graydon is said to have left government work.

Sure, Graydon is no longer the Tories’ problem, but he’s still an MLA. And so it is with Saran — no longer in the NDP fold, but still a member of the legislature. That’s the issue with elected officials who behave badly: you can’t fire them.

Why aren’t the residents of Saran’s and Graydon’s constituencies screaming for byelections? Certainly, if either of them had crossed the floor to join another party, the electorate would have been calling for them to resign. Why isn’t that happening now?

Word on the street is that Graydon is still well supported in Emerson, which may explain why Pallister isn’t using some of his considerable heft to pressure him to resign and/or his supporters at home to show him the door so that a byelection can be called and Emerson can stay in Tory hands. Perhaps it’s the same with the Maples and Saran.

And so, as it stands, we’re paying for two lame-duck MLAs who are still getting salaries and nice pensions — hardly what you would call being punished.

Shannon Sampert is the director of the media centre for public policy and knowledge mobilization at the University of Winnipeg.

s.sampert@uwinnipeg.caTwitter: @paulysigh