A day after saying he wants Clarence Pettersen back at caucus meetings, Premier Greg Selinger and his colleagues barred the Flin Flon MLA and other dissidents from such a gathering.
While last week’s development does not mean Pettersen’s expulsion is permanent, it did upset one of his fellow caucus rebels.
“I was very disappointed that we couldn’t build on the momentum that we were given by our membership on Sunday,” Dauphin MLA Stan Struthers told CBC.
Struthers was referring to Selinger’s win at the NDP leadership convention, a victory that allowed him to remain premier following an unprecedented caucus revolt.
According to the CBC report, the seven NDP MLAs previously prohibited from caucus meetings remained locked out last Wednesday, March 11, for the first caucus meeting after Selinger’s win.
The previous day, Tuesday, March 10, Selinger was unequivocal when asked whether he wanted those MLAs back at caucus meetings.
“I do. I can’t be any more direct than that,” he told the Globe and Mail.
Selinger also said a caucus committee had been formed to examine how the dissidents may regain full caucus privileges, if they so choose.
Pettersen has said he is optimistic he will return to caucus meetings. He has announced he will seek re-election in 2016.
He and five other NDP MLAs were expelled from caucus meetings last fall after publicly calling on Selinger to quit. A seventh MLA is barred for an unrelated controversy.
