Rebel MLA disappointed by Manitoba NDP caucus snub

A cabinet minister who called on Greg Selinger to quit is disappointed withthe way premier has acted this week.

Dauphin MLA Stan Struthers said he thought everyone would be allowed to attend a caucus meeting after Selingers winSundayat the NDP leadership convention.

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Instead, seven caucus members were barred from attending the first NDP caucus meeting Wednesday at the Manitoba Legislature post-convention.

"I was very disappointed that we couldn't build on the momentum that we were given by our membershipon Sunday," Struthers said.

Seine River MLA Theresa Oswald lost to Selinger Sunday at an NDP leadership convention by 33 votes.

• Selinger parts ways with senior staffers who backed Oswald

Selinger called the convention after Oswald, Struthers and three other high-ranking cabinet ministers called on him to step down last November.

After a brief and uneasy truce with the premier, the five ministers held a press conference Nov. 5 to resign from cabinet.

"Theresa made it very clear that we would respect the wishes of the membership," Struthers said.

"I was hopeful that that meant that we could start working with all our oars in the water and travelling in the same direction, but that hasn't been the case as of yet."

Selinger undecided on what to do with rebels

Fort Rouge MLA Jennifer Howard and Minto MLA Andrew Swan, two of the dissidents, told CBC News Thursdaythey intend to run for the NDP in the April 2016 provincial election.

The other three dissidents havent decided if they will run.

"There's a lot up in the air right now," Southdale MLA Erin Selby said in a written statement.

"I'm waiting to see what happens before I make any decisions. The premier said he wants to bring the caucus and party together, and Im interested in the same thing. The ball is in his court right now."

Rebuilding party 1 by 1

Jobs and the economy minister Kevin Chief said the rebuilding of the NDP is something all caucus members are committed to.

He said even if some members are barred from wider meetings, conversations can still happen one on one.

"Coming back together and being together is one part of it, Chief said Thursday. A lot of the work that's actually going to happen is going to be those conversations, is going to be talking to one another.

Chief said he's reached out to some of the rebels since Sunday's vote but its up to the entire caucus to decide if the rebels will be allowed back in.

Chief wouldn't give a timeline of when he'd like to see them back as full participating members of the NDP caucus.

"Some of them I've spoken to consistently throughout the whole leadership campaign," Chief said. "There's not one caucus member that I wouldn't feel comfortable calling, asking for support, asking for advice and I'm going to continue to do this."

'We had a caucus meeting that left people out'

In December, the NDP caucus stripped the five former ministers and outspoken Flin Flon MLA Clarence Pettersen of decision-making powers and blocked them from attending caucus meetings.

At that time, embattled independent MLA Christine Melnick was brought back into the NDP caucus with the same limited powers.

Melnick was tossed from the NDP caucus in February 2014 for admitting she mislead legislators during a house debate.

"I think the members of the party gave us a very direct message to come together and to unify and focus on fighting Brian Pallister in the next election," Struthers said. "Instead we had a caucus meeting that left people out.

Struthers said he hasn't spoken to the premier since the party voteSunday.

He is open to re-joining cabinet but said it's not his decision. He said Selinger needs to establish a "unity cabinet."

"I'm not going to put any pressure on the premier one way or another. I don't have a demand to be in cabinet. If he asks me to be, I will gladly be He needs to be courageous enough to make the decisions that are necessary to allow our party the best chance to compete."

Leadership contender Ashton staying silent

Thompson MLA Steve Ashton ran against Oswald and Selinger for party leadership but got the lowest amount of votes from NDP delegates and was dropped from the race after the first ballot.

Ashton was not part of the rebellion and was allowed atWednesday'scaucus meeting.

"We had a caucus meeting, and it was good to be in caucus and that's really the only thing that I can comment on," he saidThursday.

Since Sunday, Ashton has focused on catching up on constituency work. He wouldn't comment on the dissidents absence from the meeting.

Ashton resigned as transportation and infrastructure minister in December to run in the leadership race. He wouldn't say if he had spoken to the premier or if he would be welcomed back now.

"Any discussions I've had with the premier are between me and the premier," Ashton said.