I THINK THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED BETTER.

motion last week so as not to be seen as supporting anti-abortion groups. Christopherson was the sole NDP MP to vote with the Conservatives. Last week, Christopherson told the Post that he has always been pro-choice, but that he was defending Canadians’ right to dissent.

On Friday, the Post reported that Christopherson had been removed from his position as vice-chair of the House of Commons procedure committee for his decision to break ranks. New Democrats were quick to speak out in support of the senior MP. On Tuesday, Angus told the Globe and Mail that the decision showed a “lack of respect” for a senior member of caucus. Quebec MP Romeo Saganash said Christopherson should “absolutely” be reinstated.

By Tuesday evening, Singh had backed down, saying in a statement that he wants to keep “an open line for dialogue” within the caucus and Christopherson would return to his committee role. Christopherson said Singh had “shown himself to be a strong leader.”

NDP insiders say much of the problem stemmed from poor communication, in part because the vote occurred immediately after a two-week break and the caucus had no chance to discuss it together.

B.C. MP Nathan Cullen said a broader discussion would have been “much better than sorting it out on the fly, one by one, which is what was happening.” Cullen, who expressed concerns about the Liberals’ attestation back in January, did not vote on the Conservative motion.

Another MP said there were emails going back and forth on the day of the vote, with several New Democrats expressing similar concerns to Christopherson’s. In the end, however, Christopherson was the only New Democrat to vote against the party line.

But insiders suggest Singh miscalculated the severity of the punishment, perhaps not realizing how strongly Christopherson felt about his role on the procedure committee. “He was ready for punishment; I don’t think he was expecting it to be this far,” one source told the Post.

Ultimately, Singh made the right decision to back down on the punishment, several caucus members suggested.

But the drama raises some questions about whether Singh has found his stride as leader. One NDP source compared Singh to former leader Thomas Mulcair, saying Singh favours a more open approach. “Tom was known for his very tight grip,” the source said, adding that the caucus doesn’t want to be as tightly controlled under Singh.

This isn’t the first time Singh has had to change course under pressure from his caucus. This incident comes just one week after Singh had to clarify his position on Sikh extremism after what some in his caucus felt was an unsatisfactory initial response. Last fall, he had to change his position on bilingualism requirements for Supreme Court judges after suggesting the requirement could be waived to encourage Indigenous candidates.