Selinger quits politics under cloud

Ex-Manitoba premier caught up in fallout over alleged harassment by former minister

WINNIPEG — Former Manitoba NDP premier Greg Selinger says he will resign his legislature seat on March 7.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew asked Selinger last week to step down following allegations that Stan Struthers — a cabinet minister when Selinger was premier — had inappropriately touched some female employees years ago.

Selinger apologized but said he was unaware at the time that anything had happened.

Some of the women said they raised their concerns with people within the government but that their complaints were not dealt with by anyone in authority.

Selinger said he is sorry he became part of the focus of the complaints last week.

He said people should have been concentrating on what the women had to say.

“The focus properly should have been on hearing their voices,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “It wasn’t, and I want to apologize for contributing to that.”

He said he plans to retire after representing the constituency of St. Boniface since 1999.

Selinger served as Manitoba premier between 2009 and 2016.

“It has been a privilege and an honour to serve the citizens of St. Boniface and I wish to thank them for their encouragement to continue,” he said. “I will cherish the experience forever.”

The Manitoba NDP has said it plans to appoint two women to lead a commission to help develop a safe workplace policy for the party and create protocols for a harassment-free environment.