Protesters say ‘Just resign already’

Days after being rebuffed in his bid to re-enter the NDP caucus, Regina-lewvan MP Erin Weir faced a small group of protesters calling on him to resign.

About six protesters showed up at a barbecue Weir hosted Sunday at Firehall Park in northwest Regina. According to a photo that organizer Chelsea Flook posted to Twitter, they came bearing a large banner with a simple message: “Just resign already.”

Flook, who has been associated with the group Stop the Cuts, said she came in a personal capacity and put together the demonstration in less than 24 hours. She expressed frustration over the way Weir has handled allegations that he harassed women in the party, as well as his conduct during a subsequent investigation.

“From the beginning, Erin Weir has politicized this process and has shown that he really doesn’t understand the issues,” Flook said in a statement, pointing to an internal report that followed the investigation.

“We need to keep in mind that the report found Weir’s behaviour to have caused ‘significant negative impacts’ for the complainants. That’s harassment.”

The protest comes after 67 former Saskatchewan NDP MPS and MLAS signed a letter supporting Weir, who has maintained that the alleged harassment stemmed from social awkwardness, including close talking and failure to pick up social cues. He said the report vindicated his position, but it has never been made public in full.

However, portions that have come to light in past reporting suggested the behaviour was on the “less serious” end of the spectrum.

Flook said she wanted to show that the letter doesn’t represent the unified views of Saskatchewan’s left.

“There are people here locally that are not happy with the way things have gone,” she said.

Flook said she felt Weir acted inappropriately by publicly challenging one of his accusers. As a survivor of sexual assault herself, she feared that he was “mobilizing stereotypes” and delegitimizing the #metoo movement.

She said she was also worried about the implications for next year’s federal election.

“If he chooses to run and there’s another NDP candidate, they might split the vote,” she said.

At this point, she said there is little Weir could do to win her trust.

“I think that his actions in the wake of all of this have shown me who he is,” she said.