Weir deserves presumption of innocence
Outrage over exiled MP centres on bizarre accounts, says David Krayden
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh told Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir last week that he will not be allowed back into the party’s caucus. Not only that, he will never be authorized to run as an NDP candidate again — ever. For a guy who has spent his life fighting for the quasi-socialist cause, this must come as a terrible, visceral shock. Everybody knows the chances of winning a seat in a federal election as an independent are next to zero.
I am not a fan of the New Democrats, and have opposed just about every policy this party has supported over the decades. I met Erin Weir when he ran unsuccessfully for the Regina riding of Wascana in the 2004 federal election. I thought he was a kid who took himself and his politics a little too seriously.
But I’m taking Singh’s decision to excommunicate Weir from his party just as seriously.
It’s not just a travesty of justice for the MP, but an ominous declaration of Singh’s dogmatic belief that men are presumed guilty in any sexual misconduct allegation and women must always be believed.
While the media swarmed around the sexual misconduct story surrounding former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown, Singh made the following unforgettable and unforgivable remark:
“If you are asking me when I was a lawyer in a legal lens, there is a discussion or presumption of innocence — but that is strictly about the procedures in court,” he said.
This was a code of conduct that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assiduously adhered to but has been less than forceful in saying so since his own episode of alleged sexual harassment was exhumed some months ago.
So in other words, that’s why Weir has been booted to the political wilderness. You just can’t believe a word he says because he’s a man. And this all started with the unsubstantiated declaration of another NDP MP who said Weir was the “last person” who should be running for a caucus position.
That’s as public as the accusations against Weir ever got, as an “independent investigation,” conducted in secret decided that the MP must have been guilty of something because where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And that’s precisely how substantive and exhaustive this investigation ever got. The criticism of Weir, distilled, was that he was tall, had a deep voice and stood too close to people. Wow.
You might begin to accept judgment if you subscribe to this Orwellian code of ethics, but apparently 68 former Saskatchewan MPS and MLAS aren’t willing to join the pusillanimous crew now occupying seats in the House of Commons. They have come to Weir’s defence and demanded to know what evidence exists to pronounce such a sentence. They point out that Weir is a fourth generation CCF-NDP supporter and that he has worked hard for his party. They also note that all the outrage over the exiled MP centres on bizarre accounts that he stands too close to people and intimidates them.
Singh says he is not satisfied that Weir has demonstrated true repentance or has learned his lesson. But that is exactly what the sexual misconduct inquisitors want: Even if you believe yourself innocent, you must shout your remorse. It’s the same sort of confession that Stalin demanded from his victims at the show trials where he demanded they admit their guilt in addition to getting a bullet in the back of the head.
Singh needs to give his head a shake; or the party needs to shake itself loose from him. David Krayden is the Ottawa bureau chief for The Daily Caller. Previously he served as a public affairs officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and as a communications manager on Parliament Hill.