A University of Saskatchewan professor says Jody Wilson-Raybould’s expulsion from the Liberal caucus sends the wrong message to Indigenous voters.
The former attorney general Wilson-Raybould left cabinet earlier this year over a disagreement with the Prime Minister’s Office over the handling of the SNC Lavalin affair.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expelled Wilson-Raybould from caucus this week.
Ken Coates, who teaches at the Johnson-Shoyama School of Public Policy, says it will be very difficult now for Trudeau to say he is interested in engaging Indigenous people in government after what has happened.
“When he says I am really interested in getting Indigenous people into the mainstream of government, you know he’s the one who kicked out the Indigenous leader Jody Wilson-Raybould who was probably the most impressive federal Indigenous politician in history,” he says.
Former Indigenous services minister Jane Philpott was also expelled from the Liberal caucus for her support of Wilson-Raybould.
Coates adds the whole way the Liberal caucus reacted to the expulsion of the two women is nothing short of shameful.
“I think the scene at the end where the caucus was standing and cheering him for evicting two very highly respected and highly talented cabinet ministers reflects badly on the Liberal party and the caucus as a whole. It suggests sort of a ganging up exercise that makes the whole thing look even more unsavoury than it was before.”
Both Wilson-Raybould and Philpott have also been stripped of their credentials to run as Liberal candidates in the next election.
(PHOTO: University of Saskatchewan professor Ken Coates. File photo.)