Erin Weir

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Erin Weir
Member of Parliament
for Regina—Lewvan
In office
October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byWarren Steinley
Personal details
Born1982 (age 41–42)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Political partyNDP (2004–2018)
Other political
affiliations		CCF (2018–2019)[a]
ResidenceRegina, Saskatchewan
Alma materUniversity of Regina
ProfessionEconomist
Websitewww.erinweir.ca

Erin M. K. Weir (born 1982) is a Canadian politician from Saskatchewan. From 2015 until 2019, he was Member of Parliament for the riding of Regina—Lewvan. Weir initially sat as a member of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) but was expelled from the party's caucus on May 3, 2018 after a dispute over a third party investigation that sustained some claims of harassment.[2] No appeal of this investigation was granted.[3] Before entering federal politics, Weir ran in the 2013 Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election and was an economist with the Canadian section of the United Steelworkers union.

Prior to his expulsion, Weir was appointed the NDP's critic for Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Early life and career[edit]

Weir was born in 1982 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.[4] Weir holds three university degrees: a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Regina, a Master of Arts from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Public Administration from Queen's University.[5]

Weir began his career in Canada’s federal public service and went on to work as an economist with the Canadian Labour Congress, the United Steelworkers and the International Trade Union Confederation[6] After completing his term in Parliament, Weir worked as a consultant, served as Senior Economist with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and wrote opinion[7] pieces[8] for The Globe and Mail national newspaper.

In May 2012 while Weir was an economist working with the United Steelworkers and presenting in front of the Parliamentary Finance committee, he was questioned by Conservative MP Randy Hoback – who asked "Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the NDP party[sic]".[9] CBC and Maclean's made comparisons to McCarthyism based on this line of questioning from Hoback.[10][11]

Political career[edit]

In 2004, Weir ran in the federal riding of Wascana against Liberal finance minister Ralph Goodale as the New Democratic Party's candidate, but was defeated.[4]

2013 Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election[edit]

Main article: 2013 Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election

In June 2012 a group of Canadian economists sent a public letter calling on Erin Weir to enter the 2013 Saskatchewan New Democratic Party leadership election.[12] Also a group of notable New Democrats including former NDP MP Dick Proctor and former NDP premier Howard Pawley of Manitoba created a "Committee to Draft Erin Weir".[13][14]

On September 7, 2012 Weir, then aged 30, announced he was entering the race.[15] He addressed the issue of his not having a seat by saying "I would see it advantageous as having a leader that is not tied down to Regina all the time and free to tour the province." He also made the comparison to Jack Layton and the federal NDP of the time.[16] Earlier that week, he had addressed his age saying the age of the candidate should not be the focus of voters and that "Public policy is more important,".[17]

He was one of four declared candidates including MLA Cam Broten, doctor Ryan Meili, and MLA Trent Wotherspoon.

His campaign was described by the media as organized[18] and one of the main political commentators in the province said the race was "highly competitive"[19] and "The fact they could all win is probably incentive for all four to run."[20]

On February 20, 2013, Weir withdrew from the leadership race and endorsed fellow candidate Ryan Meili.[21]

Federal politics[edit]

On April 11, 2014, Weir announced that he was seeking the NDP nomination in the new federal riding of Regina—Lewvan.[22] He was nominated on June 22, 2014, defeating former 2011 Palliser federal NDP candidate Noah Evanchuk. He was elected on October 19, 2015, prevailing over Conservative candidate Trent Fraser by 132 votes according to the results validated by the Returning Officer. Fraser initially requested a recount, but the request was later withdrawn.[23]

Weir was appointed the party's critic for Public Services and Procurement Canada in November 2015. He was also appointed as the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates in December 2015.[4]

After the federal government announced a pan-Canadian price on carbon, Weir called for border adjustments to that pricing, pointing out that different carbon prices between countries can result in "carbon leakage". Weir's proposal was eventually adopted by Peter Julian, during his campaign for federal NDP Leader.[24] Although internal debate about this proposal was characterized as “harassment,”[25] carbon border adjustments subsequently appeared in the 2020 fall economic statement[26] and 2021 federal budget.[27]

Weir was one of the first MPs to raise the issue of problems with the new federal payroll system called Phoenix. Civilian employees at the RCMP's "Depot" Division living in his riding brought them to his attention.[28]

Harassment allegations[edit]

In February 2018, Weir was suspended from his caucus duties by party leader Jagmeet Singh pending an independent investigation made into allegations made against him by fellow MP Christine Moore.[29] Weir was expelled from the NDP caucus on May 3, 2018 following his public comments to the media regarding the outcome of the harassment investigation, with the party alleging that Weir had revealed confidential information about a complainant. Party spokespeople indicated that investigation found that claims of harassment were sustained by the evidence. Weir characterized the investigation as having found that he probably sat or stood too close to people at social events and tried to talk to them when they didn't want to talk.[30] The media reported that "Three said Weir stood too close to them when talking and didn’t know when to shut up. The fourth said he had twice yelled at her over the issue of carbon tariffs — once during a policy debate and again later in an elevator."[25]

As an independent member, Weir asked Speaker Geoff Regan to have his affiliation switched to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the predecessor of the modern NDP.[1] As the House of Commons does not require that a party be registered with Elections Canada for the purposes of MPs declaring affiliation, the affiliation change was accepted and Weir became the first CCF MP since 1961.[1]

In May 2018, a group of 67 former NDP MPs and MLAs from Saskatchewan sent Singh a letter in support of Weir and calling for his reinstatement as an NDP MP.[31] They criticized the federal party’s investigation as a “fishing expedition” that solicited complaints about Weir missing social cues.[32] Singh dismissed these concerns on national television by describing the former members as “persons occupying positions of privilege” trying to “intimidate” him.[33]

Former Saskatchewan NDP Finance Minister Eric Cline wrote in the National Post that "Weir had engaged in conduct described by an investigator as “on the low-end of the scale".[34]

On September 6, 2018, it was publicly revealed that NDP Leader Singh had rejected Weir's request to rejoin the NDP during a meeting in June, despite Weir stating that he had worked with a personal trainer to understand the issues of the complaint.[35][36]

Singh also said that Weir will not be permitted to run as an NDP candidate in the 2019 federal election. Although Weir had announced that he intended to seek the party's nomination in Regina—Lewvan,[31] he retracted that statement, citing NDP Leader Singh's continued refusal for Weir to run for the party's nomination without appeal.[37]

On May 21, 2019, Weir announced he would not run for reelection.[38]

Electoral record[edit]

2015 Canadian federal election: Regina—Lewvan
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Erin Weir 16,843 35.21 -9.97 $92,223.66
Conservative Trent Fraser 16,711 34.94 -8.93 $72,236.17
Liberal Louis Browne 13,143 27.48 +19.28 $70,367.24
Green Tamela Friesen 839 1.75 -1.00 $1,285.24
Libertarian Wojciech K. Dolata 298 0.62 – $5,634.21
Total valid votes/expense limit 47,834 99.62   $198,699.60
Total rejected ballots 181 0.38 –
Turnout 48,015 77.64 –
Eligible voters 64,325
New Democratic notional hold Swing −0.52
Source: Elections Canada[39][40]
2004 Canadian federal election: Wascana
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal (x) Ralph Goodale 20,567 57.2 +16.0 $43,226
Conservative Doug Cryer 8,709 24.2 -11.9 $57,802
New Democratic Erin M.K. Weir 5,771 16.0 -5.5 $29,783
Green Darcy Robilliard 928 2.6
Total valid votes 35,975 100.0
Total rejected ballots 80 0.2 -0.1
Turnout 36,055 63.1 +0.9

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the Canadian Alliance vote in 2000 election.

Post Political Career[edit]

After completing his term in Parliament, Weir worked as a consultant, served as Senior Economist with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and wrote opinion pieces for The Globe and Mail national newspaper. His primary area of focus was on collecting a fair return for commodity extraction, arguing for a federal windfall tax on commodity producers[8] and urging provinces to review their royalty rates.[41]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Expelled from the NDP caucus following investigation into allegations of harassment, and subsequently changed his affiliation to the CCF.
    Although the CCF was dissolved in 1961, the House of Commons does not require that a party be registered with Elections Canada for the purposes of an MP declaring affiliation.[1][2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Forrest, Maura (12 May 2018). "After 57 years, the CCF party makes a not-so-triumphant return to Ottawa thanks to expelled NDP MP". National Post. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Marotta, Stefanie (11 May 2018). "Erin Weir declares himself a member of the CCF - a party that no longer exists". CBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Erin Weir asking for external body to review harassment investigation". CTVNews. 19 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Erin Weir". lop.parl.ca. Library of Parliament. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Jewels in the Crown". Degrees. 18 (2): 13. 2006. hdl:10294/1128. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  6. ^ "United Nations Expert Group Meeting On the Challenge of Building Employment for a Sustainable Recovery Programme". www.ilo.org. 23 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Opinion: The Bank of Canada needs to end its fixation on inflation". The Globe and Mail. 8 March 2023 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  8. ^ a b "Opinion: A windfall tax to fight food inflation – not on grocers but commodity producers". The Globe and Mail. 11 April 2023 – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  9. ^ "'Have you ever been a member of the NDP party?' - Macleans.ca".
  10. ^ McGregor, Janyce (1 June 2012). "'McCarthyism' at Commons finance committee? - Inside Politics". CBC News. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  11. ^ Wherry, Aaron (31 May 2012). "'Have you ever been a member of the NDP party?'". Maclean's. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Our Own Erin Weir Would Make a Great Sask NDP Leader! – the Progressive Economics Forum".
  13. ^ Mandryk, Murray (20 June 2012). "MANDRYK: Erin Weir may kick-start NDP's leadership". Regina Leader-Post. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Draft Erin Weir | the Committee". Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Weir joins race to lead Saskatchewan NDP". CBC News. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Erin Weir Running for Sask NDP Leadership". newstalk650.com.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Sask NDP Look for New Leader". metronews.ca. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Assessing Leaders". leaderpost.com.[dead link]
  19. ^ "MANDRYK: NDP must get its leadership right". Archived from the original on 9 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Saskatchewan NDP talks of rebuilding as it launches search for new leader". Archived from the original on 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  21. ^ Couture, Joe (20 February 2013). "Weir drops out of Saskatchewan NDP leadership race, endorses Meili". The StarPhoenix. Postmedia Network.
  22. ^ "Open Seats « Pundits' Guide to Canadian Federal Elections".
  23. ^ "Recount ended for Regina-Lewvan, NDP win stands". CBC News. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Regina MP's carbon levy proposal gets support from NDP leadership candidate". CBC News. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  25. ^ a b Columnist, Thomas Walkom National Affairs (23 May 2019). "Thomas Walkom: Erin Weir debacle will haunt Jagmeet Singh". Toronto Star.
  26. ^ Government of Canada, Department of Finance (30 November 2020). "Supporting Canadians and fighting COVID-19". www.budget.canada.ca.
  27. ^ Government of Canada, Department of Finance (19 April 2021). "Budget 2021". www.budget.canada.ca.
  28. ^ "Local MPS at heart of Phoenix controversy".
  29. ^ "Erin Weir accuser Christine Moore cleared of inappropriate conduct allegations". CTV News. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  30. ^ Tunney, Catharine (3 May 2018). "MP Erin Weir expelled from NDP caucus after harassment investigation". CBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  31. ^ a b Ballingall, Alex (12 September 2018). "Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir to seek NDP nomination in Regina despite being kicked out of the party". Toronto Star. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  32. ^ "SINGH LETTER" (PDF). media.socastsrm.com.
  33. ^ "Jagmeet Sing Privileged Erin Weir". cbc.ca.
  34. ^ "Eric Cline: The expulsion of Erin Weir was nothing short of an NDP travesty | National Post". nationalpost.com.
  35. ^ "Sask. NDPers blast Singh's refusal to reinstate Erin Weir into caucus | CBC News". CBC. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  36. ^ Harris, Kathleen (6 September 2018). "Jagmeet Singh rejects Erin Weir's bid to return to caucus | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  37. ^ "MP Erin Weir's Statement on Election 2019". erinweir.com.
  38. ^ "Regina MP Erin Weir won't run again". CBC News. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  39. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Regina—Lewvan, 30 September 2015
  40. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  41. ^ "Letter: Saskatchewan keeps giving away its natural resources | The Star Phoenix". thestarphoenix.com.

External links[edit]

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