Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has apologized to defence lawyers for comments he made in ousting one of his caucus members.
Kinew says he should have put a higher priority on the independence of the justice system and simply said there were irreconcilable differences with Mark Wasyliw.
Wasyliw, who is a criminal defence lawyer, was removed from the governing NDP caucus last month because one of his colleagues, Gerri Wiebe, is representing disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
The rationale met immediate backlash from legal groups, who said defence lawyers play an important role in ensuring everyone has the right to representation in court.
Wiebe says she accepts the apology, which came on the first day of the fall legislature sitting.
Kinew says he is also apologizing to defence attorneys as a whole, who he says perform an important function for society.