The MLA for Saskatoon Centre, Betty Nippi-Albright, will now sit as an Independent, after stepping away from the NDP.
In a social media post on Tuesday, the Nippi-Albright said she can no longer support the direction of NDP Leader Carla Beck.
Nippi-Albright says sitting as an Independent will allow her to continue advocating for her constituents in Saskatoon Centre, including those who would be impacted by the recently passed Bill 48, or the Compassionate Intervention Act.
The bill permits forced treatment for people who are living with addictions.
Nippi-Albright said her office commissioned a report on the bill, and she was instructed by Beck to not mention it during deliberations.
“This was despite the fact that the report was commissioned by my office, paid for by my office budget, and was fully nonpartisan and evidence based,” she said, adding the report was done by two independent researchers.
Get daily National news
“Yesterday, (the NDP) voted against Bill 48. Yet, in the leader’s press release, and in her third reading response, she said several times that she supports forced treatment.”
The leader of the NDP also spoke with reporters one day after Nippi-Albright announced she was leaving.
Beck said she was “surprised” to hear the allegations regarding the report.
“I remain surprised, and a bit puzzled, by the response that we’ve seen. I think the evidence is pretty clear that there has been some mischaracterization of what’s happened here,” she said.
Saskatoon Centre’s representative was told the report could not be tabled in its entirety, which is standard protocol when a report was used as advice, according to Beck.
- Driver oversight: Documents reveal Uber’s behind-the-scenes lobbying in Halifax
- Edmonton councillor pitches ‘Forever Canadian’ street amid separatist push
- Eby says Ottawa is rewarding Alberta’s ‘bad behaviour’ with pipeline agreement
- More Ontario stores to open on Victoria Day in move government says brings ‘flexibility’
She said the report was used to craft 17 amendments to the bill. All of which were defeated.
“That report was not only not disregarded. It was a key part of our response to the bill,” Beck added.
Nippi-Albright will not be invited to rejoin the NDP, the party leader said.
The NDP now has 26 seats in the legislature, with the Saskatchewan Party government holding a 34-seat majority.
When asked if she would consider joining the governing Saskatchewan Party, Nippi-Albright said she would not.
Other reasons for her departure, if any, will be addressed in the coming days, Nippi-Albright said.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
Good for you Betty, for standing up for your morals, and your constituents. Wish my MLA had that kind of integrity, and wish there were more MLA’s like you – on both sides of the aisle.