Sarah Jama’s removal from Ontario NDP prompts calls for leader's resignation

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is facing calls for her resignation from within her party's local riding associations following the removal of MPP Sarah Jama from caucus earlier this week.

The association in Kitchener Centre issued a statement late Thursday morning that alleges Stiles is “out of touch with the one million Muslims in Ontario.”

“The culmination of all of the above and your failure to nurture a sense of solidarity within the ONDP community and beyond, as well as your failure to lead conscientiously with courage and principle during a complicated and dangerous time when fascism is on the rise globally, has lead us to the drastic action of demanding your resignation, immediately,” the association wrote in a statement.

The NDP MPP for Kitchener-Centre resigned in July. A by-election has yet to be called.

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Meanwhile the association for Jama’s riding of Hamilton Centre is also condemning her removal from caucus, calling the decision “an attack on democracy” and a “betrayal by leader Marit Stiles.”

“This shameful assault from the leader of our own party is nothing less than a capitulation to the grossly anti-democratic censure by the corrupt Doug Ford Conservative government,” the association said

“We condemn Marit Stiles’ and senior staff’s decision to remove the strongest voice of justice, truth, and human rights from her caucus, and we condemn their extraordinary efforts to silence voices speaking out for the people of Palestine.”

Jama was both censured by the Progressive Conservative government and ejected from the Ontario New Democratic Party on Monday.

At the time, Stiles said that Jama was removed from caucus after taking “unilateral actions that have undermined our collective work and broken the trust of her colleagues.”

Jama has threatened the Premier with legal action and, according to staff within the NDP, made a speech in the House that contradicted the one she told the party she would be making.

• QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What to know about Jama's censure and removal from NDP

The local association for Hamilton Centre said that her removal from caucus shows a “complete disrespect and contempt for the constituents.”

“This betrayal by leader Marit Stiles and the senior staff at the ONDP has destroyed the hopes of many activists, organizers, and community members whose efforts secured every single poll for MPP Sarah Jama in the recent by-election,” they said.

“MPP Jama offered a sense of hope to people who would not normally engage in partisan politics. As a riding association, we feel betrayed, angry, and extremely demoralized.”

The association is demanding that the Ontario NDP rescind their removal of Jama from caucus. They are also demanding a review of Stiles’ leadership.

The decision to eject Jama has resulted in significant criticism, both from those who believe she should have been removed earlier and from those who believe she shouldn’t have been removed at all.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, Stiles said that no members of her caucus have called for her resignation and that she is having conversations with all those who have expressed concerns.

“My sense I'm getting from members across our party and our communities is they want us united,” she said. “This is not a decision I wanted to make. The member put us in a very untenable position.”

“I know that there's going to be some hurt out there and we have a lot of conversations to have, but I'm listening.”

Stiles reiterated that Jama was not removed for her views on Israel and Gaza, although she said she wished she chose her words more carefully.

It was those words she used that prompted NDP MPP for Toronto-St. Paul’s Jill Andrew to voice her concerns, saying that she was not part of the decision-making process.

“I learned about this decision on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 11:11 a.m. via email while sitting in my MPP seat in the legislature, when the decision was already made,” she said.

“The subsequent press release stated with support of our Ontario NDP MPPs a decision was made to remove the member. The release went on to conjure what I feel were stereotypical tropes often used to communicate about Black people, especially Black women, who are perceived as difficult.”

“I expressed my concerns about this release to the leadership team and to my caucus members.”

When asked by reporters, Andrew would not say whether she would continue to support Stiles' leadership, saying only that she stands by her comments.

Other NDP MPPs have said they will continue to stand behind Stiles as leader. MPP Jeff Burch said in a statement their party leader was forced to make a "difficult call."

“As the Caucus Chair, I know how patient Marit has been with MPP Jama, really going above and beyond to find a way forward where they could work together," he said. 

"The Caucus can’t go on with someone who wasn’t being honest. I mean, you can’t agree on a course of action and then do something completely different without so much as a warning. Being a member of a team means working as a team.”

NDP MPP Peggy Sattler said that Stiles has no other choice.

“A party caucus needs to work together, as a team, which is something the Member refused to accept. To be clear, this had nothing to do with the Member's position on Palestine, but rather her insistence on acting independently, unilaterally, and with repeated disregard for the Leader and the collective work of our caucus."

Federal MP for Hamilton Centre Matthew Green also expressed his frustration at the decision, reiterating that her removal was a choice made by the Ontario NDP alone.

“The actions taken against Sarah Jama censoring her in the Legislature and her expulsion from the Ontario NDP perpetuates a long history of racialized voices being dismissed and ignored in spaces where decisions are made,” his statement said.

“It is understandable that many of the constituents who voted for MPP Jama under the NDP banner are feeling frustrated with this choice, including myself.”

Jama remains an elected official and will sit in the legislature as an independent member. However, due to the censure, she will be prevented from being recognized by the Speaker until she removes a social media post related to the Israel-Gaza war and makes a formal apology.

The post has been pinned to her profile.