ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Premier Andrew Furey and Minister of Labrador Affairs Lisa Dempster spent three days in Labrador last week, meeting with local politicians and community groups.
One local politician who was conspicuously absent, though, was Lake Melville MHA Perry Trimper, at that time a member of the Liberal caucus.
Soon after the trip, Trimper announced he was leaving the party to sit as an independent and would run under that banner in the next provincial election.
"There was some light conversation with the (communications) people, but I was sitting there on Tuesday hoping for a discussion with (Premier Furey) to express how I felt and what was going on. However, they went and got on the plane and headed off. They’d been here three days and I hadn’t spoken to them.” — Perry Trimper
Trimper said being left out of that trip, which he found out about from the public, was to him the culmination of frustration he’d been feeling for several months.
“I reached out to him, said that I wanted to meet and so on, and it didn’t happen," said Trimper. "There was some light conversation with the comms (communications) people, but I was sitting there on Tuesday hoping for a discussion with him to express how I felt and what was going on. However, they went and got on the plane and headed off. They’d been here three days and I hadn’t spoken to them.”
He said since Dempster had been appointed in August to the portfolio of Labrador Affairs, he noted a marked difference in terms of his ability to provide input, direction, support and influence on matters dealing with Labrador.
He brought it to the premier’s attention, he said, and had hoped to discuss it when Furey was in Labrador.
In a brief statement, the Premier's Office said the office was in touch with Trimper ahead of the Furey's trip to Labrador.
“Our office was in touch with the member for Lake Melville prior to my visit to his district," reads the statement.
Trimper said his concern is the district is being left out of conversations, not just him, and that’s why he felt he could be more effective as an independent MHA.
“My voice isn’t there and the voice of the people I represent isn’t there. Over time you go from realizing it isn’t just me, there’s a bigger problem and the district is being left out.”
He had been mulling over running as an independent anyway, he said, since he announced he wasn’t running under the Liberal banner.
Trimper has been the subject of controversy twice in recent years — once a few years ago when he accidentally left a voicemail message on the phone of a member of the Innu Nation in which he said the group was trying to "play the race card," and more recently when he made comments on CBC Radio’s "Labrador Morning" suggesting people who were homeless in and around Happy Valley-Goose Bay chose their lifestyle.
Trimper resigned his parliamentary duties in light of the comments and resisted calls from the Innu Nation for his resignation as MHA.
“I’m not perfect. I don’t think anyone is. If there’s a word or phrase or ‘what did you mean by that?’ let’s talk about it. Let's sit down and explore,” he said.
“When you’re out in public life you can be in the crosshairs pretty quickly on all matter of concerns, some of it very legitimate. There are people who are struggling or are very frustrated by the lack of progress. Others who have a political agenda and want to continue to undermine me, they’re going to be able to find a good space there to be able to further their own agendas.”
He said he’s heard from many people in Labrador, including Innu, who support him, and he hopes his actions and being able to speak objectively can help mend some bridges.
When Trimper announced he was leaving caucus he said leaving would give him the opportunity to expose a "character assassination campaign being launched by my political opponents," and, when asked about it, he reiterated that view.
“I’ve got an opponent from the last election that has not let up,” Trimper said. “He’s made social media posts, videos, he showed up at protest and he continues to undermine. He’s in a leadership position and I feel he’s had influence at least on the decision-making of others."
Trimper said he didn’t want to go into further details on the issue at this time, but will have more to say in the future.
- With files from David Maher
- Evan Careen reports on Labrador affairs.
- David Maher reports on provincial politics in St. John’s.
