An outburst from Humber-Bay of Islands MHA Eddie Joyce on Monday evening in the House of Assembly has raised questions about how Premier Dwight Ball assisted those involved in harassment allegations over the past few months.
On Monday evening, Joyce accused Ball of stating to Joyce privately that the allegations were “B.S.” Joyce went on to say Ball instructed him on what he should put into his reply to the allegations against him from fellow cabinet minister Sherry Gambin-Walsh.
“Tell them how many discussions we had over the five or six months,” Joyce said Monday evening.
“How many times did you call my house and tell me what to put in (the report)?”
Ball says he doesn’t remember exactly what was discussed with Joyce over the months between the allegations being filed and the reports being completed. Ball says he and Joyce are longtime friends, but he didn’t discuss the allegations in the way Joyce described it.
“I can’t remember a day in politics when Eddie Joyce was not around me as an MHA, or someone involved in the party,” said Ball.
“No different than I would have if for those who put forward allegations, I reached out to Eddie and asked how he was doing. All we said was if he was responding to the allegations, make sure you get the best information that you could.”
As for the suggestion that he called the complaints against Joyce “B.S.,” Ball says those aren’t his words.
“That’s not the language that I would normally use. What I do remember talking about was making sure he filed his response in a comprehensive way,” he said.
Joyce also said he and Ball discussed whether Gambin-Walsh should return to cabinet. Ball says that’s flatly false, as shown by the cabinet shuffle of Nov. 7, which kept Gambin-Walsh as minister of Service NL.
For Tory Leader Ches Crosbie, the allegations from Joyce show the premier was too close to the investigations as they were unfolding.
“The problem is that this is a quasi-judicial process. Someone in the office of premier – the highest office in the province – not only has to be independent and removed from the process or from any perception of influence on the process, he has to be seen to be removed from the process,” said Crosbie.
“He should not be talking to Mr. Joyce or any of the others. To do that is to destroy public confidence in the process.”
The investigative process that unfolded over the summer after Joyce and Mount Scio MHA Dale Kirby were accused of bullying, intimidation and harassment has been roundly criticized for its flaws on all sides – including by the premier. The confidentiality of the process was never assured in legislation, the public nature of the allegations made it not only difficult for complainants to come forward, but damaged the reputation of Joyce and Kirby well before the investigations were concluded.
But the investigations did ultimately bear fruit. While the allegations of bullying, intimidation and harassment were not proven, Joyce and Kirby were both found to have violated the MHA Code of Conduct. Both have since stood in their place in the House of Assembly and apologized, and will have to undergo workplace sensitivity training.
All the while, the premier and Gambin-Walsh have indicated their openness to a restorative justice process to allow a working relationship with Joyce and Kirby.
As for whether Joyce’s conduct shows he is ready for such a process, the premier said, “Eddie, to me, seems a bit frustrated in all of this.”
Despite their friendship, Ball says he has to put that aside in his role as premier.
“Personally, has this affected me? Of course it has … but he’s got to engage in a restorative process in order for this to work.”
Twitter: @DavidMaherNL
