Alberta NDP member who refused to sit in legislature removed from party caucus

EDMONTON – A backbencher with Alberta’s governing NDP has been removed from caucus after she said she would not sit in the legislature to protest what she calls a toxic culture within the party’s inner circle of power.

Robyn Luff, a first-time member of the legislature for Calgary-East, said in a statement released Monday that she has been bullied by the leadership of the governing party since they took power in 2015.

Late in the day a release from the NDP said Luff had been removed from caucus because her colleagues have lost confidence in her ability to participate as a productive and trustworthy member.

The decision to expel Luff followed a meeting of party members in Edmonton Monday evening.