Eddie Joyce the deciding vote on fate of Christopher Mitchelmore

The House of Assembly is split on whether an apology from Christopher Mitchelmore will suffice for his handling of the Carla Foote hiring at The Rooms, and one man stands in the middle with deciding power: Eddie Joyce.

The minority Liberal government has 19 members — excluding the House speaker — all pushing for just an apology; the Tories and NDP, along with independent MHA Paul Lane, add up to 19 members, who all say an apology from Mitchelmore won't be enough.

That makes Joyce the last man standing.

While he may have been booted from cabinet — and later the Liberal caucus — following a report that said he broke the rules by trying to get a friend hired, Joyce insists he doesn't relish the position he's currently in.

"Sad, actually, to have another member go through what I went through. It's sad. And I don't wish that on anybody," Joyce said, adding he won't make his decision just to get revenge.

"I'm not the type of person that, because I went through it, I want to see somebody else go through it. I don't think it's right. I think there should be a better way to handle this kind of stuff."

On Wednesday, the New Democrats wanted to introduce an amendment that would see Mitchelmore removed from cabinet and Foote removed from her job, with the role being filled using proper human resources procedures.

The deputy House speaker dismissed that following a brief recess before noon, saying it exceeds the scope of the motion.

The opposition is expected to introduce more amendments when the House of Assembly resumes this morning, something Joyce said he will wait to see before he makes any sort of decision on how he will vote.

The other option is the opposition and government reach a deal, like they did when they made Gerry Byrne apologize.

"I don't take no pride or no solace that I can give it to this guy or give it to the premier," Joyce said.

But Joyce said he's struck with the parallels between the case against him and fellow MHA Dale Kirby, and what is happening with the Mitchelmore Report.

'It's the hypocrisy'

Joyce said it's a double standard: within two months, he and Kirby were out of caucus, while the Mitchelmore dealings have been ongoing for a year.

"Right or wrong, I'm not saying he should or shouldn't, he's still in cabinet, still in caucus," Joyce said, pointing the finger at Premier Dwight Ball.

"It's the hypocrisy."

Joyce has long said the process he went through was unfair, and the systems in place are flawed.

"The premier last night stood up and said that the process is flawed. During my time through complaints, he admitted the process was flawed," Joyce said following debate Wednesday.

"Premier, if you think it's flawed, send it to a new outside party and let them make the decision."

During the days of debate, Mitchelmore has been silent on the issue, taking in the statements made by members from all sides of the House of Assembly. Ball said he believes Mitchelmore will speak to media when he's comfortable and has something to say, once the process is finalized.

Ball said he's "disappointed" with the "political theatre" and heckling happening in the House, adding that he doesn't think everyone in opposition has read the full report.

But in the meantime, Ball left the door open to supporting stronger punishment for Mitchelmore.

"We'll just let the debate unfold and we'll respond to whatever amendments are there and speakers will have their say, so it would be a bit premature right now for me to be able to respond on what it is that the final outcome will be," Ball said.

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