Silence descends over allegations of sexual misconduct by Kang
While issues of sexual harassment dominate the news, the case of Calgary Skyview MP Darshan Kang — who left the Liberal caucus at the end of last August amid allegations of misconduct — remains shrouded in secrecy.
The allegations against Kang brought by two female former staffers were referred to the House of Commons’ chief human resource officer, but the Speaker’s office says the investigation process is “completely confidential” and there will be no comment on the status of the case.
In a brief recent telephone interview, Kang said he can say nothing about the investigation.
Though he declared his innocence when he left the Liberal caucus, Kang would not address the allegations or whether he had spoken to investigators.
“I don’t want to discuss anything because it’s confidential and private,” he said. “I cannot say more than that.”
The Speaker’s office noted that the House of Commons reports annually on preventing and addressing harassment, with the next report expected in June. However, those documents contain no details of the cases — which include abuse of authority, harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination — and does not provide names. The 2016-17 report simply says there were 19 cases processed — six complaints and 13 inquiries — that involved nine MPs.
Most cases remained inquiries only, while two were investigated, one was resolved and one was subject to informal resolution.
The current system for investigating complaints was adopted by the House of Commons in December 2014 in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against two Liberal MPs who were subsequently booted from caucus and barred from running again for the party.
But recent months have seen an explosion in awareness and concerns about harassment, as a steady stream of figures from show business, media and politics in North America have faced accusations of misconduct.
A survey of female MPs by The Canadian Press found that more than half believed the global conversation that grew out of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein marks a key turning point on the issue of sexual assault and harassment.
The survey also asked about the process for handling complaints regarding harassment.
One-third of the survey respondents said the process is difficult to evaluate, while MPs called it a first step, but insufficient on its own. Only five MPs called it both necessary and effective.
Some MPs shared their thoughts on the process; one called it “punishing to the victim,” adding that it “takes way too long and becomes public.”
The House of Commons is working to bring in-person training on workplace harassment to MPs, with about 20 two-hour sessions expected to be offered beginning next month.
That’s in addition to the 620 people — including 560 MPs or their staffers — who have viewed an online harassment prevention course launched in December 2016.
Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes said she found it a useful exercise, but was also struck by how much comes down to basic good manners.
“If you learn to be courteous and respectful of others, a lot of these things wouldn’t happen,” said Mendes.
Kang was put under investigation for allegedly sexually harassing a young female worker in his Calgary constituency office. When that became public, a second woman came forward to say she had also been harassed by Kang when she worked in his office from 2011 to 2012 while he served in the provincial legislature.
Neither woman was available for comment Monday.
Kang said the situation has been “hard” for him but the controversy hasn’t affected his duties.
“I’ve been serving my constituents to the best of my abilities,” he said. “I’ve been going out and about. I’ve been in the community. I’ve been going everywhere.”
Kang said he wouldn’t speculate about rejoining the Liberal caucus or whether he would run again in the next federal election.