‘Weinstein Effect’ hits close to Parliament
RIVIERA RESTAURANT
In the summer of 2016, a new restaurant opened on Ottawa’s Sparks Street, just a short block from Parliament Hill. Built in a grand building that once housed a bank, Riviera, with its 50-foot vaulted ceiling and expansive bar, was designed from the start to be a gathering place for the power-brokers of the nation’s capital.
Its star rose quickly. On budget day last March it played host to a closed-door party for the finance department and other senior government officials. It ranked seventh on enRoute magazine’s 2017 list of best new Canadian restaurants. But for months, a scandal had been brewing behind the scenes.
In a statement sent to media Wednesday, Riviera’s celebrity chef, Matthew Carmichael, admitted to repeated instances of sexual harassment of women who worked for him. Later that same day, the restaurant’s general manager, Stelios Doussis, announced his resignation, saying he “could not in good conscience continue in this workplace environment.”
The news sparked widespread reaction throughout Ottawa’s restaurant industry, where rumours about Carmichael’s conduct had swirled for months. But the aftershocks also rippled across Parliament Hill.
It’s not just Riviera’s proximity to the parliamentary precinct that made it a venue of choice on the Hill’s social circuit. Doussis is the husband of cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan, and when Carmichael recently boasted in a newspaper about Doussis’ close friendship with “Justin and Sophie,” he wasn’t exaggerating. O’Regan and Doussis had joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau on their now-infamous Christmas vacation to the Aga Khan’s private island in 2016.
While nobody has alleged wrongdoing on the part of Doussis, or of any of the politicos and lobbyists who frequent the establishment, the scandal at Riviera brings the “Weinstein Effect” — the latest wave of revelations of sexual misconduct by powerful men, touched off by the more than 50 women who have accused Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault — to the foot of Parliament Hill.
The question remains why Doussis only resigned on Wednesday, the day the story hit the media, given the harassment allegations against Carmichael first surfaced in May. In a statement provided through his lawyer, Doussis said management took “immediate action” after the women came forward.
“I took steps to put in place a structure to protect and support staff at Riviera and implemented support programs and benefits for staff who need assistance,” he said. “However, I resigned from Riviera at 6 a.m. this morning, because I could not in good conscience continue in this workplace environment.”