Ottawa Citizen

Former staffer alleges sexual assault by Liberal MPP a decade ago: lawyer

- MICHELLE MCQUIGGE AND LIAM CASEY

A former political staffer is alleging she was sexually assaulted by a Liberal member of Ontario’s legislatur­e when she was working for him more than a decade ago, the woman’s lawyer said Friday.

John Nunziata, who represents the woman, said he is not willing to release the name of the accused, but identified him as a Liberal politician who once held a cabinet portfolio.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said no sexual misconduct allegation­s have ever been raised against cabinet members who served under her or her predecesso­r Dalton McGuinty.

Nunziata said his client, who once worked for the Liberal politician as an executive assistant, alleges the sexual misconduct took place around 2006 and 2007.

“She’s not doing this for the money or for fame,” Nunziata said of his unnamed client in a telephone interview. “She has been hurt by this whole process. Not just the premier’s office at the time, but how it was handled at Queen’s Park.”

Nunziata, a former member of Parliament, said the woman shared some details of the allegation­s in a letter sent to Wynne’s constituen­cy office three weeks ago.

The letter, dated Jan. 26, references the man’s alleged “repulsive and adulterous groping, propositio­ning, and innuendo and chronic inebriatio­n,” according to Nunziata.

The complainan­t wrote that she reported her concerns about the man’s conduct to human resources, who ultimately directed her to the Liberal Caucus Service Bureau for reassignme­nt.

She ultimately went to work for a different legislativ­e member, but said she was told that no further action would be taken.

“I realize that these egregious breaches of trust and abuses of power were not on your watch,” Nunziata said the woman wrote in her letter to Wynne. “What I would like to underscore is that the degradatio­n and humiliatio­n caused by the member and the others in the premier’s office were long lasting. The collateral damage is permanent.”

Wynne expressed similar sentiments on Friday speaking at the Internatio­nal Auto Show in Toronto, praising the courage of women who come forward after years of bearing the pain of such experience­s.

She said she herself was not made aware of the allegation­s when they were mailed to her constituen­cy office, but said the government’s process for addressing such allegation­s immediatel­y took effect.

Wynne said staff reviews the informatio­n, engages outside council, and if necessary then hires a third-party investigat­or to look at the claims, adding that the privacy and wishes of the complainan­t are always top of mind.

“It’s very important to me that whenever there is an allegation, whenever there is a complaint, that that process be engaged and that action is taken,” Wynne said. “My understand­ing is in this case that that’s exactly what happened.”

Wynne said the latest allegation had not reached the stage in the process at which she would have needed to personally be notified.

Nunziata said his client is not satisfied with the mechanisms that are currently in place, saying she felt “uncomforta­ble” after hearing from Wynne’s lawyer and that he did not constitute a true third party. The lawyer did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment.

She has been hurt by this whole process. Not just the premier’s office at the time, but how it was handled at Queen’s Park.

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