Calgary MP harassed staffer: House report
Accused of hugs, attempts to enter hotel room
• Calgary MP Darshan Kang harassed a female staff member when he caressed her hands and persistently tried to enter her Ottawa hotel room despite her refusals, a House of Commons investigation has concluded.
The investigation, prompted by the woman’s complaint last summer, determined allegations against the MP were “partially substantiated.”
The investigation could not substantiate the woman’s claim that Kang offered her money to keep quiet following the incidents in Ottawa, which she refused.
The woman, whom Postmedia has agreed not to name, began working for Kang in 2011 while he was still an MLA for Calgary-McCall in the Alberta legislature and continued until June 2017, when she quit while Kang was serving as a Liberal member of Parliament.
Kang, 66, was elected as a Liberal MP for Calgary-Skyview in 2015 and now sits as an independent. He resigned from the Liberal caucus last August after denying the allegations and vowing to clear his name.
The confidential Commons report, completed earlier this month, says the woman, who is now 25, alleged Kang’s behaviour toward her escalated after he was elected to federal office and she eventually became his director of constituency affairs.
In the report, which Postmedia obtained, she alleged that when Kang was in Calgary visiting his constituency on Fridays, he would call her into his office for closed-door meetings where he repeatedly hugged her closely, “chest-to-chest,” according to documents.
At first, the woman said her family’s history with the MP and Kang’s advanced age made her discount his behaviour toward her as fatherly, but as time went on she grew increasingly uncomfortable with Kang’s attentions, which included repeated phone calls unrelated to work on evenings and weekends.
“Mr. Kang knew that she was not reacting and not participating in the hugging, but he kept hugging her and did not let go, requiring her to try harder to move her body away,” according to allegations contained in the report.
The woman also alleged Kang sometimes kissed her on the cheek during the hugs and told her he was in love with her.
She also alleged he patted her lower back and buttocks two or three times when they were standing together discussing files and that Kang would feel or grab her hands while travelling alone in the car with her.
A trip to Ottawa for training in June 2017 precipitated her decision to quit.
The woman alleges Kang tricked her into visiting his apartment where he tugged at her jacket, caressed her hands and tried to massage her feet, according to the report.
Later that same week, Kang “persistently tried to enter (her) hotel room despite her refusals.”
The report concluded a number of the woman’s allegations were substantiated and determined that some of Kang’s behaviour constituted harassment according to House of Commons policy.
She isn’t the only member of his staff to accuse him of sexual misconduct. Another former staff member, Kristin Morrell, came forward last fall with accusations of misconduct against Kang stemming from his time as an MLA in the Alberta legislature.
A spokeswoman for Kang said Friday that the MP would not be commenting on the report. The complainant has also declined to be interviewed.
Heather Bradley, a spokeswoman for Speaker Geoff Regan, says the report cannot be released because of privacy concerns.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Kang is no longer a Liberal MP and would otherwise not comment on the case.
“Whether it is this process or others, the Liberal party has no interactions or responsibility over what his next steps are,” Trudeau said Friday in Barrie, Ont.