NDP suspends MP after Afghan war vet alleges sexual misconduct

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has temporarily suspended Quebec MP Christine Moore from her duties with the party and ordered an investigation after a veteran of the war in Afghanistan accused her of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The allegations against Moore are the latest to rock the New Democrats; Singh expelled Regina MP Erin Weir from caucus last week following an investigation that was sparked by a complaint from Moore.

In an interview, retired corporal Glen Kirkland said Moore first approached him after he testified before a parliamentary committee in June 2013, where he had been asked to speak on the treatment of ill and injured soldiers.

Kirkland was wounded in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008 while driving a light-armoured vehicle. The shot killed three other soldiers and left Kirkland with severe injuries.

“She took interest in my health because her background is in nursing,” Kirkland told The Canadian Press by telephone on Tuesday.

“She asked me back to her office . ... I was a corporal in the military and a member of Parliament asked me to do something. There was no thought process. It was just the way it was,” he said.

“She started pouring me drinks and I told her: ‘I’m on medication,’” Kirkland continued. “I told her what I was on. She said it was fine.”

While Kirkland did not want to get into specifics, he did tell the CBC that Moore followed him back to his hotel and continued to send explicit messages, even turning up unannounced at his Manitoba home before he forcibly told her to stop.

“She was inappropriate,” said Kirkland, who is now a real estate agent in Brandon, Man. “She used her position of power and authority to get what she wanted.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Singh said Moore will remain a member of caucus pending the results of an investigation, but that she is being temporarily relieved of her duties on committees and other party matters.

“I take these allegations very seriously and I will be appointing an independent investigator to conduct a fair and full examination,” Singh said.

In a statement distributed by the NDP, Moore said she welcomed the chance “to participate in the independent and fair examination of these allegations.”