MP breaks silence on sex assault allegations
Darshan Kang fires back at claims he says have forced him to take medical leave
OTTAWA— Darshan Kang, a Calgary Liberal MP accused of sexually harassing a young female staffer, then offering her money to stay quiet with her allegations, broke his own silence Tuesday and committed to defend himself “at all costs.”
In a short statement released by his office, Kang did not address the specific allegations against him — which were partly revealed Aug. 11 — and said he has not been able to appear in public because he was placed on stress-related medical leave.
He also confirmed there is an “open, ongoing investigation” into the allegations.
“Since the allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against me I have been under a tremendous amount of stress and subsequently, I was placed on medical leave,” the statement said.
“While I cannot comment directly on an open, ongoing investigation, I continue to proclaim my innocence and will defend my reputation at all costs.”
Kang is accused of sexually harassing a young woman who worked in his Calgary constituency office for more than four years. The woman’s father told the Star on condition of anonymity that Kang offered her a series of payments of up to $100,000 to stay quiet with her allegations, which he said included numerous instances of unwelcome hugs and hand-holding, as well as an incident in June when he offered the woman wine and tried to take off her jacket.
None of the allegations against Kang has been proven.
The father said the Liberal party’s deputy whip in the House of Commons, Hamilton MP Filomena Tassi, travelled to Calgary in June to interview his daughter about her allegations. Tassi has not responded to interview requests from the Star this week.
The NDP, meanwhile, called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “immediately remove” Kang from the Liberal caucus, pending the conclusion of an investigation.
Sheila Malcolmson, the NDP’s Status of Women critic, questioned whether Kang’s continued presence in the Liberal fold means Trudeau is betraying his stated “zero tolerance” policy on harassment and misconduct on Parliament Hill.
“How did the prime minister move from ‘zero tolerance’ in the past to ‘no comment’ now? There is no rationale.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Trudeau declined to say why Kang remains in the Liberal caucus. He said there is a “strong series of processes” in Parliament to deal with harassment allegations, which has been put in place over the past two years.
“The whip’s office is very much engaged, as it must be in this process, and we will allow this process to unfold as it should,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Hill Times revealed that Kang is being investigated by the House of Commons human resources officer for alleged sexual harassment. The government whip’s office has confirmed it received the allegations.
“We were made aware of the allegations and referred them, as per the House of Commons process, to the chief human resources officer (Pierre Parent),” the government whip’s chief-of-staff, Charles-Eric Lépine, said in an email Monday.
It is not clear if Lépine was referring to the allegation of sexual harassment, the alleged offers of money, or both. He declined to answer any more questions on the matter Monday and Tuesday.
The human resources office investigates claims of harassment, abuse of authority, misconduct and sexual harassment among MPs and Parliamentary employees, including workers in constituency offices.
If a complaint is determined to meet the policy’s recommendation of harassment and attempted mediation doesn’t work, an investigation will take place, according to Parliament’s harassment policy.
Each party has 15 days to appeal the conclusion of an investigation, the policy states.
During the 2016-17 fiscal year, the office received 19 cases and deemed two serious enough for investigation, according to its most recent annual report. Both cases were found to be “not substantiated.”
“How did the prime minister move from ‘zero tolerance’ in the past to ‘no comment’ now? There is no rationale.” SHEILA MALCOLMSON NDP CRITIC