PM’s Office to handle harassment grievances
Small team will take on behavioural complaints from ministerial staffers
OTTAWA— The Prime Minister’s Office has set up a small team to handle harassment complaints from political staffers working for cabinet ministers.
Eleanore Catenaro, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says the two senior aides on the team respond to questions and complaints from ministerial staffers — including those in the PMO — regarding sexual harassment and other inappropriate workplace behaviour.
“All staff members have the right to a safe and respectful working environment and we do not take this responsibility lightly,” Catenaro said in an email.
The Harassment Resolution and Investigation Office, which was set up last October, can also arrange for an independent investigation into allegations.
“We have been working with various experts and counsellors and lawyers on making sure that we have all the right processes in place,” Trudeau said Monday on his way into question period in the House of Commons. “We followed their advice and all these processes are things that all our staff know all about.”
The office is being led by Brett Thalmann, who Catenaro said is responsible for human resources in the PMO, along with Sabina Saini, deputy director of policy.
News of the office came to light after HuffPost Canada published allegations by Myriam Denis, who alleges she was contacted by ClaudeÉric Gagné — then a senior official in the PMO — with a flirtatious message months after he had interviewed her for a job she did not get.
Gagné resigned last week after being the subject of a since-concluded third-party investigation into other allegations, which he denies.
According to HuffPost Canada, Denis said after she had shared details on social media, Thalmann reached out to ask her about the incident and said he could refer her to the thirdparty investigator.