Marcel Aubut denies sex allegations
Woman claims he kissed her in restaurant
Since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s as president of the Quebec Nordiques hockey team, Marcel Aubut has rarely slowed down. “I only know one speed: Floor it!” he told L’actualité magazine last year.
He was talking about his notorious driving habits, but the assessment also applies to his professional life. Whether in his role as hockey executive, lawyer or more recently, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Aubut always seems to be going full throttle.
But on Wednesday night, the Aubut express ground to a halt. He has stepped down from the committee pending investigation into the alleged sexual harassment of a colleague. The committee announced it had received a formal complaint against Aubut last Friday and ordered an independent investigation. A statement from Aubut said the complaint stemmed from “remarks he allegedly made to a colleague” and that he would co- operate with the investigation. “Mr. Aubut declared he never intended to offend or upset anyone by anything he might have said in the performance of his duties,” the statement concluded.
Montreal sports lawyer Amelia Salehabadi- Fouques, a member of the board of directors of Soccer Canada, told La Presse and TVA that Aubut, 67, had made unwanted sexual advances on three separate occasions when they were meeting for business.
“I felt violated in front of everyone,” she told La Presse about a kiss Aubut gave her at a restaurant.
TVA also interviewed a former executive assistant to Aubut, whose identity was not revealed, who claimed Aubut regularly fondled her and once called her into a conference room where he was in his boxer shorts.