Trudeau shows support for Hehr while facing groping allegations
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — facing his own controversies from the past — gave a strong show of support for Calgary Centre MP Kent Hehr on Saturday.
Hehr resigned from the federal cabinet after an independent investigation was launched into allegations of sexual harassment when he was an Alberta MLA in 2008.
Following the investigation, Hehr apologized to the woman who accused him of making inappropriate comments to her, saying he had clearly made her uncomfortable.
He has not been returned to cabinet but intends to run in the 2019 federal election.
Appearing at Hehr’s Stampede breakfast at the Sunalta Community Centre, Trudeau called Hehr a “great MP.”
“We’re so lucky to have him and his voice here in Calgary Centre,” the prime minister told the crowd of several hundred people. “He’s a strong member of the team.”
Trudeau has recently faced fallout from an allegation made in a newspaper editorial in 2000 that he had “groped” a reporter.
The woman at the centre of that case issued a statement Friday saying the incident had occurred as described, including that Trudeau had apologized the next day. She made it clear that she was not pursuing the matter further and would not participate in coverage.
Trudeau has said he does not believe he acted inappropriately but the incident shows how a situation can be perceived differently by those involved.
On Friday, Trudeau was asked by a reporter why his situation was different than Hehr’s.
“I think people understand that every situation is different and we have to reflect and take seriously every situation on a case-by-case basis, and that’s exactly what we’re endeavouring to do in any range of situations that come forward,” said Trudeau, who had kept his political distance from Hehr while the MP was under investigation.
Hehr told reporters Saturday that he agrees with the prime minister’s position.
“The prime minister is correct. Every situation is a case-by-case situation. So I agree with him 100 per cent,” he said.
Hehr has also apologized to a woman who said he had touched her inappropriately at an event, though he said that as a quadriplegic with little control of his arms, any contact was inadvertent and he had no idea it had occurred.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt, who was at the Liberal breakfast, said Trudeau had little choice to appear with Hehr — the sole Liberal MP in the city — but the optics are awkward. “The photo ops are bad,” he said. He said Hehr will face a significant challenge holding on to his seat in the next election.
In 2015, Hehr and Darshan Kang became the first Liberal MPs elected in Calgary in four decades, but Kang has subsequently left the Liberal caucus over accusations he sexually harassed a constituency office worker.
Numerous candidates are lining up to seek the Conservative nomination in Calgary Centre. On Saturday morning, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was a few kilometres away at the Conservative riding association’s Stampede breakfast.
In an interview, Scheer said the Conservatives won’t focus on the issue of Trudeau’s or Hehr’s conduct but it may be a factor in the next campaign.
“Personal behaviour and issues around character, obviously it’s up to each individual voter to determine how much that will play a role in how they decide how to cast their ballot,” said Scheer, who was to appear at the Conservatives’ annual fundraiser barbecue at Heritage Park on Saturday night.
Scheer said the Conservatives will fight the next campaign on issues such as the Liberals’ carbon price mandate and soaring deficits.
He expressed confidence the party would retake both Calgary seats it lost in the last campaign.
It was an enthusiastic crowd at Hehr’s Stampede breakfast, though, with Trudeau drawing cheers as he spoke and being mobbed for photographs as he shook hands.
The prime minister touted the federal government’s $4.5-billion purchase of Kinder Morgan’s Canadian assets to ensure the completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline and Canada’s tough position in a trade battle with the United States.
Trudeau also spoke later to major donors to the Liberal party at a fundraiser at the River Cafe.
He paid tribute to Alberta Liberals who had stuck with the party through lean times in the province.