Politicians scrambling to adapt to new environment
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau concedes that he, like all political leaders, is struggling to figure out how best to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct against members of his own caucus.
“I don’t have a rule book that’s been handed down to me from Wilfrid Laurier as leader of the Liberal party on how to handle these situations,” the prime minister said Tuesday.
“This is new for organizations to have to deal with in this way, and we are doing the best that we can on a case-by-case basis — starting from a place of respect, of support (for victims), of belief and understanding that we do have to have fair process as we move forward.”
Trudeau offered that answer in response to a question about why Kent Hehr — who resigned from federal cabinet last week pending an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct towards women — remains a member of the government caucus while Darshan Kang, another Calgary MP facing misconduct allegations, has been booted from the Liberal fold.
That question has gained urgency as additional complaints against Hehr have surfaced, including an allegation that he groped a young female staffer.
Liberal insiders say Kang, a former member of the Alberta legislature, voluntarily quit caucus last year while he’s being investigated for alleged sexual harassment involving former female staffers in both his provincial and federal constituency offices.
Trudeau didn’t mention that, but did say “every case will be different.”
He acknowledged that the #MeToo movement sweeping the globe has “all of us figuring out the transformations that we need to make in our workplaces, in our communities, in the environments that surround us to go to a place of ... work environments and life environments for everyone that are respectful and appropriate.”
Until very recently, Trudeau pointed out that the processes and support systems to deal with complaints of sexual harassment or sexual assault involving federal politicians and employees did not even exist.