Trudeau still silent on MP’s relationship
PMO argues it wanted to respect privacy of people in workplace relationship
OTTAWA— The prime minister’s office says it stayed mum about an MP’s “inappropriate” workplace relationship to respect the privacy of the people involved.
Former cabinet minister Hunter Tootoo revealed this week that he quit his post as fisheries minister and left the Liberal caucus in May because he had been involved what he called a “consensual but inappropriate” relationship.
And while the MP for Nunavut said he told Justin Trudeau himself about the relationship on May 31, the prime minister and his officials have for months refused to reveal the real reason for the MP’s surprise departure from caucus.
To discuss the relationship “would have compromised the privacy of the people who are involved in this situation,” Cameron Ahmad, a spokesman for Trudeau, said Thursday.
“The privacy of the individuals involved was paramount for us,” he said.
At the time he quit both cabinet and the Liberal caucus, Tootoo said only that he was seeking treatment for alcohol addiction, a line repeated by Trudeau.
But that explanation raised eyebrows, given that other MPs such as Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan have sought help for alcohol problems yet had remained within their respective parties.
Tootoo returned from rehabilitation and resumed his political work late last month after what he called a “difficult journey” but still offered no details of the relationship.
That put pressure on Tootoo to provide further explanation for his abrupt exit from the Liberal caucus earlier this year.
On Wednesday, the first-time MP provided a statement to the local CBC station in Iqaluit offering the real reason for his political exile.
“I made a mistake and regrettably engaged in a consensual but inappropriate relationship, and that is why I resigned,” he said.
Tootoo said he revealed that information to the prime minister on May 31. “I voluntarily informed the prime minister that I made a mistake,” he said.
He declined to provide more information about the individual involved.
“The individual has asked me to protect her privacy and I am respecting those wishes, and I ask that you respect that wish,” Tootoo told CBC.
An aide for Tootoo said he was not available to speak to the Toronto Star on Thursday.
In the wake of Tootoo’s comments, the prime minister’s office for the first time confirmed that Trudeau was told in May about the relationship but avoided any mention of it publicly.
“On May 31, 2016, Hunter Tootoo acknowledged to the Prime Minister that he had been engaging in what was an inappropriate relationship in the workplace,” Trudeau’s office said Wednesday.
“Mr. Tootoo informed the Prime Minister that he took full and sole responsibility for his inappropriate workplace conduct,” the statement said.
“In order to respect and protect the privacy interests of all individuals involved, we will not be commenting further on this matter,’ the statement said.
The prime minister’s office refused to provide any additional details, such as explaining what made the relationship inappropriate. A senior official also refused to speculate whether Tootoo would ever return to the Liberal caucus.
“There is nothing technically illegal about dating a subordinate. However, in his position, there was possibly a greater obligation not to,” said workplace lawyer Daniel Lublin, a partner at the Toronto law firm Whitten and Lublin.