harassment

Saturday January 23, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 23, 2021

Payette stepping down as governor general after blistering report on Rideau Hall work environment

August 8, 2020

Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette and her secretary, Assunta di Lorenzo, are resigning after an outside workplace review of Rideau Hall found that the pair presided over a toxic work environment.

Last year, an independent consulting firm was hired by the Privy Council Office (PCO) to review reports that Payette was responsible for workplace harassment at Rideau Hall.

Sources who were briefed on the consulting firm’s report told CBC News that its conclusions were damning.

President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada Dominic LeBlanc told CBC’s Vassy Kapelos the federal government received the final report late last week, which he said offered some “disturbing” and “worrisome” conclusions.

September 23, 2020

LeBlanc said Payette indicated her intention to resign during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last night, where they discussed the report’s contents.

In a media statement announcing her departure, Payette apologized for what she called the “tensions” at Rideau Hall in recent months, saying that everyone has “a right to a healthy and safe work environment.”

“While no formal complaints or official grievances were made during my tenure, which would have immediately triggered a detailed investigation as prescribed by law and the collective agreements in place, I still take these allegations very seriously,” she said in the statement. 

“We all experience things differently, but we should always strive to do better and be attentive to one another’s perceptions.”

In a media statement announcing her departure, Payette apologized for what she called the “tensions” at Rideau Hall in recent months, saying that everyone has “a right to a healthy and safe work environment.”

“While no formal complaints or official grievances were made during my tenure, which would have immediately triggered a detailed investigation as prescribed by law and the collective agreements in place, I still take these allegations very seriously,” she said in the statement. 

“We all experience things differently, but we should always strive to do better and be attentive to one another’s perceptions.”

November 1, 2018

Payette joins a very short list of governors general who have left the post early — but she is the first to do so mired in controversy.

Lord Alexander left for England a month before Vincent Massey was sworn in as his replacement in 1952. John Buchan, also known as Lord Tweedsmuir, and Georges Vanier both died while serving, in 1940 and 1967, respectively. In those cases, the Supreme Court chief justice of the day stepped in to fill the role temporarily.

Romeo LeBlanc, Dominic’s father, stepped down in 1999 before the end of his term due to health issues. The office was not left vacant; LeBlanc continued until Adrienne Clarkson was ready to succeed him.

Governors general have resigned under pressure — and have been asked to resign by prime ministers — in Commonwealth countries in the past. In 2003, Australian Gov. Gen. Peter Hollingworth resigned after controversy erupted over the way he had handled sexual abuse claims while he was archbishop of Brisbane. (CBC) 

 

Wednesday September 23, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 23, 2020

Trudeau, Payette may be headed for awkward encounter over throne speech, observers say

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Julie Payette are headed for what could be an uncomfortable public moment on Wednesday, when Payette delivers the speech from the throne while her office is under a cloud of controversy due to harassment claims.

December 5, 2019

The Governor General is always the centre of attention when a throne speech is presented — but never before like this.

Earlier this month, the Privy Council Office confirmed it had hired a private company to conduct a probe into claims of a toxic work environment and verbal harassment at Rideau Hall. The probe was triggered by a CBC News story detailing reports of mistreatment.

CBC News has spoken to more than 20 sources, including current public servants and former Rideau Hall employees, who say that Payette has created a toxic workplace by yelling at, belittling and publicly humiliating staff. Payette’s second-in-command and longtime friend, Assunta Di Lorenzo, also faces claims of bullying employees.

Political scientists and constitutional experts say they expect to see Trudeau and Payette going through the motions of the throne speech ceremony while trying to downplay any suggestions of underlying tension between the PMO and Rideau Hall.

August 8, 2020

“It’s an awkward situation,” said Michael Jackson, president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada at Massey College in Toronto. “One has never seen as prolonged a criticism of a vice-regal person as in this particular case.”

Jackson said he plans to watch Payette’s delivery of the speech very closely to see if she adds any comments of her own. While the speech itself is written by the Prime Minister’s Office and outlines the government’s policy vision, governors general are the ones who actually read the speech publicly in the Senate chamber — and can also add a preamble about their own activities.

On occasion, past governors general have injected short passages into throne speeches touching on events of national importance, such as upcoming royal visits or anniversaries, Jackson said. The Privy Council Office, which receives a Governor General’s introductory text to be included in the speech, confirmed it “typically includes a few paragraphs.” 

But in a departure from the norm, Payette added 11 to 12 paragraphs to the speech in 2019 — including a reference to the shared “space-time continuum.”

July 14, 2017

“We share the same planet,” Payette said during the 2019 speech. “We know that we are inextricably bound to the same space-time continuum and on board the same planetary spaceship.”

“I thought it was surprising for the Governor General to put her own imprint on what is a speech by and for the government of the day. These kinds of almost platitudes and digressions confused many people,” Jackson said.

Philippe Lagassé of Ottawa’s Carleton University researches the roles of Parliament and the Crown in Westminster states like Canada. He said Payette feels strongly about protecting her privacy and how she’s portrayed in the media — and he wouldn’t be surprised if she makes some reference to the controversy swirling around her office in Wednesday’s speech.

“I think it will be interesting to see if Her Excellency makes a point of addressing the criticisms in some direct or indirect way,” he said. (CBC) 

 

Saturday May 12, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 12, 2018

NDP suspends Quebec MP Christine Moore in wake of inappropriate conduct allegations

November 6, 2014

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has temporarily suspended Quebec MP Christine Moore from her duties with the party and ordered an investigation after a veteran of the war in Afghanistan accused her of inappropriate sexual behaviour.

The allegations against Moore are the latest to rock the third-place party. Singh expelled another MP from caucus last week following a three-month investigation that was sparked by a complaint from Moore.

In an interview, retired corporal Glen Kirkland said Moore first approached him after he testified before a parliamentary committee in June 2013, where he had been asked to speak on the treatment of ill and injured soldiers.

January 31, 2018

Kirkland was wounded in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2008 while driving a light-armoured vehicle that was hit by recoilless rifle fire. The shot killed three other soldiers and left Kirkland with severe injuries, including a damaged pancreas and right eye, crushed vertebrae, bleeding in the brain and PTSD.

Kirkland did not want to get into specifics Tuesday. But he did tell the CBC that Moore followed him back to his hotel and continued to send explicit messages, even turning up unannounced at his Manitoba home before he forcibly told her to stop.

January 26, 2018

“I’m not claiming rape or anything,” Kirkland, who is now a real estate agent in Brandon, Man., told CP. But, he said, “she was inappropriate. She used her position of power and authority to get what she wanted.”

In a statement released Tuesday, Singh said Moore will remain a member of caucus pending the results of an investigation, but that she is being temporarily relieved of her duties on committees and other party matters.

“I take these allegations very seriously and I will be appointing an independent investigator to conduct a fair and full examination,” Singh said. (Source: Edmonton Journal) 

 

Wednesday January 31, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 31, 2018

#MeToo’s moment on Parliament Hill suggests another way more women could change politics

The great unravelling continues. And as it does, it reveals the difficult truths about sexual misconduct by those who occupy the institutions of Canadian political power.

Beyond the question of what might be revealed next, there is the question of what must change to ensure this moment is never relived.

At noon on Monday, a day after another report of sexual misconduct allegedly perpetrated by one of its members, the House of Commons turned its attention to Bill C-65, legislation to implement new rules and processes for dealing with sexual harassment in federally regulated workplaces.

“We have been powerfully reminded in Canada and indeed around the world that harassment and violence remain a common experience for people in the workplace,” Labour Minister Patty Hajdu said. “Parliament Hill, our own workplace, is especially affected.”

She proceeded in greater detail.

“Parliament Hill features distinct power imbalances, which perpetuates a culture where people with a lot of power and prestige can use and have used that power to victimize the people who work so hard for us,” she said. “It is a culture where people who are victims of harassment or sexual violence do not feel safe to bring those complaints forward. It is a place where these types of behaviours, abusive and harmful, are accepted and minimized and ignored.”

Three hours later, MPs unanimously agreed to pass C-65 at second reading and send it immediately to a committee for further study.

The bill is, in Conservative MP Michelle Rempel’s words, “a positive step in the right direction.” But, in and of itself, C-65 “will not correct all the issues associated with the current state of affairs,” she said. 

So more must change, including perhaps the most obvious: the number of women who currently occupy seats in the House of Commons. (Source: CBC)

 

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Thursday November 16, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 16, 2017

Canada pledges to boost women peacekeepers

Canada is also offering a total of $21 million to help increase the number of women in peacekeeping, including $6 million to help with reforms at the UN and $15 million for a new trust fund.

The fund is intended to help partner together countries with good female representation in the ranks with those that want to have more women in uniform, but are facing challenges.

The officials emphasized that such partnerships would only involve countries that are genuinely interested and willing to having more women in their militaries.

The new emphasis on women in peacekeeping and military operations comes amid growing international recognition of the real operational benefits that come from female soldiers in the field.

Canada will also make dozens of trainers available to the UN and other countries to help professionalize militaries from developing countries that are often involved in peacekeeping.

Some of those trainers will be deployed to UN centres in Africa, such as Kenya, Ghana and Uganda. But officials say up to 50 could also be sent to other countries, and may even deploy on missions with their students.

That would only occur, however, when the safety of Canadian troops can be ensured, officials said. (Source: CTV News) 

 

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