Another one bites the dust
The minister for sports and people with disabilities has quit cabinet pending an investigation into accusations he made sexually inappropriate comments to women.
OTTAWA—Kent Hehr, the minister for sports and people with disabilities, has resigned from cabinet pending an investigation into accusations he made sexually inappropriate comments to women during his time in the Alberta legislature.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision Thursday afternoon, saying that “harassment of any kind is unacceptable.”
“As a government we take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously, and we believe that it is important to support women who come forward with allegations and that is exactly what our government will do,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Trudeau said he accepted Hehr’s resignation, adding that Science Minister Kirsty Duncan will take on the portfolio of sports and persons with disabilities.
The move came after Kristin Raworth, an Alberta civil servant, posted concerns on Twitter Wednesday about Hehr’s conduct, who was an Alberta politician before being elected to the House of Commons.
“My first day working at the Alberta legislature I was told to avoid being in an elevator with Kent Hehr. He would make comments. He would make you feel unsafe,” Raworth said on Twitter.
“There is literally no woman who worked in the annex who didn’t experience this. He made verbally sexually suggestive comments to all of us, who in an elevator with me and only me said ‘you’re yummy’,” she said.
“My story and most of our stories thankful don’t end with assault but they end up in fear. In a community of that women who told each other about the man who scares you in an elevator,” said Raworth, who could not be reached Thursday.
Calling it her “political #metoo” movement, Raworth posted her comments after Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown held a late-night news conference Wednesday to deny allegations of sexual misconduct. Brown resigned hours later.
Hehr had been scheduled to make a funding announcement in Toronto Thursday morning but the event was cancelled.
Asked about the allegations earlier Thursday, Trudeau said he has “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment or abuse.
“As people know full well, we and I personally have zero tolerance for things like harassment or sexual assault,” Trudeau said in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum.
“That is why we have taken actions over the past years and why I always repeat that it’s important to believe and support those women who come forward to make such allegations,” the prime minister.
Trudeau said he has been “unequivocal” in his support for women who raised concerns about inappropriate behaviour.
“That continues,” he said, adding then that he would be speaking with Hehr later in the day.
Hehr faced criticism late last year for his conduct during a meeting with a thalidomide survivor group, in which it was also alleged he touched one of the women “in a way that was inappropriate and unwelcome.”
“I think that was a shock to us all too,” said Fiona Sampson, according to a CBC News report on the meeting.
Hehr had grabbed one of the women by the arm, near her breast.
“It was an unwelcomed physical contact that violated her personal space,” Sampson said.
Hehr was first elected to the Alberta legislature in 2008. Hehr — who uses a motorized wheelchair after being paralyzed in a 1991 shooting — made the jump to federal politics in 2015, elected as MP for Calgary Centre. He was appointed to cabinet as minister of veterans affairs but then demoted in a shuffle.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...egations-of-inappropriate-sexual-remarks.html
The minister for sports and people with disabilities has quit cabinet pending an investigation into accusations he made sexually inappropriate comments to women.
OTTAWA—Kent Hehr, the minister for sports and people with disabilities, has resigned from cabinet pending an investigation into accusations he made sexually inappropriate comments to women during his time in the Alberta legislature.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the decision Thursday afternoon, saying that “harassment of any kind is unacceptable.”
“As a government we take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously, and we believe that it is important to support women who come forward with allegations and that is exactly what our government will do,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Trudeau said he accepted Hehr’s resignation, adding that Science Minister Kirsty Duncan will take on the portfolio of sports and persons with disabilities.
The move came after Kristin Raworth, an Alberta civil servant, posted concerns on Twitter Wednesday about Hehr’s conduct, who was an Alberta politician before being elected to the House of Commons.
“My first day working at the Alberta legislature I was told to avoid being in an elevator with Kent Hehr. He would make comments. He would make you feel unsafe,” Raworth said on Twitter.
“There is literally no woman who worked in the annex who didn’t experience this. He made verbally sexually suggestive comments to all of us, who in an elevator with me and only me said ‘you’re yummy’,” she said.
“My story and most of our stories thankful don’t end with assault but they end up in fear. In a community of that women who told each other about the man who scares you in an elevator,” said Raworth, who could not be reached Thursday.
Calling it her “political #metoo” movement, Raworth posted her comments after Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown held a late-night news conference Wednesday to deny allegations of sexual misconduct. Brown resigned hours later.
Hehr had been scheduled to make a funding announcement in Toronto Thursday morning but the event was cancelled.
Asked about the allegations earlier Thursday, Trudeau said he has “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment or abuse.
“As people know full well, we and I personally have zero tolerance for things like harassment or sexual assault,” Trudeau said in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum.
“That is why we have taken actions over the past years and why I always repeat that it’s important to believe and support those women who come forward to make such allegations,” the prime minister.
Trudeau said he has been “unequivocal” in his support for women who raised concerns about inappropriate behaviour.
“That continues,” he said, adding then that he would be speaking with Hehr later in the day.
Hehr faced criticism late last year for his conduct during a meeting with a thalidomide survivor group, in which it was also alleged he touched one of the women “in a way that was inappropriate and unwelcome.”
“I think that was a shock to us all too,” said Fiona Sampson, according to a CBC News report on the meeting.
Hehr had grabbed one of the women by the arm, near her breast.
“It was an unwelcomed physical contact that violated her personal space,” Sampson said.
Hehr was first elected to the Alberta legislature in 2008. Hehr — who uses a motorized wheelchair after being paralyzed in a 1991 shooting — made the jump to federal politics in 2015, elected as MP for Calgary Centre. He was appointed to cabinet as minister of veterans affairs but then demoted in a shuffle.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...egations-of-inappropriate-sexual-remarks.html
