Pallister Must Disclose What He Knows about Advisor’s Alleged Sexual Misconduct
June 21, 2019
Statement from Dougald Lamont, Manitoba Liberal Leader -
The story in today's Winnipeg Free Press raises extremely disturbing allegations that must be addressed by the Premier, by the Leader of the NDP, and by the police.
These go far beyond allegations of inappropriate or unacceptable workplace behaviour.
These are not issues to be handled quietly and privately by the clerk of the executive council and retired RCMP investigators.
These are criminal allegations, and they should be handed over to the police and the courts.
It is also now an open question whether the most powerful politicians in the province - the Premier and Leader of the Opposition, as well as members of their parties - knew about these allegations.
The Premier's decision to paying public lip service to harassment while ignoring wrongdoing behind closed doors has sent a message that it will be tolerated, and so it continues.
The Premier's talk of "changing the culture" is meaningless, because the culture of entitlement and impunity will not end until there is a meaningful, independent body that can investigate wrongdoing and mete out sanctions.
Manitoba Liberals have been consistent in saying we need to bring an end to politicians in the legislature "marking their own homework." We need an independent watchdog with bark and bite.
Manitoba has the weakest conflict of interest laws in the country, and no meaningful or enforceable standards for ethics, conflict of interest, or harassment when it comes to MLAs. Our Conflict of Interest Commissioner is part-time and has no powers of investigation or enforcement.
Where there are no rules, there is no game. A Manitoba Liberal Government will immediately create an independent Ethics Commissioner and introduce modern conflict of interest laws. The Ethics Commissioner will be able to receive complaints on harassment and conflict of interest, investigate them with due process, and impose penalties.
It is also essential that women not only feel empowered and safe when they come forward, but throughout the justice process by working to end the secondary trauma that often is a part of sexual assault investigations.
We cannot leave these decisions to those whose political status could be affected by the allegations becoming public. It is an inherent conflict of interest. The culture will only change if the rules do.
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