MPP says “take our word,” there was harassment probe

Liberals have been under pressure to prove they looked into workplace harassment allegations but Deputy Premier Deb Matthews offered no elaboration yesterday.

The Liberal government has been under increasing pressure to prove it looked into workplace harassment allegations but Deputy Premier Deb Matthews offered little evidence yesterday.

“Well, I guess you’re going to have to take our word for that,” she said, after being asked how anyone could believe they looked into the matter. “A member was removed from caucus after a third-party investigation.”

The Toronto Star reports that Matthews was also noncommittal when asked if the government would release a redacted version of the report to protect alleged victims. It’s also reported that she refused to identify the second MPP who — according to Wynne — also faced sexual harassment allegations.

“We’ve been very clear about what that process is and the resolution of that process,” she said. “There’s nobody in this province, in this country, who takes the issue of sexual harassment more seriously than our premier.”

Earlier this week, Wynne was forced to deny rumours that the Liberal government had silenced sexual harassment complainants after a woman who worked in former MPP Kim Craitor’s office claimed she was under a non-disclosure agreement.

The woman came forward and she is free to talk and tell her story as she sees fit," Wynne insisted, then suggesting that it was the woman herself who has asked for the agreement.

“When a complainant suggests that a confidentiality agreement be part of a resolution then of course we agree to that,” she stressed.

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