Premier asks for harassment policy review after ex-PC minister says she was sexually assaulted
CBC
Premier Wab Kinew wants Manitoba's sexual harassment policies to be reviewed after a former Tory cabinet minister said she was damaged politically seven years ago when she reported she had been groped by a former MLA.
"It's really about making sure that the ability of somebody to report and to be able to access supports is keeping with the expectations that I think everyone has — that you should be safe when you go to work," Kinew told reporters at an unrelated event on Wednesday.
Last Friday, former Manitoba Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Sarah Guillemard wrote in social media posts that she was groped by an ex-MLA in 2017, and that she faced consequences to her career after she reported him. The posts do not name the person she claims assaulted her.
Kinew said Wednesday he was "very concerned" when he heard about Guillemard's allegations, and asked the clerk of executive council on Monday to review the harassment-reporting policy for government workers, the so-called "no wrong door" initiative.
"Seeing as that the 'no wrong door' policy has been in place for about half a decade now, I figured given society's continued evolution — the expectations that society has — we should take a look at this," Kinew said.
"What I'd like to see is just a continued upkeeping of the standard that people are safe when they come to work in the public sector."
Former premier Brian Pallister put the policy in place in 2018. It's meant to give employees more options to report sexual harassment complaints. Part of the policy gives workers the option to take their complaints to the clerk of the executive council — the highest ranking civil servant — or the Public Service Commission.
However, Guillemard, who was the legislative assembly member for Fort Richmond in Winnipeg from 2016 to 2023, said reporting harassment is a "people issue," not a policy issue.
"You can have the best written policy and training in place, but if the people tasked with enacting policy are not good characters, this will continue to happen," she said in an email to CBC News after Kinew called for the review.
"I am sure there are some 'untouchables' when it comes to consequences in the NDP/Liberal/Green world as well," she added.
"Strong leadership depends on strong integrity. I hope that is demonstrated in the years to come at every level."
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