I know you are going to find it hard to believe, so, hang on
tight. As if the list of #MeToo sexual harassers were not long enough, we have
a new name to add.
Guess who?
Why, none other than self-proclaimed feminist Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau. Yes, indeed, Trudeau has been accused of groping a
female reporter in the year 2000 during an anti-avalanche meeting.
The Toronto Globe and Mail has the story:
The
alleged incident reportedly took place at a music festival where money was
being raised for the Avalanche Foundation, a charity Trudeau became involved
with after his brother Michel died in an avalanche in 1998.
In the
days that followed, an editorial appeared in the Creston Valley Advance
alleging Trudeau had apologized to an unnamed female reporter at the newspaper
after “groping” her at the event. It alleged he told the woman he would not
have “been so forward” if he had known she was reporting for a national
newspaper.
Nice touch that. If he had known she was reporting for a
national newspaper he would not have groped her. Does that mean that if women
who do not work for national newspapers are fair game? Is it open season on
female non-journalists?
Today, Justin does not recall any of it. The Globe and Mail
adds this:
Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau says he does not remember any “negative interactions”
during an event he attended 18 years ago in British Columbia – acknowledging
for the first time allegations of sexual misconduct that recently resurfaced
about him at the event.
Trudeau
told reporters in Regina on Sunday that he remembers attending the music
festival in Creston, B.C., in the summer of 2000, but said he doesn’t recall
anything going amiss.
Saying that you do not recall is a good way to avoid
perjuring yourself.
Naturally,
this is all highly problematic for a man who champions feminist causes and who
has led the march against male sexual harassment.
The
allegation is particularly problematic for Trudeau, who frequently proclaims
himself a feminist and has generally taken a zero-tolerance approach to
allegations of sexual misconduct within the Liberal party.
Four
MPs have resigned or been kicked out of the Liberal caucus over alleged sexual
misconduct since Trudeau became party leader in 2013.
Trudeau
has acknowledged that he, like other political leaders, is struggling to figure
out the best way to deal with allegations while still allowing due process for
those accused.
“I
don’t have a rule book that’s been handed down to me from Wilfrid Laurier as
leader of the Liberal party on how to handle these situations,” Trudeau said in
January.
The
Canadian Press has made efforts to speak to the other person involved in the
alleged 2000 incident in Creston, B.C., but those efforts have so far been
unsuccessful.
So, Justin Trudeau, the pride of woke male feminism, turns
out to have been a groper. We await further developments.
4 comments:
Justin from Canada is the biggest loser Prime Minister since... his dad. He's groping for relevance, as Trump squeezes Canada's commodity-driven raw materials economy. 75% of its 37 million subjects live within 60 miles of the United States. I don't recall a more silly position than picking a losing fight with Trump and tying his fortunes to Europe.
I wonder if the reporter will materialize? I suspect if someone were to hire some resourceful private investigators it may be easy to determine who the reporter was at the time. Creston is a small town - how big could the newspaper staff have been?
Aside from the fact that there's groping and then there's...well, GROPING...and whether this was a capital ( letter) "crime" isn't said), there ought to be a statute of limitations on either one.
Lesson learned? Get your groping and grabbing impulses worked through before you're 30, or at least before you get married.
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