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In Canada, a ‘Perfect Storm’ for a #MeToo Reckoning In Canada, a ‘Perfect Storm’ for a #MeToo Reckoning
(about 9 hours later)
OTTAWA — Canada is in the grips of its own reckoning over sexual harassment. OTTAWA — Michelle Rempel was debating a sexual harassment bill in Canada’s House of Commons on Monday when she suddenly fell silent. Ms. Rempel, a Conservative lawmaker from Alberta, dropped her prepared remarks onto her desk, stretched out her arms and turned her palms up.
On Monday the country’s House of Commons is set to debate a bill that would define workplace sexual harassment under federal labor laws, and that for the first time would extend those rules to political staff members on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. “I don’t want to sit in this place and have this conversation again,” she told the chamber. “I don’t want another woman coming into my office. This needs to stop and it needs to stop now.”
The debate will come less than a week after two provincial party leaders and a federal cabinet minister stepped down after being accused of inappropriate behavior, and about a month after one of the most prominent members of Toronto’s theater community resigned from the company he founded, accused in a lawsuit of sexual harassment. Monday’s frank debate in Canada’s seat of power about sexual harassment and politics was the latest, and most potent, response to the #MeToo movement that is sweeping the nation in ways that have surprised even hardened Canadian feminists.
Last fall, two of Quebec’s most well-known celebrities also left their jobs amid accusations of sexual impropriety. In a country that often defines itself in the ways it is different from its larger and more bellicose American neighbor, Canadian women have been both inspired and dispirited by what is happening across the border and moved to speak out themselves.
All these cases have come to light since the revelations about the producer Harvey Weinstein last fall set off a crescendo of accusations of sexual harassment and impropriety, with women speaking out loudly in the #MeToo movement, and dozens of men resigning from their posts in entertainment, politics, publishing and journalism. One notable difference, however, is that Canadian politicians from all parties are strongly calling for changes and supporting victims who are increasingly coming forward.
Cases like this have come up in Canada before. But women in Canada have gained confidence from the #MeToo movement across the border, believing the climate has changed. “The MeToo and Time’s Up movements have helped women and other survivors from around the world to bring their stories forward and shine a spotlight on harassment and sexual violence,” said Patty Hajdu, Canada’s labor minister, while opening the debate on stronger sexual harassment protection legislation in the House of Commons, “and it’s our responsibility to ensure that light does not fade.”
One lawmaker after another rose to support her bill, and in some cases, argue that it should be strengthened.
The debate came, coincidentally, as Canada is reeling from a maelstrom of accusations of sexually inappropriate behavior against men in positions of power, and their swift removal.
Just last week, two provincial Conservative Party leaders and a federal cabinet minister resigned. Outside of politics, one of the most prominent members of Toronto’s theater community quit the company he founded, accused in a lawsuit of sexual harassment. And last fall, two of Quebec’s most well-known celebrities disappeared from stages and television screens amid accusations of sexual impropriety.
All of the Canadian cases came after revelations last fall about the American film producer Harvey Weinstein set off a wave of accusations of sexual harassment and impropriety, with women speaking out loudly through the #MeToo movement and dozens of men resigning from their posts in entertainment, politics, publishing and journalism.
Canada had already been grappling with the issue of sexual assault in various cases through the years, but the volume of women’s voices across the border gave many reason to believe that the climate in their country might have changed, too.
“It’s a perfect storm for reform,” said Michelle Coffin, a political science professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who worked in provincial politics for more than five years.“It’s a perfect storm for reform,” said Michelle Coffin, a political science professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who worked in provincial politics for more than five years.
It’s not only that Canadian women feel emboldened by their American counterparts; they also feel propelled by American politics, she added. It is not only that Canadian women feel emboldened by their American counterparts, she added. They also feel propelled by American politics, she said.
“Women are coming forward to ensure that does not happen: that we do not get to that place where we have a prime minister accused of sexual assault, where there’s a tape of him talking about women in a misogynistic way,” Professor Coffin said. Women are speaking up to make sure “that we do not get to that place where we have a prime minister accused of sexual assault, where there’s a tape of him talking about women in a misogynistic way,” Professor Coffin said, referring to the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Donald J. Trump bragged about grabbing women’s genitals.
Anita Vandenbeld, a Liberal member of Parliament who leads the parliamentary women’s caucus, said, “One of the things that I think came out of the MeToo movement is that most people were not aware of how many people are affected.” Paulette Senior, president of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, which finances gender equality projects across the country, said the election of Mr. Trump galvanized Canadian feminists, too.
“What is surprising for many people,” she added, “even those who are survivors, is to see how many of them are their neighbors, their sisters or their friends.” “It woke up women out of their slumber, those of us, even me, who took it for granted that could never happen,” Ms. Senior said. “We realized that all we have worked for can be lost.”
Just over three years ago, a national debate over sexual harassment flared up after the firing and arrest of a prominent musician and radio host, Jian Ghomeshi. That brought the topic of sexual assault out from women’s shelters into coffee shops and daily radio shows, where it has mostly remained. Over the past week, as the accusations piled up, Canadian politicians from all parties have been swift to demand change and, even more unusually, publicly applaud female victims for disclosing their stories of abuse or assault, even anonymously.
Further back in time — 28 years ago — Quebec went through a significant soul searching after a gunman who said he was “fighting feminism” killed 14 women and injured 14 others at an engineering school in Montreal. Lisa Raitt, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, called the women whose disclosures have toppled two provincial leaders from her own party “brave young women” on the national Canadian Broadcasting Corporation over the weekend. “I commend them for coming forward. Now, it’s caused an awful lot of turmoil in politics, but that’s O.K.”
Among the more recent episodes, Gilbert Rozon, the president of the Montreal-based Just for Laughs comedy festival, resigned in October after nine women accused him of sexual harassment and assault. Rachel Notley, the premier of Alberta, put out a message on Facebook on Monday evening: “I say to everyone in Alberta who has been subject to sexual harassment, you have a right to tell your story and share your experience. And that right must come without fear of retribution. Any form of intimidation is wrong. Threats associated with speaking out are also wrong. Completely.”
Éric Salvail, one of Quebec’s biggest television and radio stars, who is also a producer, was accused of sexual impropriety by several male and female employees. Since October he has been on a self-imposed, indefinite break from television and radio appearances and has not been involved in his production company. Ms. Notley’s public announcement came after an Alberta political staff member last week on Twitter accused Kent Hehr, federal minister of sport and persons with disabilities, of making sexual comments about her, prompting his resignation. The staff member told various Canadian media outlets that after her accusations she received a barrage of death threats, including one slipped under her door at home.
About a month ago, Albert Schultz, artistic director of the Soulpepper Theater Company in Toronto, resigned. In a lawsuit that has yet to be heard in court four actresses asserted that he sexually harassed, groped, touched and repeatedly propositioned them over a 13-year period. Unlike the government in Washington, the federal government in Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a self-described feminist, has been leading the push to address sexual harassment. The legislation his government introduced Monday defines it broadly, as any comment, gesture or touching “of a sexual nature” that could offend or humiliate an employee.
Then came last week. First to go was Jamie Baillie, the Progressive Conservative Party leader in Nova Scotia. An investigation, which has not been made public, found that he had breached the provincial legislature’s workplace harassment policies and behaved inappropriately. The bill also includes as sexual harassment any “condition of a sexual nature” that might affect a worker’s job security or opportunities for promotion. If passed, the changes will set up a formal complaint system and give the labor department sweeping investigatory powers.
Hours later, Patrick Brown sent Ontario’s political scene into turmoil by stepping down as its Progressive Conservative leader after two women accused him of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers. The proposed measure also extends the rules to political staff members for the first time. Over the past week, many former political staff members have told personal stories of unwanted groping, kissing and lewd comments they suffered so regularly they thought it was part of the job.
The same day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he had accepted the resignation of Kent Hehr, the minister of sport and persons with disabilities, pending an investigation into possible sexual misconduct. “Things need to change and it starts with saying emphatically that it is never O.K.,” said Ms. Hajdu, the labor minister, on Monday. She said Parliament was “a place where often the victimized individual is blamed for the harassment that she herself has experienced. We are all familiar with this phrase: ‘She brought it on herself.’ ”
On Friday CTV, the television network that first reported the accusations against Mr. Brown, suspended Paul Bliss, a reporter in its bureau at the Ontario legislature who once regularly reported about the Conservative leader. The new definitions and complaint systems will, in practice, benefit a minority of Canadian workers — those who work in the federal government and in federally regulated businesses like banks, airlines and railways.
The Ontario conservatives were buffeted again on Sunday night when Rick Dykstra quit as its president, a voluntary position. Shortly afterward Maclean’s magazine reported that in 2014, when Mr. Dykstra was a Conservative member of federal parliament, a political staff member accused him of sexual assault in a written complaint to Ottawa police. No charges were laid. Just over three years ago, the debate over sexual harassment flared up in Canada after the firing and arrest of a prominent musician and radio host, Jian Ghomeshi. That brought the topic of sexual assault out from women’s shelters into coffee shops and onto daily radio shows, where it has mostly remained.
The network took the step after a woman published a blog post titled “#MeToo in Canadian Broadcasting” in which she accused Mr. Bliss of kissing her in his office and trying to force her into oral sex. But instead of emboldening other women, the spectacle of Mr. Ghomeshi’s criminal trial proved to silence women. In declaring Mr. Ghomeshi not guilty, the judge described the female complainants as insincere and deceptive.
While rumors have long circulated in Ottawa about staff members being sexually harassed or assaulted, few complaints have been made public. Traditionally, politics demands loyalty at all costs, and political aides are among the least powerful — often young and easily replaceable, working for powerful politicians and officials in an environment that can include long hours followed by socializing in bars. Now that the movement is back on its feet, Canadian feminists say, they hope the grass-roots movement catches up with the political leadership, and changes spread from politics and the media into other domains.
In 2014, Canada’s Senate, an appointed body, rejected complaints of harassment and abuse of authority against Colin Kenny, a senator, made by a woman who once worked for him. Mr. Kenny is now being investigated on accusations of using his staff to perform personal business. “It is a very interesting political time,” said Lise Gotell, a professor of women and gender studies at the University of Alberta. “There is a lot of space for feminism. I certainly would not have predicted this.”
Adam Dodek, the dean of law at the University of Ottawa, said the bill to be debated was significant and an unusual break from Canadian parliamentary tradition. Internal rules, rather than laws, are generally used to police its members’ conduct.
Already, Ms. Vandenbeld, the Liberal lawmaker, says she is confident that this round of the national #MeToo debate will lead to significant change.
“We had to start talking about it, take it out of the shadows and not have it be a taboo subject,” she said. “Then we can start really addressing it and finding the ways that we can change it.”