Sexual harassment complainants free to speak out, Ontario Liberals say

Ontario's governing Liberals are denying suggestionsthat a woman who accused a now-former member of thelegislature ofworkplace sexual harassment is prevented from speaking out about it, and saycomplainantshave not been paid to keep quiet.

• Kathleen Wynne reveals Liberal MPPs faced sexual harassment claims

Last Friday,Premier KathleenWynnerevealedthat former Liberal MPPKimCraitorwas asked to resign in 2013 afterworkplace sexualharassment complaints were made against him.

In response toaccusationsthat complainants are muzzled by non-disclosureagreements,Deputy Premier Deb Matthews said Monday, "victims are free to telltheirstory."

Craitor, now a city councillor in Niagara Falls, has notresponded to several messages from The Canadian Press, but he toldthe Niagara Falls Review that the allegations were "unfounded andunsubstantiated."

A woman who worked in Craitor's office told the paper shedisputed his characterization of theallegationsas"unfounded,"but that she was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and couldn'tsay any more.

Muzzled by the government?

Both opposition parties took that to mean that the woman wasmuzzled by the government, butWynnedenied that in question periodand suggested the woman herself asked for the agreement.

"The woman came forward and she is free to talk and tell herstory as she sees fit," Wynne said. "These questions demean theexperience of women who make complaints. When a complainant suggeststhat a confidentiality agreement be part of a resolution then ofcourse we agree to that."

Despite Wynne's claim, the non-disclosure agreement is still under scrutiny at Queen's Park.

"Itdoes nothing to help survivors heal. Instead, it often protects perpetrators and in this case it prevents embarrassment to the Liberal Party," saidNDP women's issues critic PeggySattler.

Craitoralso told the newspaper that the Liberal party paid thecomplainants "to keep the allegations quiet," butMatthews says that severance was "completely separate" fromany confidentiality agreement.

"The silence the premier has obtained is not meant to protect the victim, it's meant to protect the premier," said Laurie Scott, women's issues critic with the Progressive Conservatives.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she hoped any severance money paid to the complainant didn't come with strings attached.

"One of the things that we don't want to see is money exchanged for a person's right to decide their own course of action when it comes to a sexual assault complaint," she said.

Employment lawyer DanielLublinsaid confidentiality clauses arecommon when complaints of workplace sexualharassment are settled.That confidentiality doesn't always apply equally to all parties, hesaid.

"The alleged harasser wants the confidentiality," saidLublin,a partner atWhittenandLublin. "The complainant usually doesn'tget full confidentiality over the allegations unless that'srequested or negotiated."

Wynne under pressure to name MPPs

Wynne had been under increasing pressure this week to name caucusmembers she has had to discipline over accusations of inappropriatebehaviour, after she admitted there have been a "coupleinstances."

Matthews clarified Monday that a "couple" was indeed two, butthe premier refuses to name the second MPP. She has not said how shedisciplined that second MPP, or if that person is still a sittingmember of the legislature.

The two cases Wynne has dealt with are the same incidents thepremier vaguely referred to in November 2014, when she said she had"taken action" against complaints of sexual harassment, though shedidn't say at the time the cases involved MPPs.

Wynne said she named Craitor only because a woman identifiedherself to the media.

"My concern is for the victims. My concern is for the people whose lives have been so negatively affected by these situations,"Wynnesaid.

The two cases Wynne has dealt with are the same incidents thepremier vaguely referred to in November 2014, when she said she had"taken action" oncomplaints of sexual harassment, though shedidn't say at the time the cases involved MPPs.