Leader’s statement concerning allegations of personal misconduct by Liberal MPs

November 5, 2014

Thank you all for coming today. I have a brief statement. Afterwards I’ll take questions. I hope you appreciate that given the circumstances; I may not be able to be as comprehensive in my answers as I would like to be.

Earlier today, I informed the Speaker of the House of Commons that I have suspended Massimo Pacetti and Scott Andrews from the Liberal Party caucus, pending the outcome of an investigation.

These two Members of Parliament have been accused of serious personal misconduct by Members of Parliament from another party. In one of the cases, that information was conveyed to me personally and directly, by one of the affected MPs from another party, on October 28th.

Immediately, I directed our Whip, Judy Foote, to make her counterpart in the other party aware of the allegations that had been conveyed to me. She did so promptly. On October 30th, she met with the two affected MPs of the other Party, and their Whip. During the course of that meeting, both MPs confirmed the personal misconduct allegations against Mr. Pacetti and Mr. Andrews.

Mr. Pacetti and Mr. Andrews deny the allegations.

Given the seriousness of the allegations, I have suspended the MPs from our caucus, and have asked the Speaker of the House of Commons to investigate further and resolve this matter.

I am aware of how difficult it is for people to come forward. I believe strongly that those of us in positions of authority have a duty to act upon allegations of this nature.

It’s 2014. We have a duty to protect and encourage individuals in these situations to come forward. The action must be fair, but decisive. It must be sensitive to all affected parties, but, recognizing how difficult it is to do so, it must give the benefit of the doubt to those who come forward.

In closing, let me say that like workplaces across this country, Parliament needs clear guidelines and procedures for dealing with allegations of serious personal misconduct of this nature. It would be to the benefit of all who earn the privilege of sitting in the House of Commons, and all Canadians who look to us for leadership .

Thank you. I’ll take a few questions.