[ad_1]
OTTAWA – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has hired an interim chief of staff.
The hiring of Michael Balagus, a well-known strategist in New Democrat circles, follows from a number of allegations of badual misconduct to some of the party's training members.
The appointment is a disappointment to Joelle Saltel-Allard, to form press secretary who says her complaint of badual harbadment against a Manitoba cabinet minister was not taken seriously.
"If Mr. Singh wants to create a safe environment, it will not be by hiring Michael Balagus," she said in an interview, adding the hiring is a bit of a contradiction.
"For me, it's a demonstration that we have politics – the desire to win – ahead of the safety of women," she added.
Balagus said this year that Saltel-Allard's complaint was never reported to him.
Singh finds a permanent chief of staff to replace Willy Blomme, who left for personal reasons in October.
The NDP Long-time NDP government strategist has worked for NDP federal government leader NDP federal government leader Audrey McLaughlin in the early 1990s.
The alleged harbadment of Saltel-Allard took place between 2009 and 2011 while Balagus was working as chief of staff to train Manitoba's first Greg Selinger. She was working at the time as a press secretary for cabinet minister Stan Struthers.
Michael Balagus and Andrea Horwath (Leader for NDP) attend the Toronto Region Board of Trade Convention at the Metro Convention Center on Feb. 9, 2017.
George Pimentel ,, /
Postmedia News
Saltel-Allard and other Struthers tickled and groped them that their complaints to party brbad were ignored. Saltel-Allard said she was informed by her supervisor she would have "suck it up" with an election on the horizon.
"I understand that he (Balagus) was not the one who caused badual harbadment, but in my opinion it was the main reason why there was never any consequence for this behavior," she said.
Struthers, who has declined interview requests, issued a written statement last week to "unconfortable or uncomfortable."
Saltel-Allard's supervisor at the time, Jay Branch, confirmed her version of events at the CBC in February. The Canadian Press has not been able to reach you since.
Melanie Richer, spokesperson for the NDP, said Bragus.
But Balagus nevertheless accepted some of the blame because he had not developed procedures to deal with such complaints.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, Balagus, working for Ontario, has been suspended for three weeks before resuming his duties. He has been working to improve reporting for the Ontario NDP.
Balagus apologized to the women for his part in their experiments and said he was committed to
I think it's safe to say that I'm rebadured by knowing that NDP is safe for women
Singh said in a statement he was enthusiastic about the arrival of Balagus, describing him as a key point in the NDP breakthrough in the 2018 Ontario provincial election.
NDP House Leader Guy Caron says it's clear Balagus takes care of things in Ontario, including anti-harbadment training for elected members.
Some NDP MPs were caught off guard by the announcement.
"The first time," said Brigitte Sansoucy, a Quebec MP.
"I think we are convinced that NDP is safe and secure for women," she said. "We are trying to establish that here and we hope we will not give up."
Fellow New Democrat MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Peter Julian welcomed the addition of Balagus, given his record in Manitoba and Ontario.
But Erin Weir, a Saskatchewan MP who was dumped from the NDP caucus in February, said that the appointment demonstrates a double standard.
Weir said that the decisions being taken by the party are arbitrarily taken by the leader.
"There are no rules that apply equitably to everybody," he said.
[ad_2]
Source link
