Trudeau fumbling issued a statement on the 2000 incident on Friday.

"I reluctantly publish this statement, in response to growing pressure from the media to confirm that I was the journalist who was the focus of the Open Eyes editorial, published in Creston Valley Advance, "said Rose Knight, a former journalist for Creston Valley Advance, a local newspaper in Canada. "The incident mentioned in the editorial took place, as reported, Mr. Trudeau apologized the next day.

In his statement, delivered to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Knight refers to an editorial published in Advance after the incident. The column details the interaction between Trudeau and Knight and critic Trudeau and his father, former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

The editorial says that Trudeau apologized the next day for "improperly handling the reporter while she was on assignment."

The column gained popularity after being tweeted by University of Calgary law professor and author Warren Kinsella in June.

Ms. Knight also raised concerns about her privacy and family in her statement and declined to comment further on the incident.

"The debate, if it continues, will continue without my involvement," Knight said.

A former Knight colleague described her reaction to the incident at CBC on Friday. Valerie Bourne was the editor of Creston Valley Advance at the time of the incident and stated that Knight was "destabilized".

"My memories of the conversation were that she came to me because she was disturbed by that, she did not like what had happened," she said. Bourne. She was not sure how to proceed because, of course, we are talking about someone the Canadian community knew.

Ms. Bourne also told the CBC that she would not classify the interaction as a sexual assault, but "a brief contact."

The incident allegedly took place at the Kokanee Summit Festival in Creston, British Columbia. According to the Guardian, the music festival was a fundraiser for avalanche safety, a cause that Trudeau has defended since the death of his brother Michel in an avalanche in 1998.

Trudeau was questioned for the first time about allegations on 1 July. do not remember the incident as sexual misconduct.

"I remember that day in Creston," Trudeau told reporters, "I had a good day that day and I do not remember any negative interactions that day. the."

Trudeau also reacted to the allegations, reinforcing his administration's commitment to people who make allegations of sexual assault or harassment.

"Part of this awakening, we have a company, a long-awaited achievement, is that it's not just one side of the story that matters, that the same interactions could to be lived very differently from one person to the other, and I will not speak for the woman in question, "Trudeau told reporters, according to the Associated Press. [19659006] But, Trudeau again denied any wrongdoing on his part with regard to the incident and did not answer the journalists' questions about the request for an independent inquiry.

"I I do not think I have acted inappropriately, but I respect the fact that someone else has experienced this differently and that is part of the thinking we have to take, "Trudeau said, according to the report. AP.

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