TORONTO — Ontario's governing Liberals are denying suggestions that a woman who accused a now-former member of the legislature of workplace sexual harassment is prevented from speaking out about it.
Premier Kathleen Wynne revealed Friday that former Liberal MPP Kim Craitor was asked to resign in 2013 after workplace sexual harassment complaints were made against him.
Craitor, now a city councillor in Niagara Falls, has not responded to several messages from The Canadian Press, but he told the Niagara Falls Review that the allegations were "unfounded and unsubstantiated."
A woman who worked in Craitor's office told the paper she disputed his characterization of the allegations as "unfounded," but that she was bound by a non-disclosure agreement and couldn't say any more.
Craitor also told the newspaper that the Liberal party paid the complainants "to keep the allegations quiet," but Deputy Premier Deb Matthews says that severance was "completely separate" from any confidentiality agreement.
Matthews also disputes that complainants are muzzled by non-disclosure agreements, saying, "victims are free to tell their story."
