Brandon war veteran claims Quebec MP sexually harassed him

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This article was published 07/05/2018 (2327 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A war veteran from Brandon has flipped the script on Parliament Hill that for months has focused on allegations of sexual misconduct involving men by accusing a female MP of harrasing him.

It was the first time since the #MeToo movement rocked Parliament Hill that a female was the accused.

Glen Kirkland, an Afghan-war veteran and realtor, claims Quebec MP Christine Moore plied him with alcohol, pressured him into sex and visited him twice in the Prairies without him asking. None of these allegations has been proven.

“She took her position of authority and she benefited from it,” Kirkland said in a Tuesday interview.

The two met when Kirkland testified to the Commons defence committee on June 5, 2013, where he detailed a lack of support for the physical and mental injuries he suffered after a 2008 Taliban ambush.

Kirkland said Moore, who was a committee member, invited him to her office to further discuss the issue. Once there, he alleges that she offered him alcohol even though he told her he was taking painkillers and antidepressants and shouldn’t be drinking.

He claims Moore then followed him to his Ottawa hotel room where they had sex.

“I’m not claiming rape or anything, I want to make sure that’s very cut and dry,” he said. “It’s not like I’m coming forward with anything. Someone took advantage of their position and authority and that’s kind of the gist of it.”

Kirkland, who served in the Canadian Forces for nine years, claimed Moore then tried pursuing a relationship with him. He said she tried visiting him during a golf trip in Saskatchewan and showed up at his Brandon home unannounced.

He said she stopped reaching out when he told her forcefully to leave him alone.

It’s unclear whether Moore made the trips on her own dime. Expenditures filed with the House of Commons Speaker only indicate that she expensed 43 one-way flights outside of her riding in the 2013-14 year. Neither Moore’s nor the Speaker’s office produced the detailed flight register when asked Tuesday afternoon.

Kirkland said Moore was single at the time, and described himself as an “emotional mess,” having separated from his wife at that point.

He said Moore would likely be in jail by now if their genders were flipped.

“If I was a female and it was a male member of Parliament, imagine how that would look.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suspended Moore from her committee duties Tuesday, writing that he’d appointed “an independent investigator to conduct a fair and full examination.” After that, her “role in caucus will be re-evaluated.”

The party also released the following statement attributed to Moore:

“I welcome the opportunity to participate in the independent and fair examination of these allegations. Out of respect for the fairness and the integrity of the process, I will not be commenting further on these allegations at this point.”

Kirkland’s allegations came out in a media report Tuesday morning. He said he didn’t approach journalists, but was asked about what he claims was a “running joke” around Ottawa.

“I’m just laying out the facts and letting people come to their own conclusion,” he said.

His claims led reporters to camp outside committee rooms and derail press conferences, asking legislators if they supported their party colleague. Multiple MPs veered away from saying whom they believed, or even opining on the character of someone with whom they spend hours each week.

NDP MP Niki Ashton, who represents northern Manitoba, deflected questions about Kirkland’s allegations, referring multiple times to Singh’s brief Tuesday release. “I think we’re all on the same page in saying that’s the statement that stands,” she said.

The office of Transcona-Elmwood MP Daniel Blaikie, the NDP’s only other legislator for Manitoba, also referred to Singh’s release, saying Blaikie had no comment to add.

Moore now stands as both a target and accuser of sexual-harassment complaints, which Kirkland deemed ironic.

In January, Moore emailed the entire NDP caucus, telling Singh and her fellow 42 MPs that Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir had been sexually harassing others. Singh said last week an independent investigator found Weir had “failed to read non-verbal cues in social settings.”

After Weir claimed the allegations against him were a partisan smear job, Singh booted him from caucus, but only for the way he characterized the complaints.

Kirkland, originally from Langley, B.C., joined the military at age 21 as a member of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He has made national headlines since by speaking out for injured soldiers who have been kicked out of the military before qualifying for their pensions.

He sought the Liberal nomination for Brandon-Souris for the 2015 federal election, but dropped out of the race in January of that year, saying a business opportunity had emerged.

Moore, 34, is a former nurse elected during the federal NDP’s 2011 sweep of Quebec seats. She gave birth during the 2015 election campaign, and often takes her daughter Daphnée into Parliament. She successfully pushed to have high chairs placed in the Centre Block cafeteria.

— With files from the Brandon Sun

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca