Liberal whip warned about Gerry Sklavounos years ago, PQ source says
PQ staffer told her party that Sklavounos was behaving inappropriately
The office of the Quebec Liberal Party's whip received a complaint about the behaviour of MNA Gerry Sklavounos between 2012 and 2013, a Parti Québécois source told Radio-Canada.
According to the source, a PQ media relations officer complained to her party that Sklavounos was being inappropriate with her.
The party then took the concerns to the Liberal whip's chief of staff, the source said, adding the situation improved afterwards.
This allegation follows claims by a Quebec City woman, Alice Paquet, who publicly named Sklavounos Thursday as having sexually assaulted her in 2014.
Sklavounos has not been charged with any crime. Quebec City police have an open investigation into the allegations.
On Wednesday Paquet told a crowd at Laval University that she was sexually assaulted by an MNA but did not name anyone at that time. She spoke out during a vigil for women who were assaulted on campus the week prior.
Couillard defends handling
Speaking at a news conference in Ontario, Premier Philippe Couillard said he was first made aware of Paquet's allegations on Wednesday. It was only on Thursday, he said, that he discovered they concerned a member of his party.
"Our reaction was quick and decisive," Couillard said Friday.
Sklavounos was asked to leave the party on Thursday. He will now sit as an independent.
Neither Radio-Canada nor CBC News have been able to reach him for comment.
Restaurant denounces sexual misconduct
Paquet was working at a restaurant, the Louis-Hébert on Quebec City's popular Grande Allée Boulevard, when she says she first met Sklavounos.
The owners of the restaurant issued a statement Friday saying they were "profoundly shocked" by the allegations.
"This kind of behaviour has no place in a restaurant, a hotel or Quebec society," the statement said.