Kent Hehr will attend sexual harassment workshop at Liberal convention

Julie Lalonde is not afraid of uncomfortable conversations. As a public educator, she embraces them for the teachable moments they offer.

That's why she invited Liberal MP Kent Hehr — who quit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet earlier this year over sexual harassment allegations — to one of two workshops on sexual harassment she's hosting this weekend at the Liberal Party of Canada convention in Halifax.

"I would love to see Kent Hehr attend," Lalonde said Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Hehr's office told CBC News he plans to attend both the convention and one of the workshop sessions.

Hehr stepped down from cabinet in January after he was accused of sexual harassment over incidents alleged to have taken place during his time as an Alberta MLA.

While he remains a member of the Liberal caucus, an independent outside investigation of the allegations by a lawyer continues.

In a statement he issued after resigning from cabinet, Hehr said he welcomed the investigation: "I have always tried to conduct myself with respect towards others, and I understand the most important thing is how each individual feels."

Although Lalonde said she dislikes citing real-life cases in her sexual harassment workshops, she added that she "certainly" plans to tell her workshops that "this is not a party that is immune, clearly."

"If it comes up, I'm not afraid to name it. I think we need to name it."

​Redefining party loyalty 

Lalonde said she uses her interactive sessions to reinforce the point that instances of sexual harassment or assault tend to be about power rather than sex.

"Politics is a game of power, and sexual violence is rooted in power and control," she said. "So it is no surprise to me that the world of politics is riddled with sexual harassment, sexual violence, intimidation [and] bullying."

She said she hopes the people who attend her workshops leave willing to reconsider the limits of party loyalty.

Lalonde said victims of harassment need to be comfortable with coming forward with allegations — even when the accused is a member of the same party.

Victims, she said, can find themselves "actively silenced" by their party peers because speaking out is seen as "bad for the party."

That kind of thinking needs to change, she said.

"The irony to me is that what's best for the party is eradicating the behaviour," she said. "It's actually loyalty to the party to say, 'We don't want this behaviour to happen within our own party ... because it makes us look bad.'"

Trudeau should attend too, says Lalonde

Lalonde said she's hoping to see other high-profile Liberals in the audience as well.

She said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would send the right signal by attending, along with his top advisers Gerry Butts and Katie Telford.

"I think it will be a measure of success if we have diverse people in the room," she said.

"So that includes diverse positions within the party, diverse gender representation, age representation, race, ability. All of those pieces will tell me whether or not I'm seeing some real progress happening in the party."

What Lalonde doesn't want to see, she said, is another audience full of women.

"If I see happening what I see a lot in my workshops — which is overwhelmingly women, and overwhelmingly young women — then I think that will be a telling measure of how little progress has been made."