What should be expected of politicians after allegations of sexual harassment surface?
The way the public, media and parliament are addressing a groping allegation against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raises questions about what should be expected of men in positions of power after allegations surface, according to a public educator who provided anti-harassment training at the Liberal party convention this year.
In Julie Lalonde's mind, there's one big question hanging in the air.
"What do we want from men who harm women?"
This week, the prime minister was asked about an allegation dating back to 2000, when a 28-year-old Trudeau, then a teacher, was visiting a music festival in Creston, B.C.
An unsigned editorial appeared in the Creston Valley Advance after the event accusing Trudeau of "groping" and "inappropriately handling" a young female reporter while she was on assignment. It suggests the woman felt "blatantly disrespected" but provides no other details about what occurred.
"I remember that day in Creston well," Trudeau told reporters Sunday. "I had a good day that day; I don't remember any negative interactions that day at all."
Earlier this year, CBC News spoke by phone and emailed with the woman who was the subject of the editorial. She said she was not interested in being associated with any further coverage of the story. She initially also asked that her name not be used and that she not be contacted about the story again.
On Friday, she issued a statement saying the incident happened as described — and she now wants to be left alone.
"I issue this statement reluctantly, in response to mounting media pressure to confirm that I was the reporter who was the subject of the Open Eyes editorial, published in the Creston Valley Advance in August of 2000," Rose Knight, the former journalist, wrote.
"The incident referred to in the editorial did occur, as reported. Mr. Trudeau did apologize the next day. I did not pursue the incident at the time and will not be pursuing the incident further. I have had no subsequent contact with Mr. Trudeau, before or after he became Prime Minister."
Knight, who said she has since left journalism, added she will not speak any further about the incident.
On Friday, Trudeau told CBC Radio's Metro Morning he apologized for making her feel uncomfortable, but maintained he didn't recall the incident himself.
However, the prime minister added that's not the whole focus anymore.
"It is not just my experience that matters in this," he said. "Even though I don't think I did anything wrong, that's not the whole story anymore."
Lalonde says she thinks the prime minister's response is a "perfectly reasonable answer" if he truly doesn't remember the alleged incident, but also called the 18-year-old apology "lacklustre."
For months, Lalonde has been asking people what they'd consider enough to make amends in general and she said no one has been able to come up with an answer.
"We want men to apologize and when they apologize we tear their apologies apart, we want them to pay restitutions but then when they do we call it hush money," she told CBC Radio's The House on Friday.
"What do we expect from him 18 years later?"
Lalonde cited several options on the table for the prime minister, including resigning and walking back his zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct.
Trudeau also addressed the allegation in a news conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday.
"I am not going to speak for the woman in question. I would never presume to speak for her. But I know that there is an awful lot of reflection to be had as we move forward as a society on how people perceive different interactions," he said.
The subjectivity of interactions is one thing, but Lalonde says that care should be taken so the legal parameters of sexual harassment don't become the baseline for what is inappropriate.
"Men come back all the time to 'I didn't intend to hurt you, I didn't intend to do that, that wasn't my intent. [It] doesn't matter, at the end of the day someone was harmed by your actions that should be your baseline."
Pursing the incident further should be out of the question, according to Lalonde. We can learn from it and continue to ask tough questions, but without the consent of the woman involved the conversation should conclude, she said.
By continuing to attempt to flog more information out of those involved in this incident, Lalonde expressed concern that it perpetuates a culture of silencing victims of sexual assault.
"I think this discussion is definitely driving more survivors into silence," she said.
"I think it's driving them to be quiet because they've seen the circus that is this story ...I think other people see that and say 'I don't want that target on my back.'"