The Liberal Party is giving Kitchener Centre candidate Raj Saini permission to run again despite six years of allegations against him.
The allegations began in December 2015 when young female staffers claimed that Saini made several unwanted sexual advances at the Liberals’ holiday party. Along with MP Marwan Tabbara, four female staffers allege that the two MPs were acting highly inappropriately, touching many of them or being “handsy.” According to CBC News, seven sources know of four different cases of this behaviour.
Saini followed another junior staffer at several functions in another instance of alleged inappropriate behaviour, asking for her phone number.
Another female employee says that she was highly uncomfortable being near Saini, who would often call her to his office late at night, occasionally at 10 p.m. Her discomfort was such that she felt the need to bring another employee with her.
Finally, a former senior staffer says that she felt compelled to file a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint against Saini in 2020 after Saini’s behaviour left her traumatized. The staffer said that the events she experienced left her so mentally distressed that she attempted suicide in his office.
“I remember being incredibly stressed out, feeling completely helpless,” the staffer said. “I felt like he had shown he could do pretty much anything he wanted to do to me. I felt like there was nowhere for me to turn.
“That’s pretty devastating to me, knowing what I have gone through and that I’ve raised concerns over the last more than [a] year and a half,” she continued. “It’s disturbing to me…. It’s also concerning to me that it could continue to happen to other people.”
According to Saini, he only knows about one allegation made against him and that he has provided the police with information regarding it.
“After concerns were raised by the House of Commons regarding my personal safety and the safety of my staff … the police, in this instance, took action to mediate the situation and ensure the safety of everyone involved,” Saini told the CBC.
“Protecting my staff and ensuring they are respected is not something I take lightly.”
Whether Saini is or is not guilty of any wrongdoing is still being investigated. However, it is alarming that the Liberals have chosen to greenlight an MP before investigations have ended — especially considering Liberal PM Justin Trudeau has sworn to run a feminist government with a zero-tolerance policy for incidents of workplace harassment.
“I’ve said many times and will continue to insist that everyone deserves to have a safe workplace,” Trudeau said, responding to the concerns many have, “in the public service, in political campaigns, and right across the country in whatever jobs they have.”
According to Trudeau, “Mr. Saini has shared the processes, there have been rigorous processes undertaken that he has shared the details of. We know that it is extremely important to take any allegation seriously, which we certainly have, and we always will because everyone deserves a safe workplace.”
Trudeau has also been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct by former journalist Rose Knight.
The Counter Signal reached out to Saini who denied the allegations and elaborated on his circumstances.
“I take the health and safety of all my staff extremely seriously,” Saini said in his statement. “As you know, confidentiality in any process like this is paramount. I have never acted inappropriately towards staff or constituents. I have only ever been made aware of one allegation regarding my office.
“The individual chose not to pursue a formal or informal complaint process,” Saini continued. “Upon learning of this, I insisted an independent third-party review of my office take place through the House of Commons. The outcome of that review, which was completed in June 2020, found that nothing arose regarding concerns of harassment in the office.
“Further, the file was provided to the Waterloo Regional Police after concerns were raised by the House of Commons regarding my personal safety and the safety of my staff. The police, in this instance, took action to mediate the situation and ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“Protecting my staff and ensuring they are respected is not something I take lightly. As you can appreciate, I can’t discuss specifics regarding this matter, in order to protect the privacy of all those involved.”
