Canadian Politics: Leader of Bloc Quebeqois Yves-Francois Blanchet accused of sexual assault.

[The Romulan Republic]

https://cbc.ca/news/politics/blanchet-b ... -1.5650423

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet is denying allegations of sexual misconduct that were posted on social media Tuesday.

An anonymous person said the alleged events happened in 1999 in a Montreal bar. It is not known who wrote the post or whether they have filed a complaint with police.

CBC News has not verified the allegations or spoken to the person making them.

Blanchet issued a statement denying the allegations and inviting the person who made them to file a complaint with the authorities.

He said he will continue his professional activities and will not make any other comments.

Reached for comment Wednesday, Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon, the longest serving member of the Commons, said he was standing by his leader.

"I won't comment on the specifics except to say I have complete confidence in my leader and the statement he made," he told Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language service.

Speaking in French, he called the use of social media to anonymously report allegations of harassment a "cowardly act."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, said in a statement Wednesday that the allegations levelled at Blanchet are "troubling" and women must feel comfortable coming forward with their claims.

"I've always been of the opinion that all allegations must be taken seriously," he said.

"We are currently seeing a wave of denunciations in Quebec that requires a great deal of courage and demonstrates the lack of confidence victims have in our system," Singh added, pointing to a recent surge in the number of women turning to free or low-cost legal aid firms to file sexual harassment complaints.

"It discourages them from complaining, so we must listen, first of all, and change this culture of silence concretely and profoundly."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had no comment on the allegations.

Economic Development Minister Mélanie Joly did take to social media Wednesday to commend victims for coming forward with complaints.

"To all the victims of sexual harassment or sexual violence, I hear you and I understand you. It takes courage to speak out," she said in a tweet linking to federal resources for victims of harassment.

A spokesperson for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he would not comment on the allegations "without more information."

Blanchet, a former provincial politician, led the Bloc to a strong showing in the last federal election, catapulting the party from also-ran status in the last two contests to a third place finish in the 2019 vote.

The party nabbed 22 more seats than it won in 2015 and finished narrowly behind the Liberals in the popular vote in Quebec.

Blanchet has supported the Liberal minority government on some key votes in the Commons but recently has soured on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership.

Blanchet said Trudeau was "acting like a prince" by trying to push through new government programs with little opposition input, citing the government's plans to penalize emergency relief benefit fraudsters and roll out support payments for the disabled.

He has since called on Trudeau to step aside in favour of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland while the ethics commissioner probes the multi-million-dollar WE Charity contracts.

So far as far as I know its one anonymous claim, so we'll see where it goes. But denouncing people who make anonymous reports (potentially out of fear for their safety) as cowardly is not a great start if Blanchet wants to prove he's not an abusive, misogynist piece of shit.

[Solauren]

So, someone is reporting something from 21 years ago. Without a date, or a location, or other evidence.

Well, without that, Mr. Blanchet can't produce proof he was elsewhere, and no one can confirm Mr. Blanchet was at the bar at the date in question.

Also, 21 years is a long time. There is a reason there are statues of limitation on stuff like this. Most peoples memories fade, grow fuzzy, or even make up stuff. It's entirely possible this person was harassed by someone that resembles Mr. Blanchet, and he has an alibi.
i.e It turns out, Mr. Blanchet was at a meeting with 15 other people, in a city several hours away, at the time of the incident.

I'm not saying I'm doubting the accuser had something happen to them, just this is nowhere near enough to do anything against Mr. Blanchet beyond asking him about it, and accepting his reply.

Also, it wasn't Mr. Blanchet that called the report cowardly, it was Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon. Mr. Blanchet said he's not making any comments on the issue, and make include Mr. Palmondon's reply in that statement. (He probably shouldn't, but it's his party on the line, not mine).

[The Romulan Republic]

So, someone is reporting something from 21 years ago. Without a date, or a location, or other evidence.

Well, without that, Mr. Blanchet can't produce proof he was elsewhere, and no one can confirm Mr. Blanchet was at the bar at the date in question.

Also, 21 years is a long time. There is a reason there are statues of limitation on stuff like this. Most peoples memories fade, grow fuzzy, or even make up stuff. It's entirely possible this person was harassed by someone that resembles Mr. Blanchet, and he has an alibi.
i.e It turns out, Mr. Blanchet was at a meeting with 15 other people, in a city several hours away, at the time of the incident.

I'm not saying I'm doubting the accuser had something happen to them, just this is nowhere near enough to do anything against Mr. Blanchet beyond asking him about it, and accepting his reply.

Also, it wasn't Mr. Blanchet that called the report cowardly, it was Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon. Mr. Blanchet said he's not making any comments on the issue, and make include Mr. Palmondon's reply in that statement. (He probably shouldn't, but it's his party on the line, not mine).

My mistake.

No, obviously its not enough to make an arrest on. The key thing will be if it prompts others into coming forward. If there's one person, there's often more than one.

[Solauren]

Oh, I have no problem seeing a member of the Bloc calling someone cowardly, so understandable.

I agree, the main thing will be if more people come forward. However, unless they come forward with details that can be investigated, then it will appear to be nothing more then a slander campaign. Unfortunately, that would actually hurt the credibility of real claims that might come forward against people in government (elected or not) in the future.

[The Romulan Republic]

Oh, I have no problem seeing a member of the Bloc calling someone cowardly, so understandable.

I agree, the main thing will be if more people come forward. However, unless they come forward with details that can be investigated, then it will appear to be nothing more then a slander campaign. Unfortunately, that would actually hurt the credibility of real claims that might come forward against people in government (elected or not) in the future.

That does put a terrible burden though on complainants, who might have very strong reasons for wanting to remain anonymous (ie, fear of the inevitable deluge of harassment, ad hominem attacks, threats, doxing, etc. that seems to inevitably follow a high profile complaint).

[Lord Revan]

There's a degree of detail one must give however, essentially something that allows the confirmation if the event in question did happen. As Solaren said human memory is extremely unreliable when it comes to these things, while it's high likely that something did happen to the victim but they might be misremembering the details.

Now if we get more reports then we're starting to get pattern, but a case from 21 years ago that is this light on details should be taken with a grain of salt, believe that something did happen to victim sure but don't take it as an ironclad accusation especially if you dislike the person being accused.

[The Romulan Republic]

Whether I like the guy doesn't much factor into it. I don't like him. I freely acknowledge that. I thought he was a racist piece of shit before this, and I'll think he's a racist piece of shit if his accuser recants the whole story tomorrow. But if he were on "my team", to so speak... well, my comments on, say, the Al Franken case, or Biden, or Clinton, should show that I'm quite prepared to give credence to accusations even when its politically inconvenient. At the same time, again, this is obviously insufficient to convict or even bring charges, so for now, its wait and see. I do think it is important to note this report in case further stories come to light (which this report might encourage if this guy has a history). And perhaps to give Mr. Blanchet's actions and views a bit more scrutiny in the future, to see if such a pattern exists.