NDP leader Jagmeet Singh speaks to the media about the internal investigation that exonerated MP Christine Moore of any wrongdoing Thursday, July 19, 2018 in Montreal.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
July 19, 2018 - 9:00 PM
MONTREAL - NDP MP Christine Moore is being welcomed back into caucus after an investigator's report absolved her of any wrongdoing amid allegations she sexually harassed a former soldier.
"The process was very long," Moore told a news conference in Rouyn-Noranda, Que., on Thursday. "I've known the truth since the very beginning. I knew they couldn't find anything because nothing happened. The relationship was consensual.
"I'm really happy now it (the report) has been tabled and that I'm a full member of the NDP caucus with my full duties."
Retired corporal Glen Kirkland accused Moore, 34, earlier this year of inappropriate behaviour and abusing her power, while the MP argued their relationship in 2013 was consensual.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh suspended Moore from caucus duties pending the outcome of the probe, which was conducted by Deborah Jelly, the managing director of Charron Human Resources Inc.
"The investigation has concluded that the allegations against Madame Moore were not supported by the evidence, that there was no misconduct amounting to either harassment or sexual harassment and that she did not abuse her position of authority," Singh told a news conference in Montreal.
"I am therefore very pleased to announce that Madame Moore will resume her full duties in our caucus."
Singh said the investigation was "thorough" and included interviews with several witnesses as well as examination of the evidence.
Moore, who has held the Quebec riding of Abitibi-Temiscamingue since 2011, said in May she loved Kirkland back in 2013.
On Thursday, she said it is too early to say whether she will run again in next year's election and that the decision will be made by her and her family.
"If I do run again, it means I am ready to be an MP for another four years, regardless of what happens," she said."My priority in life remains my children and my loved ones."
Moore said she doesn't think events have turned her constituents against her.
"I believe the support I've received from people here shows they still have confidence in me," she said.
Moore and Kirkland met on June 5, 2013, when Kirkland, who was injured in a Taliban ambush in 2008, testified at a parliamentary committee about the treatment of injured soldiers.
Kirkland has alleged Moore invited him back to her office after the committee meeting and plied him with alcohol before following him back to his hotel, where they had sex.
He alleges she then continued to send him explicit messages for several weeks and even turned up unannounced at his Manitoba home before he forcibly told her to stop.
Moore, however, disputed Kirkland's account, providing The Canadian Press last May with photos, emails, text messages and flight itineraries to show the two were involved in a romantic relationship.
The MP said she ended the relationship in October 2013 due to the geographic distance between them as well as Kirkland's difficult divorce.
Moore threatened to sue Kirkland for defamation and also several columnists who reported on his comments.
On Thursday, she said the legal process is ongoing.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2018