Canadian min. quits over sexual harassment allegations

By Seyid Aydogan

OTTAWA (AA) – A Canadian minister on Thursday resigned from the cabinet after an investigation was launched over sexual harassment allegations.

Kent Hehr, the Minister for Sports and Persons with Disabilities, announced his resignation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, announced that he accepted Hehr’s resignation.

In a statement, the Canadian Prime Ministry Office said: “Harassment of any kind is unacceptable and Canadians have a right to live and work in environments free from harassment. As a government, we take any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously.”

Trudeau said that Kirsty Duncan, current Minister of Science, will serve as the Minister of Sports and Person with Disabilities during Hehr’s leave of absence.

The investigation against Hehr, who is also a Liberal Party MP from Calgary, was launched after two women former employees accused him on social media of sexual harassment.

Another Canadian politician Patrick Brown, leader of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives resigned on Thursday over sexual misconduct allegations.

Hehr is the latest powerful man to fall from grace after the #MeToo movement encouraged women to come forward with their stories of sexual misconduct.