If lawmakers turn into……………………….

It has been an eventful week for the Progressive Conservative Party.  First Patrick Brown, the leader and then

resignation came amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The upheaval for the party started last Thursday with a dramatic departure for Patrick Brown as leader of the Progressive Conservative when two women came out with allegations whey they were teens. The second resignation from the Ontario PC party for almost the same reason. The resignations came as a jolt to the party as both the leaders have acquired the coveted posts recently.  Dykstra had been the party president since March 2016 and Patrick Brown had been the leader of the opposition in at Ontario since September 2015 and was striking right chords at the political corridors especially when he came out with his program People’s Guarantee. President Rick Dykstra announced Sunday night that he was stepping down, saying it was time to “take a step back for someone else to lead us through the hard work.” However, as per report by Maclean, Dykstra’s resignation comes just hours after the magazine sent questions outlining allegations made by a young Conservative staffer back in 2014.

The alleged incident took place on Feb. 11, 2014, the night of the federal budget. According to the Maclean’s report, the woman – who was in her 20s at the time of the incident, claims Dykstra jumped into her cab as she proceeded to go home and gave the driver his address. She admits in the article that the two were both drunk at the time. The incidence added fuel to the fire as more critics came out in the open and from within the PC party.  In case of Brown, several of Brown’s staffers including his campaign manager, chief of staff and deputy manager announced their resignations and pressed him to resign. Brown’s press secretary also announced his resignation, and called for him to step down “immediately.”  Critics believe that Patrick Brown would have not resigned so easily considering that he was being perceived as a strong contender for the prime post in Ontario when the elections are held. And when it came to Rick Dykstra, the swift action by Patrick Brown acted as an induced effect.

With such strong allegations against the leaders  there were no way that the PC party could march into the forthcoming elections in Ontario and the Federal elections too. The two women who came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Brown date back to when he was a federal MP. The PC party tried to salvage some position and issued a statement.  “The Ontario PC Party unequivocally upholds the principle that a safe and respectful society is what we expect and deserve. We need to move forward to eradicate sexual violence and harassment across the province. Every citizen of Ontario deserves respect,” the statement said.

There have been numerous cases being reported against elected members. Earlier in December 2017, Lauren Dobson-Hughes a NDP staffer had expressed how the male Members of Parliament and other staffers had just turned mute bystander when a much older MP suddenly kissed her in front of at least 20 people and no one seemed to bat an eye.

There is a need to acknowledge that everyone has the right to be free from unwelcomed behavior and the oppressed-in this case the ladies/girls who came out to register their concern must be complemented to show the power to fight against atrocities by politicians.  In Canada, such kind of acts, sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment can’t be tolerated and if our law makers are a cause of concern for such issue, the only law should deal with them. Such leaders if found guilty should be barred from contesting any election.