Calgary MP Darshan Kang is resigning from the Liberal caucus amid allegations that he repeatedly sexually harassed a young female staffer in his office.
He says he wants to focus on clearing his name and doesn’t want to distract from the good work carried out by the governing Liberals.
Kang has strenuously denied the allegations and has vowed to defend his reputation at all costs.
The woman who has come forward worked in Kang’s Calgary constituency office.
The NDP had called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend Kang from caucus, but Trudeau has said the matter is being handled through a recently created independent process for resolving such matters.
Under the process adopted by the House of Commons in 2014, when there is no mediated resolution to a harassment complaint, an external investigator is hired to review the facts.
Kang, who had remained silent about the matter until Tuesday, released a statement late in the afternoon proclaiming his innocence.
“For the past decade I have dedicated my life to public office,” he wrote.
“Since the allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against me I have been under a tremendous amount of stress and subsequently, I was placed on medical leave.”
Either the complainant or the respondent can appeal if they’re unsatisfied with the investigator’s final report, requiring an appeal panel to be appointed consisting of one member chosen by the complainant, one by the respondent and an external expert.
“I appreciate that Parliament has provided for due process, and a fair and objective policy for resolving this matter,” Kang said in a statement Thursday night.
“I also very much appreciate that I am being provided an opportunity to provide my perspective to the independent investigator.”
— With files from Monique Scotti
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