WATCH: An NDP Member of Parliament, who made allegations of sexual misconduct against a Liberal MP, told Global News she regrets ever telling her story to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Jacques Bourbeau explains why.
OTTAWA – The NDP MP who accused Liberal MP Massimo Pacetti of having sex without her “explicit consent” says she now regrets telling Liberal leader Justin Trudeau about the allegations.
In an interview with Global News, the MP said she wishes Trudeau handled the allegations against Pacetti and Liberal MP Scott Andrews differently. The Liberal leader kicked both out of caucus. Neither case has been resolved or investigated.
“I’m not feeling better than before I talked to Mr. Trudeau,” the NDP MP said.
“It’s really worse for me at this time.”
WATCH ABOVE: Liberal MPs Massimo Pacetti and Scott Andrews have both been suspended over allegations of personal misconduct.
The NDP MP said she approached Trudeau with her allegations, as well as those of her colleague, to make him aware of the behaviour of some of the men in his caucus.
But she said she never pressured him to act.
In a statement, Trudeau’s spokeswoman said given the seriousness of the allegations he had a “duty to act” and he did.
“At no time were other remedies ever raised as potential options by the other individuals in question,” spokeswoman Kate Purchase said.
The NDP MP agreed to speak with Global News on the condition of anonymity: She said she doesn’t want the allegations to define her career or her family.
She’s upset with the backlash she has received on social media and in newspapers, with some questioning the circumstances of her story.
The NDP MP is worried that backlash will discourage other women from coming forward.
She said she never wanted her story to become public, but chose to speak out after details of a private meeting on Parliament Hill between herself, another NDP MP and a small group from both parties were leaked to the media.
The NDP MP broke her silence this week, revealing details about her alleged interactions with Pacetti. She said she went to his hotel room at 2 a.m. for a drink, and that he sat on the bed and pulled her close to him.
She produced a condom, but calls what happened sex without explicit consent.
“I froze. It was clear there was something bad, there was something not going well,” she said.
“Even if I do not say no, it’s a relation. There’s a reaction of two people.”
But the MP said she does not want to go to the police.
“I don’t need the criminal process to feel better. … I won’t feel better if that guy is in jail.”
She said she is willing to participate in an independent House of Commons investigation as long as it remains confidential.
READ MORE: NDP MP accuses Liberals of breaching privacy of misconduct victims
Both Pacetti and Andrews have maintained their innocence. In a statement, Pacetti said he was “troubled” the MP “chose to air these allegations in the media as this is inconsistent with statements conveyed through her party that privacy and fairness must be respected for both sides.”
He also called for a confidential third-party investigation.
For her part, the MP said she just wants to move on.
“I want, at some point, to be able to just turn the page and just continue my life.”
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