Conservative and NDP MPs are calling on Justin Trudeau to discipline Liberal MP Nicola Di Iorio for making a sexist comment towards a Conservative colleague during a House of Commons committee meeting.
Di Iorio allegedly made a remark about a “stripper pole” directed at Conservative MP Dianne Watts during an in-camera Public Safety Committee meeting on March 8, which coincided with International Women’s Day.
“A suggestive and very inappropriate comment directed at me was made by a Liberal MP during a Public Safety Committee meeting in March which left me, staff, and other Members of Parliament feeling very uncomfortable,” Watts said in a statement. “There should be no place or time where such comments are acceptable. I now leave it in the hands of the Prime Minister to take whatever actions he feels appropriate.”
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Speaking in Quebec Friday, Trudeau said a “process” was underway to investigate the incident.
“One of the things that we brought in a number of years ago around issues such as this, as a part of my commitment to gender equality and a harassment free workplace, is we, for the first time, formalized an actual process to deal with issues of this sort. And that process is properly under way,” Trudeau told reporters.
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According to the National Post, Di Iorio made the controversial comment after Watts’s cellphone went off during the closed-door meeting and the ring tone was personalized to indicate Watts’s daughter was calling.
The ring tone prompted Di Iorio to reportedly ask: “Where’s your pole to slide down?”
Sheila Malcolmson, the NDP Status of Women’s Critic, called on Trudeau to “step up” and take disciplinary action against the Liberal MP.
“I’d like to see the prime minister step up with some action on this. He’s got some explaining to do,” Malcolmson said in a statement Friday. “Justin Trudeau has asked people to leave his caucus in the past and if he is refusing to discipline his MP in this case, then I think he should stand in front of the microphone and explain to the public his reasons.”
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Likewise, Conservative MP Candice Bergen said the prime minister has an “obligation and a duty” to respond to the incident.
“This is his caucus member who made these comments,” Bergen told reporters in Ottawa on Friday. “I would actually expect the prime minister — who touts himself as a feminist — would have a zero tolerance policy for this type of behaviour. We are waiting to see what the prime minister says, frankly.”
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Charles-Eric Lépine, chief of staff to government whip Pablo Rodriguez, said in a statement that Di Iorio has apologized for the comment.
“When the matter was brought to the attention of the whip, he immediately took the appropriate action,” Lépine said. “Mr. Di Iorio offered an apology to Ms. Watts and explained no word that he himself uttered was intended to offend. He offered that apology again earlier this week.
“All members agree that any form of inappropriate language or behaviour is unacceptable. Every member of Parliament has the right to a safe and respectful working environment and we take this responsibility seriously.”
— With files from Bryan Mullan
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