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OTTAWA — A top aide to Liberal cabinet minister Bardish Chagger says she did what she “thought was best” when she did not follow up on allegations that a colleague had acted inappropriately towards a job applicant.
According to HuffPost Canada, a young woman told Rachel Bendayan, then chief of staff to the small business and tourism minister, that a policy adviser in her office had contacted her about a job and then made sexually suggestive remarks during their meetings to discuss the position.
Chagger says she was not informed about the alleged 2016 incident until last week.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Bendayan says it was “not possible” for her to take further action against the staffer, because by that point he was no longer an employee.
She says if it were to happen again today, she would follow the “formal process” that has since been put in place.
Last October, the Prime Minister’s Office set up a small team to handle questions and complaints about harassment from political staffers working for cabinet ministers.
