Quebec Liberals eject Montpetit from caucus over harassment allegations

QUEBEC – A Quebec Liberal member of the national assembly has been expelled from the party’s caucus after a formal complaint of workplace harassment.

Marie Montpetit was ejected Monday and will sit as an Independent.

The expulsion comes as Dominique Anglade faces a major internal crisis after 17 months as the Liberal leader and just weeks before an important party meeting.

Anglade says the party has zero tolerance for any form of bullying and her leadership will be based on mutual respect.

Harassment and intimidation rumours involving Montpetit had persisted for months but the first formal complaint was filed recently by a former political staffer.

Montpetit has denied the allegations, releasing a statement that said she has always placed “mutual respect” at the heart of her workplace relationships and she hopes a formal investigation is triggered quickly to set the record straight.

The case will be investigated by the legislature with an independent firm assigned to analyze the complaint.

Montpetit, a former cabinet minister, was first elected in 2014 to represent the Montreal riding of Maurice Richard.

On Saturday, Montpetit and Gaétan Barrette, a former health minister, were removed from their respective roles as official critics for health and Treasury Board after they got into a public spat over Twitter posts by Barrette.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2021.