Ottawa – Canadian Sports Minister Kent Hehr has resigned from his post following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accepted Hehr’s resignation.

As reported by AFP on Friday (26/1/2018), Hehr’s resignation from his post as Minister of Sports and Persons with Disabilities of Canada was announced by Prime Minister Trudeau in a statement on Thursday (25/1 ), local hour. Hehr himself is currently under investigation for allegedly making inappropriate comments toward several women.

“Harassment, in any form, is completely unacceptable and every Canadian has the right to live and work in an environment free of harassment,” Prime Minister Trudeau said. “As a government we take any allegations of misconduct very seriously and we believe it is very important to support women who make these allegations and that is clearly what our government will do,” he said. declared.

“I accept the resignation of Kent Hehr from the cabinet pending the results of the investigation,” he added.

In a separate statement, Hehr said he respects the ongoing investigation against him. Hehr said he would remain a member of the Canadian Parliament during the investigation.

“I have been informed that an investigation into these allegations has been opened and I welcome and respect this process,” said Hehr, who said he did not want to disrupt the good work of the government and decided to resign.

Hehr’s resignation was announced moments after a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada politician, Patrick Brown, also announced he was resigning due to his involvement in a sexual harassment case. Brown served as president of the Ontario regional Progressive Conservative Party.

Brown is accused of engaging in unwanted sexual conduct toward two women. He denied the allegations, calling them “false.” After announcing his resignation, Brown emphasized that he would attempt to “clear his name of these false accusations” by remaining a member of the provincial parliament.

The sexual harassment allegations against Hehr and Brown are part of the #MeToo movement that has spread across social media, revealing various sexual harassment scandals around the world. Many members of America’s entertainment elite, as well as well-known American political and media figures, have been forced to resign or been fired after being accused of sexual harassment.

One of the widely discussed sexual abuse cases is the one involving U.S. national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison by a court in Michigan, US, after being found guilty of abusing more than 150 female athletes he was supposed to take good care of. Most of the victims were abused when they were still teenagers.

(nvc/arn)