Last week, New Democratic Party MP Erin Weir was kicked out of the caucus due to an ongoing investigation into his conduct. The NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, said that the reason Weir was kicked out was due to comments he made after the fact and it appeared he was not prepared to take responsibility for his actions and take courses obn correcting his behaviour.
Christine Moore was the person who reported Weir's behaviour even though she was not the vicctim. Weir was applying for the caucus chair, and Moore said "the last person in the caucus I would like to see to get that position".
Now, Christine Moore has been suspended from the NDP by Jagmeet Singh. It is alleged that Moore was harassing an Afghanistan veteran. As the story goes, she invited him back to her office in 2013, gave him alcohol despite the fact he was on painkillers and anti depressants (Moore was a nurse, so she is aware of the consequences of mixing alcohol with prescription medication) proceeded to follow him back to his hotel, then sent him "explicit messages" (the type of message was not identified, it could be photos, it could be sexting or anything else). Later that year, Moore met the veteran on a trip, where he once again refused her advances, being forceful with her, yet a few weeks later still turned up at his home in Brandon, Manitoba.
What makes the situation even worse, is the situation took place after a committee meeting in which the veteran was reporting on his care after being badly injured on tour in 2008. He spoke about the care he received from the military and his PTSD. It was after this tough testimony before the government committee that Moore made her move against the veteran. He stated on the matter "Look, I’m not crying rape. I don’t like to think of myself as a survivor. I prefer ‘thriver.’ But what she did was inappropriate. Was I a willing participant? I guess it depends on your definition of willing. There was a power imbalance. There was a level of authority there.I believe that Ms. Moore used her position of authority very inappropriately, and if the genders were reversed and I was a female who just did a big emotional testimony and if a male MP acted the way that she did, I really feel like this would be quite a bit different conversation,”
One thing that I have noticed in the articles covering this situation is the fact that the veteran's name was released publicly. Every other time when the roles are reversed, when the man is the perpetrator and the woman the victim, they refuse to release the name publicly at first, and usually gets released later. Whether this is because the veteran allowed his name to be publicly released or whether this is something the media did itself I am not sure, but it is inconsistent if they took it upon themselves to release the information.
Now, Moore is facing an investigation of her own and has had her duties for the NDP suspended, similar to what Erin Weir went through. Moore has championed herself as a feminist and changing the culture in politics, now is clearly no better than her male counter parts who she has criticised heavily. Moore, if found guilty, is as much of a predator as the others she has railed against. That's the problem with playing the high ground, it is a long way down to fall.
