XPost: can.politics, nf.general, ott.general   
   From: Paxca@nyet.ca   
      
   While the media - led by the Toronto Star and National Post - have had a field   
   day publishing names of those 'accused of' sex offences, Newfoundlanders have   
   decided they're not going along with slander without substance.   Good for   
   them.  If only the majority of Canadians had such a sense of justice.   
   ___________________________________________   
     — CP — Nov 27 2014   
      
   Newfoundlanders want facts on suspended MP   
      
      
   CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. - MP Scott Andrews' suspension from the Liberal   
   caucus for alleged misconduct is a delicate subject in his Newfoundland riding   
   where local mayors, political organizers and several residents declined to be   
   interviewed.   
      
   Others in the pretty oceanfront enclaves of Conception Bay South said they   
   don't know enough detail to get into what they called one very "tangly" topic.   
      
   But John Maher, owner of Maher Kitchen Cabinets near the MP's constituency   
   office, summed up a common sentiment among those who will talk.   
      
   "It's hard to shock us people anymore, but we were in shock," he said in an   
   interview. "We don't know what to think.   
      
   "How can you condemn a man on these allegations?   
      
   "I'd like to hear some hard facts and if I could say: 'Oh, Scott Andrews   
   deserves this or that,' well and good. But as of now, he's just as innocent to   
   me as if it had never happened."   
      
   Andrews, a former ethics critic, has denied through a lawyer any wrongdoing   
   since Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau suspended him from the Liberal caucus Nov.   
   5 along with Quebec MP Massimo Pacetti.   
      
   Andrews has refused further comment. But sources familiar with the complaint   
   have told The Canadian Press in Ottawa that an unnamed NDP MP alleges he   
   victimized her within the past six months.   
      
   The sources say the incident allegedly started at a social event on Parliament   
   Hill before the woman, Andrews and Pacetti went from there to Pacetti's office,   
   where they drank some wine.  Pacetti eventually left, leaving Andrews and the   
   woman alone.   
      
   The sources say the woman alleges Andrews followed her home, forced his way   
   through her door, pushed her against a wall, groped her and ground his pelvis   
   against her.  The sources say she says she ordered him to leave and he did.   
      
   The woman further alleges that Andrews repeatedly called her a "c--kteaser"   
   after the incident, according to the sources.   
      
   Andrews, a married father of two, has denied any misconduct.  But the sources   
   say he has not given a detailed rebuttal to the woman's version of events that   
   night.   
      
   His lawyer Chris MacLeod said earlier this month in an email to The Canadian   
   Press that Andrews was not provided with "any details of the internal summary   
   or any documentation from the Liberal caucus" about the complaint against him.   
      
   "He is in no position to respond to an unknown allegation," it said.   
      
   Margo Murphy, president of the Conception Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, said   
   Andrews was a fixture at local events who made his name in 2010 with a private   
   member's bill to change bail provisions.   
      
   Its passage allowed courts to refuse bail for suspects accused of serious   
   crimes when a child under the age of 18 may be in danger.   
      
   The new law stemmed from the 2003 death in Newfoundland of Zachary Turner at   
   the hands of his mother, who was wanted in the U.S. to face trial for the   
   murder of Andrew Bagby, the child's father.   
      
   "He has a good reputation," Murphy said of Andrews. "It's a touchy subject here   
   in the riding.   
      
   "I think at the end of the day, the biggest thing is fairness to all involved,   
   whether it be the NDP MPs as well as the Liberals."   
      
   The jarring lack of any process to handle harassment complaints between MPs is   
   troubling, Murphy said.   
      
   "It seems like everyone's been sort of unfairly played in this," she said.   
      
   Another unnamed NDP MP who has accused Pacetti of "sex without explicit   
   consent" in March now says she would be willing to participate in a neutral,   
   third-party investigation. But it remains to be worked out how House   
   administration resources and external experts might be used.   
      
   Pacetti has said in an email that he maintains his innocence and has refrained   
   from speculation in the media since the allegations first surfaced.   
      
   "As with media reports of this nature, in this instance many questions remain   
   unanswered and there is no way to evaluate the veracity of the claims being   
   made," he has said in an email.   
      
   "I reaffirm my innocence and I will not comment on this matter in the media any   
   further."   
      
   Andrews has said he's confident a non-partisan process will find that no   
   harassment occurred.   
      
   In the meantime, constituents in the Avalon riding he has represented since   
   2008 are left in limbo along with him.   
      
   Bill Hogan, former mayor of Placentia, N.L., has known Andrews for 25 years.   
   He described him as a friend and devoted husband and father whom he used to   
   chide for not being more politically aggressive.   
      
   Hogan said in an interview that the forgotten victims in this affair are the   
   families of Andrews and Pacetti.   
      
   "No matter what they did, they deserve to know explicitly what they're accused   
   of."   
      
   Hogan, 77, said he may be proved wrong, but considers himself a good judge of   
   character.   
      
   "If he did do it, or any form of it, I think he'll need a kick in the rear end   
   for being so stupid.   
      
   "It's just not in him," he said of Andrews. "And if it is, then we'll all heave   
   up."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)