OTTAWAâThe woman who sits in the most powerful office in Ottawa is grappling with the #MeToo movementâs arrival on Parliament Hill. From parliamentary page to the prime ministerâs chief of staff, Katie Telford has seen first-hand the multiple levels of Parliament Hillâs power structure.Now, sheâs reflecting on the issue of harassment on the Hill from two different perspectives: as a former young staffer who navigated her way through the parliamentary precinct, and as a manager trying to support staff coming to her with their concerns.âThere are things today that I think back on and think, âHmm, I wonder . . . ,â â Telford said in a rare on-the-record interview.âIt just didnât cross my mind way back when, nor do I remember talking about whether you would report something . . . (unless) you were uncomfortable to a degree that you had to confront it or leave. It was that kind of an environment.âTelford described an âinformal approachâ to harassment issues during her time on the Hill in the 1990s as a page and 2000s when she was an opposition staffer, where staff might approach their boss or a colleague for support.Sometimes, someone would have words with the men involved. But that would be about it, she suggests.âI think most people would agree that there was probably not much consequences to any of that,â Telford said.âThere was, hopefully, support through friendship and collegiality to the woman . . . . But no, that is not good enough. That is not good enough at all.âParliament has been trying to play catch-up to modern workplaces and broader societal change for some time.Gone are the âWonderful Wednesdayâ parties, where MPs, journalists and political staff mixed drinks and mingled together until the wee hours.Gone is the National Press Club, where politicians would eat light dinners and drink beer between their duties, some later having to apol ...
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