OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s “confident” he did not act inappropriately toward a female journalist at a music festival 18 years ago, but conceded Thursday that she may have experienced their encounter “differently.”The prime minister made the statement in response to questions about a 2000 editorial in British Columbia’s Creston Valley Advance that has resurfaced in recent weeks. The newspaper article accused Trudeau of “groping” a female reporter who was covering the local Kokanee Summit music festival and also on assignment for the Vancouver Sun and National Post.Trudeau, who was 28 at the time, is quoted as apologizing and then stating: “If I had known you were reporting for a national newspaper, I never would have been so forward.” Media outlets in Canada and abroad — including the Washington Post and Britain’s The Times newspaper — have picked up the story in recent days, after the editorial resurfaced online. The Star’s attempts to interview the journalist referenced in the article have so far been unsuccessful. Read more: Opinion | On groping allegation, Trudeau ducks the rules he setTrudeau addresses groping allegation, says he doesn’t recall ‘negative interactions’Opinion | How the #MeToo women’s movement is changing politicsTrudeau first addressed the allegation on Canada Day in Regina, where he told reporters that he does not recall any “negative interactions” that day in Creston.On Thursday, Trudeau was asked again about the allegation after he met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Queen’s Park. “I do not feel that I acted inappropriately in any way, but I respect the fact that someone else might have experienced that differently,” Trudeau said, describing how he has been “reflecting very carefully” on the interaction over the past few weeks. He said that if he apologized about t ...
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