Allegations Of Sexual Harassment Against Ghomeshi ‘A Real Issue,’ Says Ontario Premier

Canadian host Jian Ghomeshi's alleged sexually violent behaviour with some of his colleagues prompted talks in the Ontario legislature. Premier Kathleen Wynne said that she was open to reviewing cases of sexual harassment at work.

Wynne was talking in reference to the allegations against the former CBC host. There was a relevant discussion in the Ontario legislature on Monday. Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott gave reference to Ghomeshi's case and said that there should be an all-party committee for studying sexual harassment at work, Montreal Gazette reports.

Wynne, however, did not commit to forming such a committee that would study cases related to sexual harassment at the workplace. She, on the other hand, said that the issue was "very serious and disturbing." She said that she was open to doing whatever was required to be done.

Wynne said that the issue of sexual harassment involves a wide range of women in the society. "It affects every single one of us in the sense that we all have to be vigilant and not pretend that somehow this issue has been resolved because it's 2014 and we have moved on," she said. "What has happened over the last week has made it clear that it's very real and we have to continue to be vigilant in every way that we can in all parts of our lives," Wynne said, further emphasising that it was a real issue.

Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott, on the other hand, said that Ghomeshi's case brought light to several other issues where allegations of sexual harassment at work had not been taken seriously. She said that the allegations against the radio host had shown that there were still a lot of problems at the workplace that need to be dealt with. She said that the all-party committee could be able to study the issues in the system.

Meanwhile, the Polaris Music Prize removed Ghomeshi from its jury. He has been a part of the jury with more than 200 members who decide the best Canadian album every year. The prize money for the award is $30,000. Ghomeshi was also a part of the 10-member grand jury in 2010, The Province reports.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au