Canada PoliticsSen. Colin Kenny faces allegations of harassment, abuse of power
Canada's senators have struggled in their efforts to shed their damaged reputation after the expense scandal of 2013.
This developing story about Senator Colin Kenny isn't going to help.
Late Tuesday CTV News reported that an investigation into the affairs of the former Liberal Senator has revealed allegations that he inappropriately used a taxpayer-funded staff member for non-Senate work.
The list of allegations — included in a preliminary report sparked by a staffer complaint last Fall — includes Kenny asking his employee to arrange for the tailoring of his clothes and picking up his prescription pills for erectile dysfunction.
Kenny is not commenting on the current report but has denied previous allegations of abuse of power.
[ Related: Ex-Liberal senators’ expense disclosures come up short, taxpayer watchdog says ]
Another report — this one by CBC News — is even more troubling.
The public broadcaster is reporting that there are five more women alleging Kenny harassed them.
"Five more women have come forward to say they were harassed by Liberal-appointed Senator Colin Kenny, including through inappropriate touching and phone calls, Radio-Canada's Brigitte Bureau has learned.
"They join two other women who told CBC News last fall that they were harassed by Kenny, who has been a senator for 30 years and once chaired the Senate's powerful national security and defence committee."
Again, Kenny has denied all allegations and has not been charged with any crime.
[ More Politics: Are Canada's mayors crying poor or crying wolf? ]
While Kenny doesn't sit in the so-called Senate Liberal caucus, anymore, the Liberal leader in the red chamber was asked about his colleague on CBC's Power and Politics.
"He said denied these allegations as he's certainly entitled to do there's a presumption of innocence in this country," Senator James Cowan told host Evan Solomon on Wednesday.
"But I think the important point is that the Senate is taking this seriously, that the investigation is ongoing and i'm not going to prejudge the results of that investigation."
On Wednesday, Cowan held a press conference to say that Liberals in the upper chamber will hold open caucus meetings in an attempt to be more open and transparent.
The Kenny story, however, overshadowed that progressive announcement.
For the senators, it's another case of one step forward and two steps back.
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