Sifting through Parliament Hill's hodge-podge of harassment prevention and resolution procedures

The allegations of ”personal misconduct” against two Liberal MPs are shedding some light on the very complex world of harassment prevention and resolution procedures on Parliament Hill.

On Wednesday, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau announced that he was suspending his ethics critic, Scott Andrews, and Quebec MP Massimo Pacetti after two female New Democrat MPs alleged they were harassed by the two men in separate incidences.

Liberal Party whip Judy Foote forwarded the matter to Speaker Andrew Scheer’s office noting that “there is no precedent or established process for dealing with a situation such as this.”

She was right.

Surprisingly — in 2014 — there is no system in place for dealing with harassment allegations between members of parliament.

That, suggested NDP MP Megan Leslie, has helped facilitate a “locker room mentality.”

"As one of the few young women in Parliament, I have had MPs discuss my clothing: “Hey, Megan, those are some pretty pink tights you have there.” When I heard that from six male Parliamentarians in a day, I began to sense their discomfort in dealing with me as a peer," Leslie wrote in a blog post about her first day on the Hill.

"What is it like in the House of Commons? There is a locker-room mentality; some women have told me they’ve been touched by caucus colleagues: “You’re so pretty, look at you hair today,” with a pat. I would never walk up to the Minister of Defence and touch his hair. The treatment is different."

[ Related: How common is harassment on Parliament Hill? ]

Perhaps as surprising as the lack of rules and remedies for MPs is the hodge-podge set of harassment guidelines for Hill staffers.

Parliament Hill staffers employed by the House of Commons (ie: House administration staff) fall under the purview the Treasury Board’s Policy on Harassment Prevention and Resolution. The Policy, which regulates all federal employees, sets guidelines and mechanisms for reporting and adjudicating workplace misconduct.

But, as explained by the National Post, staffers employed by MPs (ie: MP assistants or research staff) are exempt from that policy.

"The current complaints procedure for MPs and their staff is a mess," National Post writer John Ivison wrote in his latest column.

"Each MP is considered to be a separate employer, charged with monitoring his or her own workspace; each party whip is notionally responsible for oversight; each party has different management practices."

There’s even an exception to that rule. An NDP spokesperson told Yahoo Canada News that because their MP staff is unionized, they have formal grievance procedures to complain about workplace harassment.

And finally, there’s the Senate which, in this instance, is actually more progressive than the House.

According to the Globe and Mail they’ve had a harassment policy in place since 2009 which was most recently used in the allegations against Senator Colin Kenny.

"Because the allegations were made against a sitting senator, the case was put under the authority of the senate whips of both parties in the Upper Chamber, the Conservatives and Liberals, who hired an independent investigator," notes the Globe report.

"The investigator filed a report, and its conclusion was public."

It’s all so dizzying.

[ Related: Former Hill staffer alleges two male MPs sexually harassed him ]

Following the most recent allegations, the New Democrats were quick to blame the Tories for ignoring recent committee recommendations calling for a more cohesive and universal anti-harassment education and policies.

"We need to be clear that in this environment in which we work, with its history of being male-dominated…we need to have policies that protect all of us, that make us all feel safe and welcome,” NDP MP Nikki Ashton said, according to the Toronto Star.

As for the Tories, they say the current investigation is the hands of the Speaker’s office.

Who ever is to blame, the current system seems to be a mess and clearly needs to be fixed.