As someone who was a political staffer at both Queen's Park and Parliament Hill and later employed political staff myself as an elected official, I am disgusted by the sexual misconduct allegations level against various politicians. I feel great sympathy for any woman who has been mistreated.
Sexual misconduct, however, is only part of the story. Anyone familiar with elected life will tell you about the related issue of general workplace harassment and bullying that pervades our political world — politicians who scream and shout, belittle their assistants and humiliate them in front of colleagues. Elected members who throw temper tantrums and tear strips off staff, behaving in a manner that would never be tolerated in the "real world."
There are too many examples of political staff who dread the prospect of each workday, counting the hours until their boss is back in the riding, unable to shout at them. Many offices seem to have revolving doors where a steady stream of staffers arrive and then quickly leave, anxious to escape a toxic atmosphere.
There are of course many MPs, MPPs and ministers who treat their staff well. I had the privilege of working for many fine elected representatives. I also like to think that I was a good employer. But don't fool yourself, workplace harassment in our corridors of power occurs regularly.
Why does it happen? Why do some politicians mistreat their staff?
Many politicians have little or no experience managing employees. They come from careers where they never had to keep an office functioning or deal with the complex world of human resource issues. They don't know how to set expectations properly or provide constructive criticism, particularly in the chaotic atmosphere of elected life.
Being an elected official can be rewarding but it can also be frustrating. You seem to spend so much of your time being pushed around — by irate voters, donors, party members, journalists, aggressive interest groups, and the prime minister or premier's senior advisors. The need to blow off steam is very real and your staff are often the only people you can vent at with apparent impunity.
And finally, there are people in elected life who are simply jerks (both men and women). Power tends to attract individuals with over-inflated egos who have no issue with treating those below them with contempt.
So how do we fix it?
Codes of conduct and legislative measures like those recently introduced at the federal level are a good start. Ottawa's Bill C65, although focused on sexual misconduct, also applies to general workplace harassment and strengthens some of the existing mechanisms for dealing with complaints.
Parties also need to provide better human resources support to their elected members. Politicians jealously guard their independence, including decisions related to staff. In my experience, however, most would welcome advice and support when it comes to managing employees, especially assistants who are underperforming.
We also need to worry a bit more about the mental health of our elected members. They are all under tremendous pressure, from the lowliest backbencher to the most influential senior minister. Are there ways that they can be better supported in managing the stresses of the job without taking it out on their staff?
The real question, however, involves the jerks. Should political parties allow candidates to run for them who have a reputation for mistreating staff?
This is not as crazy a question as it may seem. We all know that going forward every party will be putting potential candidates under a microscope to ensure that there is not even the slightest hint of past sexual misconduct. Should this zero tolerance policy extend to someone who has had complaints of workplace harassment of a non-sexual nature? What about someone with a bad reputation for being a prima donna who goes through staff at an alarming rate?
Some may say this is ridiculous. They would argue that if political parties prevented egotistical jerks from running for office, Parliament and our provincial legislatures would be empty. But if our party leaders are serious about wanting to create a safe, harassment-free workplace, shouldn't they pay closer attention to the attitudes and past practices of potential candidates? If elected, these are going to be future political employers.
In responding to questions about how he was handling sexual misconduct allegations, Prime Minister Trudeau recently confessed that he didn't have "a rule book... on how to handle these situations." He is right, but they are going to need one quick. And as our political leaders undertake that task, sexual misconduct is unfortunately not the only type of harassment that they will need to consider.
John Milloy is a former MPP and Ontario Liberal cabinet minister currently serving as the Director of the Centre for Public Ethics and assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural practitioner in residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program. John can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @John_Milloy.