The Canadian Bazaar
Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown, who resigned on January 25 after he was accused by two women of sexual misconduct, has broken his silence for the first time, saying that “truth will come out.”
In a tweet on Tuesday, February 6, Brown thanked all those who supported him in the darkest hour of his life.
I am immensely grateful for all the support expressed to my family and myself. #metoo can be a tool to lift society and I applaud that effort.
False allegations however undermine that good work.
The truth will come out.
Thank you to all.
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) February 6, 2018
Both the incidents of alleged sexual advances took place at Brown’s Barrie home when he was an MP. Both the women made the allegations on January 24 on CTV.
One of the women – an 18-year-old summer student at that time – said she was given free drinks at a Barrie nightclub by a friend of Brown. After the drinks, she said they went to Brown’s home. She said Brown, who was 35 at that time, invited her into his bedroom and started kissing her. She said he stopped kissing when she told him that she has a boyfriend and asked him to drop home.
She said she woke up next morning crying. The woman kept working for Brown and she returned to work for him next summer. She said Brown kept making sexual comments to her.
The other woman says she was sexually assaulted by Brown following an event she helped him organize.
Brown, who was elected the PC leader in 2015, was flying high and led the Liberals in opinion polls until he was undone by the sexual allegations. As the PC party gets to elect a new leader on March 10, interim PC leader Vic Fedeli says Brown should leave the caucus and sit as an independent MPP even as other leadership aspirants such as Caroline Mulroney and Christine Elliott want him to be given a chance.
Brown had unveiled the party’s `People’s Guarantee’ plan and boasted of taking the party membership to 200,000 – which has now found to be 73,000 fewer than that.
With an eye on the votes of the huge Indo-Canadian community, Brown had undertaken a whirlwind tour of important places in India in the first week of the New Year.
To begin my visit to India this week, I had lunch with my friend @TheShilpaShetty & her family. She is not only one of India's most popular celebrities, but also an accomplished actress, businesswoman & is a big fan of Canada. I look forward to welcoming her back to Toronto soon! pic.twitter.com/OEehBKagfH
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) January 1, 2018
He had also prayed at religious places and got himself photographed with Bollywood and sports celebrities.
He went to pray at the Golden Temple where he also served in the langar.
He also performed Ganga aarti on the banks of the sacred Hindu river in Varanasi.
I was also grateful to have the opportunity to join sevadars and serve langar to the devotees. #Seva #GuruKaLangar pic.twitter.com/4NfL6WLk1k
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) January 3, 2018
Brown had also met Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev in Delhi to discuss what he called “opportunities to strengthen relationships between India and Canada through sports.’’
He also served food to people in langar on the riverbanks. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency or riding of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with whom Brown enjoyed a close relationship since his days as Gujarat chief minister.
Then joined in on the evening Ganga Aarti at the holy Dasaswamedh Ghat on the Ganges riverbanks. Truly grateful to receive blessings for a prosperous 2018 at one of the most sacred rivers to Hindus. #Varanasi pic.twitter.com/bURO8ztdh6
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) January 4, 2018
Brown also visited the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in Varanasi to seek “spirtual peace and blessings from Lord Shiva.”
Attended early morning #Hindu prayer at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in #Varanasi. Every day, thousands of devotees attend this holy temple to seek spiritual peace and blessings from Lord Shiva. pic.twitter.com/Gdm23ciVnn
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) January 5, 2018
Brown also met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Varanasi, tweeting “As will be my priority in Ontario, the CM has been focused on restoring good governance and championing economic development.”
Enjoyed my conversation with Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister, @myogiadityanath in #Varanasi. As will be my priority in Ontario, the CM has been focused on restoring good governance and championing economic development. pic.twitter.com/jGLHlZ4TP9
— Patrick Brown (@brownbarrie) January 5, 2018
But everything for Brown came crashing down on January 24 and he had to leave the party leadership on January 25. Whether he can emerge from the crisis, remains to be seen.
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