Liberal MP regrets 'distress' she caused to two witnesses

Photo: Adrian Wyld The Canadian Press Liberal MP for Ottawa West — Nepean Anita Vandenbeld during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Dec. 1, 2023.

Alessia Passafiume – The Canadian Press in Ottawa

Posted at 5:23 p.m.

• Canada

Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld did not apologize Thursday after sparking an uproar the day before that caused two witnesses on violence against women to storm out of a Commons committee hearing on the issue.

Vandenbeld said only in a written statement Wednesday that she deeply regretted “the distress this meeting caused witnesses.”

A domestic violence survivor who testified in Ottawa Wednesday had demanded an apology from the MP for what she called “abusive” behaviour at the committee meeting.

“It’s not an apology, it’s a statement,” Walker said Thursday. “She’s caused distress to a whole community of women and girls who have been assaulted and are following this case, and that’s not acknowledged” in her remarks.

The rare mid-summer meeting of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women was called for MPs to hear from domestic violence advocates and a deputy chief of Peel Regional Police, in light of several high-profile cases recently.

The meeting began with detailed testimony from Walker, an advocate against male violence against women, and Cait Alexander, who shared graphic photos of her assaults with MPs.

When given the floor, MP Vandenbeld accused the Conservatives of playing politics with survivors’ trauma, rushing through an agenda for the meeting and limiting other MPs’ ability to suggest witnesses.

The MP for Ottawa West—Nepean insisted she genuinely cares about survivors’ stories and outlined some of the steps her government is taking to address violence against women.

But rather than return to the central issue of violence against women, Vandenbeld called her fellow MPs to debate a motion on abortion rights – an issue the Liberals have been trying to corner the Conservatives on for months.

Both witnesses shouted their frustration at the Liberal MP and others who voted for the motion, but were completely ignored for the remainder of the meeting, as MPs debated speaking rights, the Conservatives' position on abortion, and the narrow scope of who could testify.

Both witnesses eventually left the meeting, visibly shaken.