Graydon issues apology
MLA takes medical leave, will not seek re-election
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This article was published 16/10/2018 (2010 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon announced in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that he will not seek re-election in 2020 and is taking a medical leave of absence from his duties.
Graydon has been at the centre of controversy over the past week, after the Winnipeg Free Press reported on two separate comments made to female staff members at the Manitoba Legislature.
In one instance, the newspaper reported Graydon invited a woman to sit on his lap at a meeting. In another incident, the Emerson MLA asked another staffer to lick food off his face.
“Recently, I made inappropriate remarks to a staff member at the Manitoba Legislature. I have apologized fully and unequivocally to the impacted individual for my remarks, which the individual has accepted. In addition, I would like to offer the same full and unequivocal apology to my colleagues, my constituents, and, most of all, my family, all of whom expect and deserve a greater level of respect than I have demonstrated,” Graydon said in the statement.
“I acknowledge that everyone has the right to a safe and respectful workplace. As such, I will be taking additional, more comprehensive sensitivity and respectful workplace counselling, to be determined by caucus leadership.”
Graydon was previously directed to take sensitivity training earlier this year after comments he made on Twitter calling asylum seekers a “drain on society.”
He said he plans to serve out his term, but will not seek re-election in 2020.
“Representing the good, hard-working people of the Emerson constituency since 2007 has been one of the greatest honours imaginable but, after over a decade of service in the Manitoba Legislature, it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of life.”
He did not elaborate on his medical leave of absence, which he said was effective immediately.
“While the nature of my health concerns are private, taking care of my health in the short term is the best decision for my family and I in the long term,” he said.