Conservatives to adopt new HR policies as Rick Dykstra investigation reveals absence of clear protocols

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The Conservative Party says it will bring in new human resource policies, including a procedure for complaints against candidates, after the investigation into Rick Dykstra’s candidacy in the 2015 election revealed the absence of clear protocols.

Toronto lawyer Carol Nielsen had been tasked with reviewing the party’s handling of Mr. Dykstra’s candidacy in the last federal campaign.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer ordered the third-party investigation in January of 2018, after the former Conservative MP stepped down as president of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, hours before Maclean’s magazine reported on allegations of sexual assault that occurred during his time in Parliament.

According to the magazine report, a woman who worked for a Conservative MP said that after a night of drinking she ended up in Mr. Dykstra’s Ottawa apartment and that he forced her to perform oral sex on him. Mr. Dykstra’s lawyers said that he denies the allegations.

The story prompted a response from former prime minister Stephen Harper, who said in a statement last February that he was aware Mr. Dykstra had been accused of sexual assault, but allowed him to remain on the ballot in 2015 because he was under the impression that the case had been investigated, and closed, by police. That statement was echoed by Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff Ray Novak, who also said he understood the investigation was closed.

Ms. Nielsen says in her report that the purpose of the review was not intended to assign blame to anyone involved in the handling of the allegations, writing that the primary reason was to obtain information to help the party respond appropriately to similar circumstances in the future.

The report says that members of the campaign team took steps to obtain information, including asking the party’s lawyer to make inquiries and determine whether Mr. Dykstra had failed to disclose pertinent details during the candidate selection process, and to obtain insight from Kym Purchase, the former chief of staff to the government whip.

It also says no effort was made to obtain information directly from the complainant, adding this was partly explained by her request for privacy and the absence of a formal complaint, and adds “nor were the inquiries made of Mr. Dykstra sufficient.”

“As well, no attempt was made to obtain information directly from the police regarding the status of their investigation (while the policy generally may not disclose personal information, Maclean’s reported on January 28, 2018 that the police confirmed that their investigation was stopped at the request of the complainant.)

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“These failures to make more extensive inquiries may be explained, in part, by the absence of any clear protocol or procedure.”

Ms. Nielsen said in her report that without laid-out principles directing the campaign team’s response, each member relied on his or her own “common sense” approach.

In total, the lawyer made six recommendations, including implementing a candidate complaint procedure and protocol, strengthening the existing vetting process, requiring more comprehensive police checks and instating a code of conduct and harassment policy for candidates, as well as related mandatory training.

The Conservative Party said in a statement that it has accepted and will adopt all of Ms. Nielsen’s recommendations and that it has appointed lawyer Hartley Lefton as chief compliance officer to oversee their implementation.

Mr. Scheer said that it’s important the party “has the proper protocols in place for all staff and candidates,” adding he’s confident the team now has the tools it needs.