Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's spokesman on Thursday denied Trudeau had "negative interactions" at a 2000 music festival when an editorial resurfaced accusing Trudeau of sexual harassment at the event.

Trudeau's press secretary Matt Pascuzzo said in a statement to BuzzFeed News that Trudeau has always respected women and that he "doesn't think he had any negative interactions" at a music festival in Creston, British Columbia.

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The allegation was first published in an editorial by the Creston Valley Advance in August 2000.

Trudeau was accused of groping one of the publication's reporters, in an editorial that includes a reported apology from Trudeau.

“I’m sorry. If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward,” he reportedly said at the time.

Trudeau was a 28-year-old at the time and best known for being the son of former liberal Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

The editorial, which has been resurfaced semi-frequently over the past 18 years, was brought to light most recently by conservative news outlet Breitbart on Thursday. </s> Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a self-described feminist who has made combatting sexual harassment and sexual assault a centerpiece of his political image, was accused of groping a young woman reporter at a music festival almost two decades ago. The allegation was first published in an editorial in the Creston Valley Advance, a community newspaper in British Columbia, in August 2000. It has periodically resurfaced online, including in Frank magazine earlier this year. The allegation came to wider attention this week when photos of the editorial were widely shared on social media and received further prominence when Breitbart reported on it on Thursday. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, the prime minister's press secretary, Matt Pascuzzo, said Trudeau has always treated women with respect and that he "doesn't think he had any negative interactions" while in Creston. BuzzFeed News obtained a copy of the newspaper editorial from the archives of the Creston Museum.



In the editorial, Trudeau was accused of "groping" the newspaper's reporter during a music festival sponsored by a beer company. According to the editorial, Trudeau was said to have apologized for inappropriately "handling" the woman after he realized she was a reporter.

 “I’m sorry. If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward,” the Advance editorial quotes Trudeau as telling the reporter afterward. Trudeau was 28 years old at the time of the alleged incident. Although he was not then a public figure, he was still famous as the son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau. "[S]houldn't the son of a former prime minister be aware of the rights and wrongs that go along with public socializing? Didn't he learn, through his vast experiences in public life, that groping a strange young woman isn't in the handbook of proper etiquette, regardless of who she is, what her business is or where they are?" the editorial said.

 BuzzFeed News contacted the woman reporter who covered Trudeau's visit to the festival but did not immediately receive a reply. Efforts to contact the paper's then-editor were not successful.

Trudeau's first major moment in the public spotlight as an adult came just a few months later in October 2000, when he delivered a eulogy at his father's televised state funeral. He subsequently followed his father into politics, becoming active with the Liberal Party of Canada and eventually running for and winning a seat in parliament in 2008. Since becoming prime minister in 2015, Trudeau has championed women's rights and taken a zero-tolerance stance on sexual misconduct, suspending multiple members of his party from caucus after they were accused of sexual harassment. In an interview with CBC News earlier this year, Trudeau was asked whether any women might accuse him of similar behavior. "I don't think so," Trudeau said. "I've been very, very careful all my life to be thoughtful and to be respectful of people's space and people's headspace as well."

 He also said politicians were responsible for their actions, no matter how long ago.

"There is no context in which someone doesn't have responsibility for things they've done in the past," he told CBC News. In the statement to BuzzFeed News on Thursday, Pascuzzo emphasized Trudeau's record on women's rights: As the PM has said before, he has always been very careful to treat everyone with respect. His first experiences with activism were on the issue of sexual assault at McGill, and he knows the importance of being thoughtful and respectful. He remembers being in Creston for the Avalanche Foundation, but doesn’t think he had any negative interactions there. </s> Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not only been a huge supporter of women empowerment but has also been very open about how women who come forward with sexual abuse allegation must be believed.

After the #MeToo movement turned into a global phenomenon encouraging women in all professions to take a stand against sexual misconduct and expose the magnitude of this problem, the 46-year-old leader of the Liberal Party said he wasn’t worried about such allegations surfacing against him as he had led a very careful life.

“I've been very, very careful all my life to be thoughtful, to be respectful of people's space and people's headspace as well,” he told CBC Radio's “The House” in a January interview.

He also said there is “no context in which someone doesn't have responsibility for things they've done in the past” and blasted the idea of sexual harassment just being “compliments” taken the wrong way.

“These are not just compliments that were taken wrong, or comments that could have meant nothing,” Trudeau said at the time. “There are situations in the cases that we're discussing these days that fundamentally made women unsafe in the work environment, unsure about themselves and truly affected their lives.”

However, a recently surfaced newspaper article from August 2000 claims Trudeau himself may have engaged in such behavior when he was in his late twenties.

According to an editorial published in British Columbia community newspaper Creston Valley Advance, Trudeau, who was not a political figure at the time but was known for being the son of former Prime Minster Pierre Trudeau, groped a young female reporter at Kokanee Summit Music Festival put on by the Columbia Brewery.

The reporter was there to cover an event not only for the Creston Valley Advance but also for the National Post and Vancouver Sun, reported Frank magazine.

According to the editorial, Trudeau later apologized to the woman.

“I’m sorry. If I had known you were reporting for a national paper, I never would have been so forward,” he was quoted as saying.

“Shouldn't the son of a former prime minister be aware of the rights and wrongs that go along with public socializing?” read the article. “Didn't he learn, through his vast experiences in public life, that groping a strange young woman isn't in the handbook of proper etiquette, regardless of who she is, what her business is or where they are?”

Since Trudeau became prime minister in 2015, the allegation has surfaced several times in local newspapers. However, given the ongoing conversation around #MeToo and “Time’s Up” movements, the article has found its way to the social media, where it gained further prominence after right wing website Breitbart News wrote about it.

Meanwhile, Trudeau’s press secretary, Matt Pascuzzo, has since released a statement to the BuzzFeed News.

“As the PM has said before, he has always been very careful to treat everyone with respect. His first experiences with activism were on the issue of sexual assault at McGill, and he knows the importance of being thoughtful and respectful,” he said. “He remembers being in Creston for the Avalanche Foundation, but doesn’t think he had any negative interactions there.” </s> OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his treatment of a Quebec woman he accused of racism, calling hate speech and the politics of division a “dangerous path” for Canada.

At a news conference today outside Ottawa, Trudeau was asked whether he went too far when he told a woman heckling him at a rally Sunday in Quebec that her “racism has no place” in Canada.

During the rally, the woman was shouting questions in French at Trudeau, asking him when the federal government would repay Quebec for costs it has incurred as a result of an influx of “illegal immigrants” coming over the Canada-U.S. border.

The prime minister responded by accusing the woman of intolerance and racism, saying such sentiments were not welcome.

Trudeau says he fears a rise in extreme populism and a polarization in the political discourse, particularly around immigration, with some feeding fear and intolerance using partial truths and “outright lies.”

He says he intends to continue to call out such behaviour. </s> OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his treatment of a Quebec woman he accused of racism, calling hate speech and the politics of division a "dangerous path" for Canada.

At a news conference today outside Ottawa, Trudeau was asked whether he went too far when he told a woman heckling him at a rally Sunday in Quebec that her "racism has no place" in Canada.

During the rally, the woman was shouting questions in French at Trudeau, asking him when the federal government would repay Quebec for costs it has incurred as a result of an influx of "illegal immigrants" coming over the Canada-U.S. border.

The prime minister responded by accusing the woman of intolerance and racism, saying such sentiments were not welcome. </s> Jaspal Atwal, the central figure in the controversy that surrounded the prime minister's February trip to India, has been charged with uttering threats.

He was charged in British Columbia with one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm in an alleged incident that is said to have occurred on April 23, according to documents filed in a Surrey, B.C., court.

Court documents show bail was paid three days later, and Atwal is scheduled to appear in court on May 24.

Atwal, a Canadian of Indian descent, was previously convicted of attempted murder for trying to assassinate Indian cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu while he was visiting Vancouver Island in 1986.

During Justin Trudeau's visit to India, Atwal turned up at an official event and got an invitation to another at the Canadian High Commission in Delhi.

Photos of Atwal posing with a Liberal cabinet minister and Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, at an Indian film industry event in Mumbai were sent to media outlets, including the CBC, touching off a public relations firestorm for the Trudeau government that continued in the House of Commons for weeks. </s> Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended himself after accusing a woman at a political event of "racism".

Mr Trudeau was speaking at a corn roast about 50km (30 miles) south of Montreal when he was interrupted by a heckler.

A woman repeatedly shouted questions at the prime minister about costs relating to an influx of asylum seekers entering the country.

Critics have accused Mr Trudeau of going too far with his response.

The prime minister did not respond directly to the criticism on Monday, but said he will "be very clear when people are trying to push politics of fear and indeed, intolerance".

"That's something Canadians expect of me," he said.

The Canadian Press reported that Ontario's Immigration Minister, Lisa MacLeod, said on Monday that the prime minister "debases the debate that we're having" on asylum seekers in responding to critics by calling them racist or un-Canadian.

A video of the altercation, which took place last Thursday, has been widely shared online.

The clip shows a woman yelling from the back of the crowd at Mr Trudeau.

She asks whether the federal government will pay back the province of Quebec for the millions of dollars it has spent to handle thousands of asylum seekers that have crossed into the province over the past 18 months.
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Since 2017, some 30,000 migrants have crossed the border illegally into Canada, where they turn themselves over to police in order to make asylum claims.

Both the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are asking the Trudeau government to foot the entire bill for the costs related to the asylum seekers.

The woman, speaking in French, repeatedly asks Mr Trudeau when he will refund "your illegal immigrants".

He responds: "Madame, one of the important things in politics to listen."

The woman, who has not been identified, says he has not answered her question.

The back and forth continues before the prime minister snaps that "intolerance towards immigrants has no place in Canada".

She then asks whether he is tolerant of the "Quebecois de souche" (old-stock Quebecers), and approaches the prime minister as he wades through a crowd of supporters.

There, he tells her that "your racism has no place here".

She is soon approached by a police officer who asks her whether she has identification and briefly grabs her arm.

She tells him to let go and says she has the right to ask questions of the prime minister.

The woman refuses to identify herself to police and eventually walks away.

She also interacts repeatedly with the man behind the camera who is filming the entire interaction.

He is heard asking police for their badge numbers.

Unconfirmed reports online suggested members of an anti-immigrant group were planning to disrupt the event.

Mr Trudeau's comments garnered some backlash online among critics who felt he mishandled the incident.

Others were supportive of his reaction. </s> A Canadian man recently freed with his wife and young children after years of being held hostage in Afghanistan has been charged with at least a dozen offences, including sexual assault, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Joshua Boyle, 34, was arrested in Ottawa, his lawyer, Eric Granger, told The Canadian Press.

Ottawa police declined to provide any details on the case.

The 15 charges against Boyle, according to court documents, include eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to "take a noxious thing, namely Trazodone," an antidepressant.

There is also a charge of uttering a death threat and another of misleading a police officer. The purported acts allegedly occurred between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30 after Boyle returned to Canada.

Boyle and his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, were taken hostage in 2012 by a Taliban-linked group while on a backpacking trip in Afghanistan. Coleman was pregnant at the time and the couple had three children in captivity.

"He's never been in trouble before," Granger said. "No evidence has been provided yet, which is typical at this early stage. We look forward to receiving the evidence and defending him against these charges."

Granger said his client is "coping."

"He's as OK as anyone is who is suddenly and unexpectedly facing charges for the first time," he said.

A publication ban bars any information that could identify the alleged victims or witnesses in the case.

A man who answered the phone at the residence of Boyle's parents in Smith Falls, Ont., on Tuesday said he did not want to comment.

The Prime Minister's Office also said it would not comment since the investigation is ongoing.

A government official said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Boyles at the family's request.

The official said the prime minister would generally meet with any returning hostage with connections to Canada, and discussion of the hostage-taking was the main purpose of the meeting with the Boyles.

Boyle has said he and his wife were helping ordinary villagers in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan when they were seized. He told The Canadian Press that conditions during their five-year ordeal changed over time as the family was shuffled among at least three prisons.

He described the first as "remarkably barbaric," the second as more comfortable and the third as a place of violence in which he and his wife were frequently separated and beaten.

Boyle said their captors from the Taliban-linked Haqqani network raped his wife and had also caused her to suffer a miscarriage. Shortly after landing in Toronto after being rescued, he demanded that his kidnappers be brought to justice.

In an interview with ABC News, Coleman, who is from Stewartstown, Pa., recalled that guards dragged her husband from their cell, and one of them threw her on the ground, shouting, "I will kill you, I will kill you" before assaulting her.

She also said their captors beat their eldest son with a stick.

The couple and their children had gone to Boyle's parents home in Smiths Falls, Ont., after being rescued.

-- With files from The Associated Press </s> WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday of “being so indignant,” as the two leaders prepared for a Group of Seven summit in Quebec on Friday that is likely to center on trade disagreements.

“Prime Minister Trudeau is being so indignant, bringing up the relationship that the U.S. and Canada had over the many years and all sorts of other things ... but he doesn’t bring up the fact that they charge us up to 300% on dairy — hurting our Farmers, killing our Agriculture!” Trump said on Twitter. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Lisa Lambert)
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau is accused of groping a journalist in 2000. He denies he made negative interactions.