The Tender Blossom in Parliament

"Earlier this year I made an inappropriate and insensitive comment in the presence of the member for Longueuil-Charles-LeMoyne."
"I have nothing but the greatest respect for this member, for this institution, and I sincerely apologize."
"While standing for the [group-of-three] picture I made an inappropriate and flippant comment by saying, 'This isn't my idea of a threesome', which was intended as a partisan comment about being in a photo with a Liberal member of caucus."
"I realized that this comment was inappropriate and attempted to apologize the following day but was not afforded that opportunity."
Manitoba MP James Bezan, Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative MP James Bezan stands in the House of Commons during Question Period on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014. (Fred Chartrand / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

"In May, the member from Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman publicly made inappropriate, humiliating and unwanted comments to me that was sexual in nature."
"These comments have caused me great stress and have negatively affected my work environment."
Quebec MP Sherry Romanado, Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal MP Sherry Romanado is accusing Conservative MP James Bezan of making comments that were humiliating and "sexual in nature" towards her    CTVNews

Ah, the nation's business conducted in Parliament by honourably elected individuals intent on pursuing the best interests of their country as lawmakers representing various points of the Canadian geographic compass, and its people, its economy, its social structures and public services, its place in the international community; war and peacekeeping, trade and diplomacy. All these complex issues requiring the deep and dedicated commitment of the men and women charged with the vital job of keeping Canada healthy. And yet ... and yet ....

Reading of the horrible insensitivity and sexual innuendo perpetrated on this poor female Parliamentarian, one can only groan with disgust that the women of Canada have to put up with this kind of violently degraded imagery. At the same time one must suspend belief that Member of Parliament James Bezan is honest when he asserts his great respect for the injured woman who has suffered the emotional consequences of his thoughtless one-off in the belief that he was being amusing. Clearly, Ms. Romanado was not amused.

There is no word who the third party in the group portrait might have been, or whether he had found the remark amusing himself. Possibly, he (or she) was more attuned to the minefield the offhand remark was risking and shrank in his boots. Mr. Bezan is now much more cognizant of the dreadful damage to personal propriety such words can cause, since he voluntarily put himself through a sensitivity training session, to sharpen his conscience over such incendiary words put to the tender sensibilities of a delicate flower of a woman.

He did this after he likely picked himself up off the Commons floor collapsing from shock and possibly humiliation when  he was apprised that the offended Ms. Romanado had filed an official complaint against him with the chief human resources officer in Parliament. On discovering this he promptly offered to apologize in a mediation session, but "That request was also denied", he said, adding it to the rebuff he received from the poor wilting flower at his immediate apologize when he realized his faux pas.

A woman wronged, insulted, demeaned, sullied, was on the war path. And Mr. Bezan found himself unable to appease, explain, apologize because clearly Ms. Romanado cherished her injury and meant to extract blood for it, and even then might not relent and release Mr. Romanado from the purgatory she felt he had earned. Despite which, he explained the Commons review, standard procedure to deal with complaints of sexual harassment, "Did not support a claim of sexual harassment. No disciplinary action was recommended against me."

Can't you just hear Sherry Romanado gnashing her teeth in anguish? The dreadful harm done her, a defenceless female, having to hear such an insulting, suggestive, unsavoury, SALACIOUS remark directed straight at her by an uncaring, oblivious, male-privileged Parliamentarian was just too, too much to bear. Life is so unfair! That May remark from her colleague will never go unrecalled, her bruised psyche will never surrender to any appeal by the offender for forgiveness.

And this is the calibre of character and intelligence elected to represent both genders in the riding to which she was elected for the currently ruling Liberal Party of Canada. Actually a reflection in total of the calibre of the entire Liberal caucaus, leader most particularly included.