Mayoral hopeful Murray maintains emphatic denial of harassment allegations

Winnipeg mayoral candidate Glen Murray says he emphatically denies any wrongdoing in the wake of sexual harassment allegations during his time at Calgary’s Pembina Institute.

Murray, who has topped recent polls and is seen by many as the frontrunner in the city’s crowded field of candidates, served as executive director of the clean energy think-tank for a year in 2017-18.

The candidate faces accusations, according to a report by CBC News last week, that he was the subject of employee complaints, saying he had used sexual innuendo, drank to excess, and engaged in inappropriate touching during his time with the institute.

Global News has not been able to independently verify these claims.

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Murray has repeatedly denied the allegations and told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg on Thursday that while he takes responsibility for what he considers a poor fit, professionally, the accusations are untrue.

“I’ve said quite clearly that I take responsibility for my time there,” Murray said.

“I was not a good fit, and I realized I wasn’t a good fit, and I left for personal reasons.

“I want to be very emphatic about this: no, that is not true, I did not harass that person, and I have been very clear about that.”

When asked if he has signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of his time at the Institute, Murray didn’t answer, but said there was a workplace harassment policy in place, and he knew of no complaints — even anonymous ones — about his behaviour.

As far as the impact on his mayoral campaign is concerned, Murray, who previously served as Winnipeg’s mayor from 1998–2004, said Winnipeggers know him and what kind of person he is.

“I believe people in Winnipeg know me. They have many years to judge my character on,” he said.

“They know how I work — I work well with people. I worked well with premiers. I worked well with city council.

“I have been out in public in the city and in the spotlight for a long time. I take being a role model very seriously, and that’s how I will conduct myself.”

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Winnipeggers go to the polls Oct. 26.