Washrooms 'neutral territory' for female MHAs to meet, support each other, says Tracey Perry

Things were so bad at Confederation Building last year that female MHAs met in the bathroomsto talk about harassment and bullying, according to a PC MHA.

Last month, former Liberal finance minister Cathy Bennett told a women's conference in St. John's that women used to co-ordinate meetings in washrooms, in order to have a safe place to talk.

That's something Tracey Perry, Tory MHA for Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune, said did, in fact, happen regularly.

"Last year was certainly one of the most difficult periods I have ever experienced in my entire life," Perry said Tuesday.

We all understood first-hand what we were going through, what was happening.- Tracey Perry

"And the fact that we had to meet in bathrooms certainly speaks to the lack of trust that we all felt we could have in the process."

The process she was referring to was an investigation of harassment and bullying allegations made against former Liberal ministers Eddie Joyce and Dale Kirby.

Joyce and Kirby were removed from the Liberal caucus during the investigation into their conduct.

The process, Perry said, was confusing at times, and left some of the complainants feeling isolated.

"Certainly by meeting in bathrooms, we didn't have to worry about any attacks that would be made on our credibility," she said.

"And we really needed the support network that we gave each other, because we all understood first-hand what we were going through, what was happening."

Perry said she was the only PC member who was involved in the harassment investigation, and sought comfort in women of other political stripes to understand what she was going through.

There's no replacement for lived experience.

"This process was hard on all parties. I know certainly it was hard on my colleagues as well, and I certainly thank them for their support.I can certainly say that my colleagues supported me 110 per cent and they were fabulous," she said.

"But in terms of fully understanding what it's like to be a woman and to be bullied and to be treated differently, the women could understand that first-hand, woman to woman."

Understanding from lived experience

While meeting in a bathroom might not make sense to some, Perry said it was one of the safest places the women found they could meet without having to worry or be afraid.

"Certainly in the House, it's the only neutral ground and it was the place we could go to without having to worry that someone was gonna look at us and try and attack our credibility because we were talking to each other," she said.

"We had every right to talk to each other, every right to support each other, and we all understood exactly what we were going through. We all understood exactly what we had endured."

These bathroom conversations were news to Premier Dwight Ball, who, when asked, said he hadn't heard of them before, even though one of the MHAs involved was his former finance minister.

"Any time any member, both female or male, look for a meeting with me or ask for a meeting with me, they got the meeting and they got it in a very timely fashion, and it didn't matter what time of the day it would be, so we weren't meeting in washrooms, we were meeting in my office," he said.

"All I can say is that when they asked to meet with me and they wanted to discuss something with me, my door was always open and that meeting occurred."

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