schema:articleBody
| - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday defended Canada's embattled Governor General Julie Payette, who faces an investigation over claims of workplace harassment. "We have an excellent governor general right now, and I think on top of the Covid crisis, nobody's looking at (triggering) any constitutional crises," Trudeau told a Vancouver radio show. Asked by the host of RED FM's The Harjinder Thind Show if he would replace Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Canada, Trudeau responded: "That's not something we are contemplating right now." Payette has come under fire following a report by public broadcaster CBC that cited unnamed sources alleging a "toxic climate" in the office, and accused her of "verbal violence." On Tuesday, the government announced that an outside firm had been hired to investigate the allegations. Its findings from interviews with current and past employees as well as Payette herself, however, are not expected to be made public. Payette, a former astronaut, was nominated to the largely ceremonial post in 2017. amc/ft
|