OTTAWA—The Green party has hired an outside lawyer to investigate allegations of workplace bullying against Elizabeth May, an inquiry that the longtime leader said she requested herself to “put this matter to bed.”

May said the lawyer will investigate claims by three former party employees who told the Star last week that the Green leader has created a toxic work environment with conduct that includes yelling at staffers and putting them down in front of others.

“These three individuals have created a caricature of me that bears no resemblance to reality,” May said outside the House of Commons Monday, as Members of Parliament debated a workplace harassment bill that aims to better protect political staffers on the Hill.

“It’s unacceptable to have anyone harassed or bullied, and I want to make sure that people of Canada know … that these stories are — well, I’d call them laughable, except that I’m not laughing,” May said.

“I just know how my relations with them went, and I know the accusations are false.”

The investigation is being conducted by Sheila Block, a lawyer with Torys LLP in Toronto. May said she expects the probe to take two to four weeks, and that Block’s findings will be publicly released.

Rob Rainer, the party’s interim executive director in 2014, accused the party of failing to address and prevent May’s alleged pattern of “verbal and emotional” abuse, and called for an independent probe into her alleged conduct in the workplace.

Rainer declined comment when asked Monday about the lawyer’s investigation.

Vanessa Brustolin, another one of May’s accusers, questioned whether the investigation would be truly independent, given that the lawyer conducting it was hired by the Green party. She also said she’s concerned the investigation won’t include other current or former staffers.

“I can’t be happy with this particular response,” she said.

Diana Nunes, the third employee who alleged May is a “bully” in the workplace, said she’s also skeptical that the review is truly independent, and questioned why May’s accusers weren’t consulted on who should investigate their allegations.

“I think at this point this matter should be probably referred to the Ontario Labour Board,” Nunes said.

The employees’ allegations — which were also detailed in a report by the Hill Times Monday — date back to May’s earliest days as Green party leader in 2006.

Nunes, who worked for more than 10 years as the party’s director of finance, told the Star last week that she witnessed May throw “a fit” on numerous occasions. She alleged May yelled at an employee when her new office hadn’t been painted, and that she once slammed a door in anger when her daughter was denied a party stipend.

Brustolin, meanwhile, claimed that May yelled at her on three occasions when she worked for the party last summer. She said she was let go after complaining to her boss and May’s assistants that May would “be fired” if she spoke to people like that in the private sector.

Further allegations were detailed in a written statement that Rainer submitted to several high-ranking party officials in November 2014. The document, which was obtained by the Star, details several alleged examples of May’s “toxic” workplace behaviour during Rainer’s time with the party.

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Patricia Farnese, a member of the Green Party of Canada Fund, said last week that she received Rainer’s document in 2014, and that a decision was made to take no action in response to his allegations. She said this was because of known friction between May and Rainer, as well as the fact that Rainer was no longer a party employee.

In an interview last week, May said she can’t recall “ever yelling or screaming” in the workplace. McMillan, the party’s executive director, also said she has never seen May yell in anger at an employee.

“A woman leader of a federal political party has to be tough. I do not regard having a backbone as a character flaw,” May said Monday.

“Not everybody is going to like everybody else. The important thing is to have a respectful workplace to be able to work together, to have arguments, disagreements and to continue on as a team.”

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