OTTAWA—A Liberal MP who is facing an allegation of assault after a weekend visit to a Halifax bar is speaking out, calling the whole thing a case of mistaken identity.

Francis Drouin, who represents the eastern Ontario riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, has issued a statement detailing his version of what happened in Halifax in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Drouin says that while he was chatting with friends, he heard a woman shouting from another part of the bar that her buttocks had been grabbed — and that the comments were not directed at him.

He says he then shouted for the man allegedly involved in the incident to be evicted from the bar.

That’s when Drouin, who was in town for the Liberal policy convention over the weekend, says a woman with a cellphone “mistakenly” tried to connect him to the alleged incident.

He says he proactively informed the Prime Minister’s Office and the government whip’s office, and has been co-operating fully with a police investigation into the matter.

The chief of staff to government whip Pablo Rodriguez says Drouin is still a Liberal MP.

“Francis Drouin is still a member of the Liberal caucus and retains all functions therein,” Charles-Eric Lepine said in an email to The Canadian Press.

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Several cabinet ministers declined to comment on the matter Monday when queried on their way into the House of Commons for question period. Drouin was not in his Commons seat for the day’s proceedings.

Inquiries to the Prime Minister’s Office were referred to Rodriguez’s office.

Halifax police confirmed Monday they are investigating a report that a woman had been sexually assaulted, but it was not clear whether that report was linked to the allegation referenced by Drouin.

A spokesperson said no charges have been laid in the incident, which took place sometime after 2 a.m. Saturday at the Halifax Alehouse pub. Police received the report of the alleged incident on Saturday afternoon, at 3:51 p.m.

Cst. Carol McIsaac reiterated Monday investigators with the integrated sexual assault investigative team are asking anyone with information in relation to the alleged sexual assault to call the police.

On Saturday, a Liberal who asked not to be identified said Drouin was telling people at the convention that a woman had accused him of groping her backside at a bar near the convention site in downtown Halifax.

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The alleged incident took place about 12 hours before the party held an hour-long seminar for MPs and staff called “From #MeToo to Never Again: Creating Safe Work Environments.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of the attendees at the session.

During that session, Trudeau said that while one seminar would not provide all the answers, it was a good step forward.

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