Pace of Meredith investigation is alarming: Speaker
Ethics watchdog has not yet interviewed girl who made allegations of sexual conduct
OTTAWA— Senators have expressed concern that the ethics watchdog has yet to interview a young woman who claims Sen. Don Meredith began a sexual relationship with her when she was a teenager, says Senate Speaker Leo Housakos.
Housakos says he approached ethics officer Lyse Ricard to discuss the issue.
“I spoke to her being concerned about what I read in the media . . . I spoke to her because of the concerns expressed by many senators based on what we saw in the Toronto Star story,” Housakos said in an interview Tuesday of his conversation with Ricard.
The Star published a story in June detailing allegations from a woman who said she had a two-year sexual relationship with Meredith that began after she met him at an event held at an Ottawa church in February 2013.
The woman, who was16 years old at the time, says she and Meredith, a married Pentecostal pastor appointed to the Senate on the advice of Conservative Leader Stephen Harp- er in 2010, progressed from sexually explicit online chats to physical intimacy, kissing and touching.
The woman says she had sexual intercourse with the pastor twice after she turned 18.
“Sen. Meredith will continue to respect the process established by the Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators, including the Code’s requirement that all participants uphold the confidentiality of that process,” his Ottawa-based lawyer, Colin Baxter, wrote in an email Wednesday.
Meredith, who was already the subject of a Senate investigation into allegations of workplace harassment, was dumped from the Conservative caucus shortly after the story appeared online.
Housakos referred the matter to Ricard for a preliminary review to see whether she should launch an in- quiry under the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators.
He also encouraged the woman to take part in the separate investigation into allegations of workplace harassment, which has also since been referred to Ricard.
Saturday, the Star reported that the young woman had not heard from Ricard since making the tough decision to contact her office soon after her complaint made headlines.
“How can they investigate without me?” the woman said in an interview.
The woman said she has not heard from anyone at the Senate since June 23, when she received an email from Ricard thanking her for volunteering to meet with her and that she would be in touch.
Housakos said Ricard, who is independent from the Senate, has since assured him they are conducting both investigations “thoroughly.”
“I am comfortable that the ethics officer is placing attention and importance to these investigations going forward,” Housakos said.
Monday, Ricard’s office emailed a statement to the Star to say Ricard could not discuss the specifics of the case, but confirmed it was an issue of “certain timelines” required under the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators.
“In addition, issues that require resolution before moving to the next stage could surface throughout. We cannot share more details with you about these matters since the process and the issues that arise throughout it are required to be kept confidential, though the result of the review will be made public,” said the statement.
“We can assure you that everything is proceeding as usual and in due course,” it said.