Canadian senator Don Meredith.The Canadian Press
A former Conservative senator faces a second ethics probe after an investigation into his office unearthed allegations of harassment and bullying.
The allegations in the investigation report remain unproven and none of the staffers who took part, nor any whose stories are included in the report, wanted to file a formal complaint against Senator Don Meredith.
A Senate source with knowledge of the report, speaking on condition of anonymity because no public statements had been authorized, said the majority of the allegations against Mr. Meredith describe him as being a bully, rude and unprofessional toward his staff. There are also allegations of psychological harassment and sometimes making irrational demands of his staff, the source said.
The executive members of the Senate's internal economy committee decided to refer the report to the Senate ethics officer, who is already conducting a preliminary investigation into Mr. Meredith on an unrelated matter.
More details of the report are expected to be made public on Thursday.
Depending on the outcome of the latest ethics review, Mr. Meredith could face penalties ranging from a forced public apology on the floor of the Senate – which was the punishment for former Conservative Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu when he was found last year to have violated the Senate's ethics code – to suspension without pay.
The Senate first ordered the investigation into Mr. Meredith's office in February after top senators, including former Speaker
Pierre Claude Nolin, witnessed what they felt was a troubling turnover of staff in Mr. Meredith's office.