It was a strangely passive-aggressive, non-committal kind of resignation. Senator Don Meredith sent out a statement to say he had decided not to fight his expulsion from the Red Chamber, to move on with his life, and that he would not "engage" in the Constitutional battle for his seat. What he didn't say explicitly in his 177-word statement was that he was resigning.
It was the verbal equivalent of sneaking out the back door before he got the boot.
"Good riddance," said Conservative Senator Denise Batters as she walked into the chamber later. It was a sentiment that a lot of her colleagues shared.
It's hard to argue with it. Senator Murray Sinclair called it a sad day for life in the Senate, with no good outcome for either the Senate or Mr. Meredith. At least now all could move on. That's wise, and generous. But it's also worth making this point: Good Riddance.
Senator Meredith didn't really breach the specific Senate ethics rules so much as he tromped over the recently added provision that senators refrain from conduct that reflects badly on the Senate.
In 2013, he started a relationship with a 16-year-old, identified as Ms. M in the report of Senate ethics officer Lyse Ricard, when he was 48, giving her his Senate business card with his cell number. When she visited his office, he groped her, Ms. Ricard found. She found Mr. Meredith engaged in Internet chats where he masturbated while Ms. M undressed, telling her "this is what adults do." If you check the Senate record around that time, you can find Mr. Meredith, a pastor and self-described youth advocate, giving a speech in the Red Chamber warning of the dangers of youth luring on the Internet. Eventually – Ms. Ricard believes before Ms. M's 18th birthday – they had sexual intercourse. Mr. Meredith, Ms. Ricard judged, intertwined the relationship with his role as senator.
Then, Mr. Meredith dodged. He initially told Ms. Ricard his activities were none of her business. Then he couldn't remember much. It was only when the Senate ethics' committee was considering his expulsion that he admitted failings – suggesting he be suspended for two years. Senators didn't accept that. And most knew Ms. Ricard was also investigating multiple claims of harassment in his office.
This was not a breach of an expense rule or a conflict provision. Mr. Meredith was being accused of using his senator's role as an enabler in scummy, egregious behaviour, so bad it would severely damage public trust, and his fellow senators were about to judge him unfit. He knew that. He must have known it would be a long, uphill, costly battle to fight. So he slipped away at the last moment before that judgment – before he became a historical footnote as the first Canadian senator kicked out in scandal.
Perhaps if he hadn't pushed it so far, the Senate would never have taken an important step. Maybe if he'd expressed remorse early, or promised to take training, he would have got a suspension and come back. In the end, the Senate essentially made him a test case, and decided it had the power to expel a senator for egregious behaviour that damages the public trust.
That's a precedent that now hangs over every senator. That's good. There's no voter who can kick members out of this congenitally flawed institution, so at least there's that.
On Tuesday, senators were talking about voting to keep that sexual-harassment investigation going despite Mr. Meredith's resignation. Senator Marilou McPhedran, a new independent senator appointed in December, said she'd move for an inquiry into the way the Senate deals with allegations generally, and the accountability mechanisms it uses to respond. Senator Josée Verner, a former Conservative who is now non-affiliated, said that the Senate's willingness to expel Mr. Meredith showed it was now dealing with ethical breaches. She even called it "a new future for the Senate." That's perhaps too much, but still, this was an important precedent.
Maybe the Senate owes Mr. Meredith, in a strange way, for forcing it to take a major step on accountability. But still: Good Riddance.
Campbell Clark