In the CTV National News for Tuesday, June 30, 2015 there's a segment beginning at the 6:42 mark about the latest wave of cyberattacks against government websites. In it national reporter Mercedes Stephenson has had a telephone conversation with the person responsible. Apparently, he sounds quite bright, articulate and confident he cannot be identified and doesn't seem overly concerned if he is - it's impossible to tell whether he's Canadian or not..
According to experts denial of service attacks are relatively simple to perform especially with Canadian government websites that lack the necessary security precautions that would cost millions of dollars to install and operate.
The hacker is promising cyber chaos for Canada Day. CSB's prediction? Low tech will triumph over high tech. The spies at CSIS aren't smart enough on their own to catch him but like so many other criminals he'll blab to someone who'll alert the authorities.
If the Harper government can't protect its websites how can Bill C-51 protect you?
Good Day Readers:
It's fair to say the hacker group Anonymous doesn't like the Harper government. For the second time in the past 24-hours it has again taken down the CSIS website for a total of three (Anonymous =3 The Spies =0). The Conservative Party of Canada's site was also blocked earlier today which begs the question, "What's next?"
Recall when Vic Toews was Public Safety Minister and he and then Justice Minister Rob Nicholson tried to ram the highly invasive Bills C-30 and 51 (not the anti-terrorist Bill that has so many Canadians ....ed off) that if passed would have provided for warrantless internet searches/monitoring of your e-mail and internet usage without the need to even inform you.
Well, Anonymous was so ....ed off with Mr. Toews it produced 6-highly embarrassing and critical YouTube videos that remain on the internet to this day.
A thoroughly choked Public Safety Minister Vic Toews trying unsuccessfully to find Anonymous.
Fast forward to today and now Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench "Justice" Toews should be given the title, "The Father of Anonymous the Harper Government Hacker." Will his greatest political legacy be he was instrumental in helping to bring down the Harper government even though he was no longer a part of it - at least not officially.
Bill C-51 is obviously going to be a major election campaign issue and, hopefully, will break the Tories' back come October.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
CSIS website back online after cyberattack
CTV News.Staff
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service was up and running Tuesday afternoon, after a cyberattack took it down for the second time in 24 hours.
The main CSIS website and the CSIS Careers websites went offline shortly after 9 a.m. ET Tuesday. The Conservative Party of Canada's website also went down briefly Tuesday morning but was restored.
The website appeared to be back online and operational Tuesday afternoon.
The website for CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, appears to have gone down again - less then 24 hours after a suspected rogue attacker disabled the site in a co-called denial of service attack.
The latest cyberattack happened less than 24 hours after a suspected rogue hacker took the site down in a so-called denial-of-service attack.
Sources tell CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson that the same rogue hacker who took down the CSIS website Monday night -- and who had previously launched attacks on municipal and police websites -- is behind Tuesday's outages.
"This particular hacker has access to the email system at the Department of Justice and has the ability – if this hacker chooses to do so – to start sending internal emails," Stephenson told CTV News Channel from Ottawa Tuesday.
"Sources tell me the hacker has been in the system for some time and just been dormant."
The denial-of-service the attacker has launched on the CSIS site is not technically a hack, but the attack prevents Internet users from accessing the site. Such attacks can be hard to stop because they can come from dozens or even hundreds of unique IP addresses.
Stephenson said sources tell her the hacker isn't attempting to steal information in these attacks. "This is all about trying to embarrass the government, intelligence agencies and the police," she said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, said no personal information has been compromised in Tuesday's attack.
“This is another reminder of the serious security challenges and threats that we are facing. This is why we need strong laws like the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 to address security threats facing Canada," he said in a statement to CTV News.
Stephenson says the hacker is trying to draw attention to the controversial Bill C-51, as well as the case of an Ottawa teen who was charged in an alleged "swatting" incident. The hacker believes the teen was framed.
The same hacker was previously connected to hacking group Anonymous, but appeared to be operating alone on Monday, sources said.
The person believed to be responsible tweeted out several messages about the CSIS website Monday, including: “I’m deciding if I should let CSIS back online and hit another government website, or if I should keep it offline for a while.”
Less than two weeks ago, several government websites -- including ServiceCanada.gc.ca and Parl.gc.ca -- were hit by a denial of service attack. Anonymous claimed responsibility.
So you want to make crime pay ..... eh? Go to law school!
Whitey Bulger
Advice is a cheap commodity some seek it from me about crime — I know only one thing for sure — If you want to make crime pay — ‘Go to Law School.’
Convicted killer and former South Boston crime boss James Joseph “Whitey” Bulger, Jr., responding to a letter from three high school students doing a project on leadership. Bulger didn’t specifically answer the high schoolers’ questions, instead ruminating on his “wasted” life in crime, culminating in his advice to go to law school rather than follow in the gangster’s footsteps. (I guess a life bound by golden handcuffs is better than a life in actual handcuffs.)
Time to amend the Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights!
Good Day Readers:
Can you imagine if the Supreme Court of Canada were to amend these documents so that any elected official had to sign a vow of poverty. Budgets would be balanced and surpluses generated virtually overnight. Dreaming in quadruple technicolour.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Kelly McParland: When in doubt about expensing something just ask, "Would the Pope claim this?"
Friday, June 19, 2015
Does your publicly funded orange juice cost more that a couple bucks. Maybe get a water. (Getty Images)
It shouldn’t be that hard to avoid making a stupid mistake when submitting business expenses: Just ask yourself, “Would Pope Francis claim this?”
For a man committed to a vow of poverty, the Pope has shown pretty sure footing when it comes to the perks that come with the job of being God’s chief executive for the planet. Recently he dumped the Vatican’s bubble-topped Mercedes-Benz popemobile and replaced it with a Hyundai, built by those budget-conscious folks in South Korea rather than the upmarket Germans.
The bubble is gone, the bullet-proof glass is gone, and it’s not even a top-of-the-line Hyundai, but a modified Santa Fe, which retails at about $27,000. The Pope rejected the lavish living quarters of his predecessor in favour of a modest apartment, and recently, while out for a spin in the popemobile, gladly accepted a pizza handed to him from the crowd. (He’d been quoted moaning about how he missed going out for pizza.)
If Mike Duffy had the good sense of the Pope, would he have demanded repayment for living in his own home? Would Bev Oda have insisted on staying at the Savoy Hotel at $665 a night and billing for $16 orange juice? Would David Dingwall have insisted he was entitled to his entitlements?
First rule of not being stupid about expenses: it’s not an entitlement. If you have a job that comes with unavoidable costs, it’s fair to expect the employer to pick up the charges. It’s not fair to expect to be treated like the Nawab of Udaipur. Here are some rules:
1. Don’t treat yourself better than you would if you were picking up the bill.
So, when you’re on vacation you park your car in the long-term lot because it’s cheaper, you never buy food in the terminal because it’s absurdly overpriced, you put up with economy class and you stay in the best hotel you can find at a reasonable rate. But when it’s business, you book a limo, order a steak in the terminal (and maybe a few drinks), book yourself into business class and stay at the Ritz. Any Ritz. You are a bad person, and if the accountant catches you, you’ll get what you deserve.
2. Don’t convince yourself that no one will notice.
No one gets away with anything any more. A ticket clerk on the subway nods off due to a cold, and it’s all over the Internet in eight seconds. People are watching. Ask yourself: what happens if I get caught? You think you can slip through that muffin on expenses? Imagine how you’ll explain it if the snarky guy in accounting makes an issue of it. What, you can’t afford a muffin? Here’s the official mathematical equation: the lower the claim you’re making the bigger a cheapskate you’ll look like when people find out.
3. Being elected to public office doesn’t come with a direct claim on the Treasury.
No matter how impressed you are by the fact you’ve been elected mayor of Greater Euphoria, or appointed minister of regional giveaways, get over it. There is no reason you should have a better office, a fancier car, more extensive travel or less hassle at the border than the rest of us. People don’t elect politicians to provide them with a new and improved lifestyle. The Queen gets to travel in style because she’s the Queen, symbol of a nation and its people. Mayors, premiers and prime ministers come and go, and usually not soon enough. Here’s the rule for politicians thinking of expensing a fat lunch or similar indulgence: if the other party was in power, would you let them get away with it?
4. It’s not someone else’s responsibility.
OK, you’re a hot shot. Big salary. Nice clothes. Underlings aplenty. Why should you keep track of your own expenses, isn’t that a job for minions? Answer: no. Alison Redford thought she was too good to share a government plane with lesser lights, and now she’s ex-premier of Alberta. People rarely have as high opinion of you as you have of yourself. If you can’t keep track of what you spend, you shouldn’t be in a position to spend it.
Closing note: A couple of years ago I was stuck in an endless line-up at Pearson airport. It was a holiday period and the place was jammed. Everything took forever. Everyone was grumpy. The guy in front of me looked familiar, and after a moment I realized it was Jim Flaherty. He was finance minister at the time, second only to the prime minister, but he was lugging his own suitcases, getting shuffled from line to line, treated with the usual disregard by Customs. What a decent guy, I thought. When he passed away, I wasn’t surprised by the outpouring of affection and respect. It’s hard to imagine the same reaction would greet the passing of senators appalled that they have to drive a whole hour to work without special compensation.
Like rats jumping from a sinking ship with your taxpayer loot!
Good Day Readers:
Don't you get tired of these self-serving politicians who invoke family as the reason they're retiring? Could there possibly be another consideration?
"Helicopter Pete" MacKay's only regret is that he won't get to take a cross Canada farewell tour on one of those 6 over budgeted, late delivered, not enough power Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters recently delivered to the Canadian Forces.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
MPs not seeking re-election may be doing it for the severance and pension: Expert
By Stephanie Levitz
Monday, June 22, 2015
OTTAWA - Nearly 60 members of the just-ended 41st Parliament have decided against running again this fall.
Some moved on to provincial politics, like Conservatives Patrick Brown and Brian Jean, now leading conservative parties in Ontario and Alberta.
Others, like the NDP's Alexandrine Latendresse, who was among the young MPs from Quebec who were swept onto Parliament Hill in 2011, say the cut-and-thrust of the House of Commons has lost its appeal.
Still others say they want to spend more time with family, like Justice Minister Peter MacKay and Industry Minister James Moore, who just announced on Friday he won't run again.
Whatever their stated reasons, many political observers wonder whether money is also among them.
Departing MPs are eligible for severance and pension payments that can top six figures; recent changes to how pensions will be paid have fuelled speculation that many are getting out while the getting is good.
"I try not to be cynical; people give me a good reason and looking at MacKay and Moore in particular, that they've got young kids seems to me like a reasonable reason," said Aaron Wudrick, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
"But objectively speaking, there's no question that anybody who leaves now ... they will be objectively better off. "
Severance
MPs who serve out their terms and don't run again are entitled to severance worth 50 per cent of their salary.
That's a minimum payout of $83,700 for those earning the base MP salary of $167,400. Cabinet ministers like Moore and MacKay make $244,500 a year, which means severance of $122,250.
The same goes for those who run again and lose.
Severance payouts after the 2011 election totalled $4.3 million, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation calculated.
"You could argue you've run for office, you intend to continue working but you're defeated, so then maybe severance is reasonable because you're looking for work when you were not planning to," Wudrick said.
"But we do kind of raise our eyebrow at the idea that a member of Parliament can get severance with a pre-planned departure."
MPs like former foreign affairs minister John Baird, who quit mid-session and vacated his seat almost immediately, don't receive severance, but still have access to a pension at age 55.
Pension
To be eligible for a pension, an MP must have served six years.
In 2013-2014, the average annual allowance for former MPs was $59,974, according to a Treasury Board report.
Current MPs who are eligible for a pension right now and who aren't running again — or who run again and lose — can collect a pension beginning at age 55.
But changes made to the plan three years ago come into effect at the end of this year, and include increasing the age an MP can start collecting their pension to 65 from 55.
That's only for those elected for the first time this fall. It gets more complicated for those who win re-election.
Their pension payments will be calculated on the number of years they served both before and after December 31, 2015. The portion owing on service up to 2015 is available once they turn 55, the rest at 65.
They can start collecting that portion at 55 too, but will pay a one per cent penalty each year until they turn 65.
Meanwhile, the six-year-service rule remains in effect.
There are 133 current MPs who wouldn't qualify for a pension until after the October vote at the earliest. But Wudrick said it's unclear how much of a financial calculation any MP is making in deciding whether to run.
The number not running is about the same as before two other landmark campaigns in recent history — 1993 and 2004, he noted.
"So maybe it's question of people reassessing their political prospects rather than how much money can I get."
If the Speakers of the House of Commons and the Senate were smart, which they're not, they would send a copy of this video to each elected politician with the message, "Will you be next?"
Some many senators sure are ballsy these days then there's Anne "Uncool" Cools. Get this. She wants the media to be "gently approached" to reveal who leaked the contents of the Auditor General's recent report. Huh?
Just how forthcoming has she and the Senate been in how it spends your hard earned taxpayer dollars? It's Board of Internal Economy behaves like a secret society. The lawyer for Mike Duffy has tried to gain access to a 2013 Senate report by Jill Anne Joseph on whether senators could prove they lived where they said they did. So what did lawyers for the Upper Chamber do? That's right yet again they invoked parliamentary privilege.
So here's the deal Anne Cools. For every Senate secret/scandal you give up the medial will reveal one of its sources. Deal no deal?
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Cools says Senate should ask media for help in hunt
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
OTTAWA - An independent senator from Ontario wants the Senate to ask journalists to identify sources who leaked details about the auditor general's recent expenses probe.
Anne Cools says senators should "gently" approach reporters to explain how they knew the contents of the Senate spending report before it was publicly released.
Cools made the comments at a Senate committee looking into how details of auditor general Michael Ferguson's report were given to journalists before many senators were able to look at the document.
The Canadian Press was among the outlets that reported on details of the audit before its public release.
The Senate's rules committee is looking into who received copies of the report, how many copies were circulating, and who had access to the document before it was tabled in the Senate.
The report found some senators didn't believe they had to be publicly accountable for their spending and identified two current and seven retired senators whose spending warranted a review by the RCMP.
That's Lyse Ricard the Senate's Ethics Officer. With the recent outbreak of taxpayer financed hooliganism rampant in the Upper Chamber these days you'd never know there was any oversight. Ms Ricard has the credentials but lacks the independent power to conduct investigations. A career public servant she has had stints with the Auditor General's Office, was Deputy Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as, Assistant Auditor General.
Problem is she's kept on a very short leash lacking the independence to decide whether to investigate, how to investigate and most importantly does not have subpoena power over witnesses and records. She can be overruled by a Senate Conflict of Interest Committee to which she reports that oversees the Senate's Internal Code of Conduct such as it is. Said Committee meets in-camera - more needless secrecy over how Senators .... away your hard earned taxpayer dollars.
There is more than enough compelling evidence on Don Meredith in the excellent Toronto Star article (code for they got him by the "short and curlies") such that Ms Ricard should be leapfrogged over and the matter turned directly over to the police with the power to lay charge(s). Why needlessly waste more taxpayer dollars and time?
And to Don Meredith CyberSmokeBlog says, "Don't rely on God better get yourself a good lawyer."
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Senate Speaker encourages woman who alleges affair to take part in investigation of Senator Don Meredith
Controversial senator booted from Conservative caucus and referred to Senate ethics officer after Toronto Star report of sexual relationship with 16-year-old girl
By Joanna Smith Ottawa Bureau Reporter
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Senator Don Meridith faces a probe from the Senate ethics officer after a Star report of a sexual relationship with a teenaged girl. (Christopher Pike/Toronto Star)
OTTAWA—Senate Speaker Leo Housakos is encouraging the young woman who told the Star she had a two-year sexual relationship with Sen. Don Meredith to take part in an ongoing investigation into allegations of workplace harassment.
“She can easily come forward and take part in this process that we are doing here internally at the Senate and we can ensure her confidentiality if that is what she wishes,” Housakos, a Conservative, told the Star in an interview Thursday.
“What’s important for us is to get to the bottom of this issue. This is behaviour that we don’t condone at the Senate of Canada and this is behaviour that Canadians don’t condone in the workplace or anywhere across the country,” Housakos said.
The Star published a story Wednesday night based on allegations from a woman who said she had a two-year romantic relationship with the 50-year-old Pentecostal pastor that began when she was 16 years old, which she says included intercourse twice after she turned 18.
The woman did not work for Meredith.
Meredith, who was booted from the Conservative caucus soon after the story appeared online, has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
Senator Don Meredith who is under investigation for workplace sexual harassment is facing a new allegation that he had a sexual relationship with a teenager during the past two years. The Star's Kevin Donovan explains.
Sources told the Star that Meredith did not inform the Prime Minister’s Office or Senate leadership about the allegations before the story was published, with one source saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper was “deeply troubled” by it.
Housakos, who described his reaction to the news as “one of shock,” referred the matter to the Senate ethics officer, Lyse Ricard, Thursday morning for a preliminary review to determine whether she should launch an inquiry under the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators.
“The conduct described in this news report is in and of itself incompatible with the position of Senator. It also suggests that Senator Meredith may have improperly used his position of trust and authority as a Senator . . . This conduct, if proven, constitutes in my opinion a conduct unbecoming a Senator which calls for disciplinary sanctions to be imposed,” Housakos wrote in the letter, to which he attached a copy of the story by Star investigative reporter Kevin Donovan.
Housakos said the allegations would constitute a breach of Section 7.1 Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators, which states:
“A Senator’s conduct shall uphold the highest standards of dignity inherent to the position of Senator (and) a Senator shall refrain from acting in a way that could reflect adversely on the position of Senator or the institution of the Senate.”
If Ricard decides to launch an inquiry, and that inquiry determines Meredith to have breached the Code, the Senate could then decide to impose any number of possible sanctions, ranging from inviting — or ordering — him to apologize, to suspending him from the Senate.
“I’ve expressed already my wish that this is given the highest priority,” Housakos said in the interview.
As CTV News first reported last week, the Senate is conducting an investigation of Meredith over “allegations of workplace and sexual harassment and bullying,” with four former female employees, as well as four other Senate staffers, alleging “he made sexual advances, used sexual innuendo, and was often rude and vindictive.”
Housakos would not comment on the details of those allegations Thursday, but confirmed the Senate began a “workplace assessment” in February after his predecessor, the late Pierre-Claude Nolin, noticed unusually high staff turnover in Meredith’s office and several people came forward with complaints about him.
“They did not want to file a formal complaint, but had expressed (concerns about) some behaviour that they thought was inappropriate,” Housakos said.
The Senate hired an independent firm to conduct the assessment along with Senate human resources and that they have been interviewing “a number of people that worked directly and indirectly with the senator’s office” and have “taken steps to interview all current and previous employees,” Housakos said.
“We’ve been impatiently waiting for the results,” said Housakos, who expects to receive the report by the first week of the July.
Many senators were angered by the allegations that once again shone a negative light on the embattled institution that is already grappling with the results of a damning audit into expenses and the ongoing criminal trial of suspended Sen. Mike Duffy.
“I only have one word: revolting,” Conservative Senator Marjory LeBreton told reporters on her way into the Senate chamber on Thursday afternoon.
Others urged Meredith to resign immediately.
“I’m disgusted,” said Conservative Sen. Vern White, a former Mountie who also served as Ottawa police chief.
“Absolutely, he should step down,” White said.
“If he’s not good enough for the Conservative caucus, then he’s not good enough for the Senate of Canada,” said Senator Jim Munson, a member of the Senate Liberal caucus.
His caucus colleague Senator Mobina Jaffer commended the Senate leadership for quickly referring the allegation to the senate ethics office.
“They’ve done everything correct. Now we have to wait and have due process take place,” Jaffer said.
God to "Senator Meredith!": "My son, you are biologically hardwired and need to immediately resign!"
"Pastor Meredith God here. You have really ....ed me off this time! You need to lead your flock not make it! Resign immediately or else ..... CRASH!"
Good Day Readers:
Just when you though it couldn't get much worse in the Senate now this. A CTV New report from earlier this evening says Stephen Harper has kicked Don Meredith's ass out of the Conservative caucus. Of course, it was Stephen Harper who appointed him in the first place.
He needs to go running like a biologically hardwired male senatorial squealing, greasy stuck pig to arbitrator RoadKill Binnie that or appear on the Dr. Phil television show for some serious counseling.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Teen alleges two-year affair with Senator Don Meredith
Don Meredith questioned by the Star about an alleged relationship with a young girl and under investigation for sexual harassment at his office, was dumped from the Conservative caucus on Wednesday.
By Kevin Donovan/Investigations
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Senator Don Meredith who is under investigation for workplace sexual harassment is facing a new allegation that he had a sexual relationship with a teenager during the past two years. The Star's Kevin Donovan explains.
A Canadian senator who is under investigation for workplace sexual harassment is facing a new allegation that he had a sexual relationship with a teenager during the past two years.
Don Meredith, 50, has been a senator since 2010 and is also a Pentecostal pastor with the Praise Centre in Toronto.
Soon after the allegations against Meredith were published on the Star website, the Prime Minister’s Office took swift action to oust him from Conservative circles.
“Senator Meredith is no longer a member of the Caucus,” spokesman Stephen Lecce said in an email.
According to the young woman, who is now 18, the relationship began soon after she turned 16. She met Meredith at a church event in Ottawa.
She said it began with sexually explicit chats over Skype and Viber in which Meredith asked her to remove her top and underwear. She said he then masturbated on camera.
Senator Don Meredith 50 was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010. He is also a Pentecostal pastor with the Praise Centre in Toronto. (Star File Photo)
The relationship progressed to physical intimacy, kissing and touching before the girl turned 18. Soon after she turned 18, the woman said, they had intercourse twice.
When the senator broke it off earlier this year, he told her in a text message that he did so because “God has spoken to me and am (sic) not happy with me ... I should be leading you not making you.”
The Star has conducted detailed interviews with the woman in person and over the telephone. The Star has also viewed text and email messages the two exchanged.
Meredith, reached by the Star on Tuesday, said he was too busy to answer questions.
“I’m just in a meeting right now; I can’t speak to you,” Meredith said. The senator hung up when the Star began asking questions.
Following the call, the Star sent two sets of written questions to Meredith. The Star left requests for comment on the issue of an alleged inappropriate relationship on Meredith’s cellphone, at his Toronto area church, and his Senate office in Ottawa. Meredith has yet to respond.
In Canada, the age of consent for sexual relations is 16. However, the age of consent is 18 if there is a relationship of authority, trust or dependency.
Meredith was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010. He had run unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the 2008 byelection in Toronto Centre. A landscaper by trade — his company is called Donscape Landscaping Services — Meredith had become prominent in Toronto for speaking out against youth violence.
Last week, CTV’s Robert Fife reported that Meredith is under investigation by the Senate for “allegations of workplace sexual harassment and bullying.” According to the CTV report, “four of Meredith’s former female employees and four other Senate staffers allege he made sexual advances, used sexual innuendo, and was often rude and vindictive.”
Senate Speaker Leo Housakos confirmed to media outlets that an investigation he called a “workplace assessment” is underway. The woman the Star interviewed did not work for the senator and has no connection to the workplace harassment allegations.
In an online biography at the Pentecostal Praise Centre in Vaughan, Meredith is described as having a strong commitment to religion and youth. He is also known for his comments on the importance of family values.
“He has a heart for people and desires nothing more than to see all people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and His glorious Kingdom. With a strong passion for Youth and their families, he wants to empower them through education,” the biography states. “He has dedicated his life to work with other Faith Leaders, Politicians, and Police to bring about change in how we Engage, Encourage and Empower our youth across Canada.”
Meredith met the young woman, who was then a girl, at a religious event. The woman is embarrassed and troubled by the relationship. Because of the nature of the allegations and her young age, the Star agreed to protect her anonymity.
In February 2013, Meredith was invited to speak at a celebration of Black History Month at a church in Ottawa.
The girl, who had just turned 16, was in attendance.
“He was cute. I was meeting a senator. I got a picture with him,” said the woman, recalling the meeting.
“There were a lot of people waiting to speak to him. It was a celebrity experience. He kept telling me to wait. Then he came and talked to me and gave me his card and wrote his cellphone number on the back and told me to call him.”
On Valentine’s Day in 2013, she said, Meredith invited her to dinner. She did not go on the advice of her family. “I was scared; it did not seem right.”
Over the next three months, Meredith and the young woman texted. He used his government cellphone, she said. He invited her to visit his Senate office and she did in June. She said Meredith hugged her and squeezed her buttocks with his hands.
“Why would you do that? What’s wrong with you?” she recalls asking him. On that occasion and others when she queried why a married man who was much older would be involved with her, she said he replied, “I am a man.”
The woman said she found Meredith charismatic and interesting, despite what she described as his inappropriate touching.
He then asked her to go back to his hotel, the Chateau Laurier. She said he promised he would “only take off my socks.” She said no. They went for Chinese food instead. She said he asked her for a kiss goodnight and she said she refused.
They began an on-again, off-again relationship that always stopped short of intercourse. “He said no, I’m not going to lie down or anything. He made it clear he did not want to have sex with me until I was 18.”
Instead, the woman recalls, their relationship included “kissing and (sexual) touching.” This occurred in the place she was living in Ottawa.
She said the senator initially thought she was over 18, but that within six weeks of their first meeting she told him she was 16.
The Star has put allegations to Meredith that he had an improper and sexual relationship with a person under the age of 18. Meredith has not responded.
Messages sent between don Meredith and a young woman now 18.
The woman said the relationship also included sexually explicit talk and actions conveyed via Skype and Viber, both methods of exchanging photos, videos and conversations online.
She said he asked her to remove her top on camera, and to “touch myself,” which she said she did. She said he removed his pants and masturbated. This happened frequently, she said, and seemed to occur when Meredith was in his hotel at the Chateau Laurier or away on “Senate business.”
At the end of 2013 she said Meredith broke off contact for several months. She said he told her he knew what they were doing was inappropriate. They renewed the relationship in early 2014 and she said he visited the place she was living twice for romantic encounters.
Messages sent between Don Meridith and a young woman now 19, Towards the end of 2014, when she was 17, she said the senator, partially naked, gave her what he called “a teaser, not full intercourse.” He insisted they would not have intercourse until she was 18. They did have intercourse, twice, in early 2015 after she was 18. He ended the relationship in early May.
Why is the woman telling her story now?
Last week, CTV, followed by other media, including Canadian Press and CBC, revealed in a story that Meredith was under a Senate review due to a high turnover of staff at his office. CTV stated that the review began in February and that the senator was facing allegations of sexual harassment.
The woman the Star interviewed said she was concerned that the investigators would not believe what the former staff members were alleging and she wanted to add her voice to the story.
The young woman said that Meredith never offered her a job or in any way tried to influence her with his position. He did provide her with some money (about $200 because he wanted her hair straightened) and she said he gave her money to purchase new towels for her apartment.
She said she regrets the affair. She said she was in love with Meredith and felt that he loved her, too. In one email she wrote him in 2013, the girl, then 16, said she wanted them to have a permanent relationship. “The way I loved you, I wanted the world to someday know what had been going on.” She said the relationship has left her confused and hurt.
Messages sent between Don Meredith and the young woman now 18.
The woman has provided text messages and emails that reveal a relationship dating back to March 2013.
Meredith’s comments progress from thanking her for her positive comments shortly after they met:
“Wow my head is swelling all these wonderful complimentary remarks. You are. Good for me.”
More recently, in 2015, he wrote: “You are special amazing awesome blessed and loved” and “u so hot.”
Following the reports on the sexual harassment investigation, Meredith, his wife and their daughter took to social media to counter any allegations that he has done anything wrong.
Their daughter, who is in her early 20s, tweeted on Tuesday night, “What kind of a person do you have to be to wake up in the morning and decide let me try and steal this person’s happiness?” She also tweeted, “There are way too many cruel individuals out there seeking to ruin people’s lives.”
Late last week, Meredith’s wife, Michelle, tweeted an image of the “Meredith Family crest,” and told her followers, “We stand united.” Another tweet said, “Let your haters be your motivators. Celebrating me.”
Meredith has sent two tweets to his followers, both on June 11, the day after the CTV report on the workplace sexual harassment allegations.
“A lion never loses sleep over the opinions of sheep,” says the first tweet, accompanied by a photo of a male lion.
The second is accompanied by a photo of a green-eyed eagle: “When a storm is coming, all other birds seek shelter. The Eagle alone avoids the storm by flying above it. So in the storms of life, may your heart soar like an eagle.”
Meredith has previously been criticized for improperly claiming he had a doctoral degree (he is no longer allowed to call himself “Dr. Meredith” on Senate correspondence), and for expensing to the Senate a Washington trip he and his wife took to attend the National Prayer Breakfast. Meredith repaid the funds.
Masters Degree (University of Calgary - Economics), Bachelor of Arts (Honours - Carleton University), Diploma Chemical Technology (St. Clair College), Oh yes, almost forgot - one course credit, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
