10 March 2017

Call me a nitpicker, Justin...

...but it sounds like this is a matter for the criminal justice system...moral cowardice
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is up to the Senate to decide how to handle the case of a senator who used the prestige of his office to engage in a sexual relationship with a teenager.
Now unless PM Weasel Words has decided that the first three instances of sex with a minor child is deductible...
Lyse Ricard, the Senate ethics officer said she believed that Meredith, an ordained minister, had sex with the woman at least once before she turned 18 and twice after she turned 18.
Pierre-lite was pretty quick to pull the trigger on Mr Tootoo when he went (admittedly not a minor) a huntin'.

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RELATED: But wait... there's more...
As written here at January’s end, Senate ethics officer Lyse Ricard has been investigating the Pentecostal preacher, who boasts of being the first Jamaican-born senator in Canadian history on, not one, not two, but three alleged ethics breaches.

The first investigation began back in 2015 when high staff turnover in Meredith’s Senate office, noticed even by then Senate Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin, brought on allegations of workplace bullying and harassment.

The second investigation, which led to Meredith having to sit as an Independent upon ejection from the Conservative caucus, came into play after the Toronto Star reported on an inappropriate affair he had with an 18-year-old woman that began when she was 16.

The third investigation, which attracted no publicity, involves Meredith allegedly taking along a partner in a construction consulting business he co-owns, DMSS Global Consultant Inc., as part of a delegation in a 2015 trip to Trinidad and Tobago to meet with the island nation’s prime minister and other parliamentarians.
No wonder Justin is scurrying away into the shadows on this one.

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UPDATE: Let's ask the girl...
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.
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LAST WORD: Re: Age of Consent in Canada
What is Canada’s age of consent?

The age of consent for sexual activity is 16 years. It was raised from 14 years on May 1, 2008 by the Tackling Violent Crime Act.

However, the age of consent is 18 years where the sexual activity "exploits" the young person when it involves prostitution, pornography or occurs in a relationship of authority, trust or dependency (e.g., with a teacher, coach or babysitter).
Seems pretty clear to me.