Senator Patrick Brazeau appeared Friday morning in a Gatineau, Que. courtroom on charges of assault and sexual assault.
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The 38-year-old, expelled from the Conservative caucus yesterday, had to post a $1,000 deposit before being released in advance of his next court hearing on March 22.
Brazeau will reside at a Maniwaki, Que. residence in the meantime. He must also maintain good conduct, refrain from contact with the victim, and not possess and firearms, according to the Crown.
The incidents in question are alleged to have occurred the previous day in Gatineau.
A court document on Brazeau points to two sections of the Criminal Code; both list summary offences:
- 266. Every one who commits an assault is guilty of ... (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
- 271. Everyone who commits a sexual assault is guilty of ... (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months and, if the complainant is under the age of 16 years, to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of 90 days.
Brazeau remains an independent in the Senate, where he is currently eligible to sit until his 75th birthday in November 2049.
He was appointed to the upper chamber in January 2009 and is a former national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
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What do the Constitution, Criminal Code, and Rules of the Senate say about sitting senators who face criminal charges?
Read more on the legal background:
► The official Rules of the Senate outline the process for a senator facing criminal charges:
15-4. (1) At the first opportunity after a Senator is charged with a criminal offence for which the Senator may be prosecuted by indictment, either:
(a) the Senator shall notify the Senate by a signed written notice that is delivered to the Clerk of the Senate, who shall table it; or
(b) the Speaker shall table such proof of the charge as the court may provide.
15-4. (2) When notice is given under subsection (1), the Senator charged is granted a leave of absence from the time the notice is tabled and is considered to be on public business during this leave of absence.
15-4. (3) The leave of absence remains in force until the earlier of the following:
(a) the charge of the criminal offence is withdrawn;
(b) the proceedings related to it are stayed;
(c) the charge is proceeded with in summary conviction proceedings; or
(d) the Senator is acquitted, convicted or discharged.
...
15-4. (5) For greater certainty, the Senate affirms the right of a Senator charged with a criminal offence to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. No intent to comment on or pass judgment with respect to a Senator shall be imputed to the Senate because of the operation of this rule.
15-4. (6) If a Senator is granted a leave of absence under subsection (2), the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration may, as it considers appropriate in the circumstances, suspend that Senator's right to the use of some or all of the Senate resources otherwise made available for the carrying out of the Senator's parliamentary functions, including funds, goods, services, premises, moving, transportation, travel and telecommunications expenses.
15-5. (1) A Senator who has been found guilty of a criminal offence in proceedings by indictment and who is given a sentence other than a discharge is suspended from the Senate as of the time of the sentence.
15-5. (2) The suspension continues in force until the earlier of the following:
(a) the finding of guilt is overturned on appeal;
(b) the sentence is replaced by a discharge on appeal; or
(c) the Senate determines whether or not the place of the Senator shall become vacant by reason of that conviction.
►A senator automatically loses their seat upon receiving a sentence of two years or more, according to the Criminal Code:
Public office vacated for conviction
- 750. (1) Where a person is convicted of an indictable offence for which the person is sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more and holds, at the time that person is convicted, an office under the Crown or other public employment, the office or employment forthwith becomes vacant.
When disability ceases
- (2) A person to whom subsection (1) applies is, until undergoing the punishment imposed on the person or the punishment substituted therefor by competent authority or receives a free pardon from Her Majesty, incapable of holding any office under the Crown or other public employment, or of being elected or sitting or voting as a member of Parliament or of a legislature or of exercising any right of suffrage.
►The sentence needed to be at least five years for an automatic expulsion until 1996, according to a Library of Parliament study, which says expulsion for a criminal sentence of fewer than two years requires a Senate resolution.
►And here are the relevant sections of the 1982 Constitution Act concerning the removal of senators:
31. The Place of a Senator shall become vacant in any of the following Cases:
- (1) If for Two consecutive Sessions of the Parliament he fails to give his Attendance in the Senate;
- (2) If he takes an Oath or makes a Declaration or Acknowledgment of Allegiance, Obedience, or Adherence to a Foreign Power, or does an Act whereby he becomes a Subject or Citizen, or entitled to the Rights or Privileges of a Subject or Citizen, of a Foreign Power;
- (3) If he is adjudged Bankrupt or Insolvent, or applies for the Benefit of any Law relating to Insolvent Debtors, or becomes a public Defaulter;
- (4) If he is attainted of Treason or convicted of Felony or of any infamous Crime;
- (5) If he ceases to be qualified in respect of Property or of Residence; provided, that a Senator shall not be deemed to have ceased to be qualified in respect of Residence by reason only of his residing at the Seat of the Government of Canada while holding an Office under that Government requiring his Presence there.
33. If any Question arises respecting the Qualification of a Senator or a Vacancy in the Senate the same shall be heard and determined by the Senate.
Former senator Raymond Lavigne took leave during his fraud trial but kept his salary. He resigned in 2011 after being convicted.
►As for MPs, according to House of Commons Procedure and Practice:
the House may judge a Member unworthy to sit in the Chamber for any conduct unbecoming the character of a Member. Even the laying of a criminal charge against a Member has no effect on his or her eligibility to remain in office. If convicted of an indictable offence, a formal resolution of the House is still required to unseat a Member.
Labour Progressive MP Fred Rose was removed from the House of Commons after a 1946 treason conviction related to the Gouzenko affair and Soviet spying.
Louis Riel was expelled twice from the Commons for contempt during the 1870s after being elected in Provencher, Man. Quebec West MP Thomas McGreevy was expelled in 1890 after a corruption scandal.
-Andrew Thomson
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