It was inevitable, but the Senate has voted to suspend Senator Lynn Beyak without pay for the remainder of his Parliament in accordance with the recommendation from the Senate’s ethics committee after the findings of the Ethics Officer that letters Beyak posted to her website were racist and breached the ethics code for senators. Beyak got her chance to defend herself yesterday before the vote, and she insisted that she has done nothing wrong, that there’s nothing racist about the “truth” (as she sees it), and she thinks that her website is a beacon of positivity because she’s trying to assert that residential schools for Indigenous children weren’t all bad.

In terms of next steps, Beyak will likely reappear at the start of the next parliament, following the election, where she will be given another chance to apologise, and prove that she understands why those letters were racist (something she has been completely incapable of comprehending to date – and the Ethics Officer did point out that this was an issue of comprehension, not malice). At that point, if she still refuses to see the error of her ways, the Senate could revisit the matter and vote to suspend her again for that parliamentary session (meaning until there is a prorogation or dissolution), and if that extends past two years, there is the possibility that they could declare the seat vacant at that point. More likely will be pressure to simply vote to expel Beyak for the Senate because she has been unrepentant in exposing the Senate to disrepute for her racist actions – at which point she may get the hint and do the honourable thing and just resign, but she does seem to be sticking to her guns here. Regardless, this suspension is now the first stage in a two-stage process of dealing with the problem. But those who want Beyak to be out immediately will need to be patient, because the power to expel a senator can’t be used casually.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau had a call with Donald Trump about the steel and aluminium tariffs, and the blowback from China for Canada arresting Meng Wanzhou for the US.
• The government says they’ve spent a quarter of their planned infrastructure funds, and want provinces to green-light their projects faster.
• PCO documents show that the government had conversations about whether or not to bring home captured ISIS fighters, but no plans were deemed suitable.
• Veterans Affairs put out a video for the 74^thanniversary of VE Day…and showed people in Nazi uniforms. It was quickly removed. (More own-goals!)
• The federal and Ontario governments signed an agreement with Kasheshewan First Nation to relocate them to higher round.
• Meng Wanzhou got her bail conditions modified so that she can move into her newly renovated $13 million mansion. Oh, the hardship.
• Here is an explanation of what Conservative-era evidence may have been the catalyst for the Crown to stay the proceedings against VADM Mark Norman.
• Norman’s return to work poses a particular challenge because his old job is now filled, and anything else would be a demotion as there is no equal post.
• Following complaints from the Americans about the industrial benefits clause of the fighter jet procurement process, the government plans to modify that requirement.
• The Canadian embassy in Cuba is scaling back visa approvals because they are short-staffed after the mysterious illnesses.
• Officials from Google were at a Commons committee to explain why they didn’t have enough time to set up a system to monitor election ads – so they banned them.
• Consideration of some 200 proposed amendments to Bill C-69 are now underway, many of which seek to limit ministerial discretion over projects.
• Dean Del Mastro went to Parliament Hill to whine that Elections Canada has a “personal vendetta” against him. Erm, okay.
• An independent report says that $5 billion was laundered through BC in the real estate market – but that was only the fourth-largest money laundering province.
• Kevin Carmichael sees Stephen Poloz’s speech about mortgage market innovation as a kick in the pants to an oligopolistic banking sector, complacent in its profitability.
• Heather Scoffield looks at the persistent issue of the “motherhood penalty” in the economy, and whether there is actually a solution to it.

Odds and ends:

There was a literal dumpster fire on Parliament Hill yesterday. No, seriously.

Here’s a recounting of a previous breach of trust case and political scandal from the 1890s.

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