On December 1, 2017, the Interim Senate Ethics Officer suspended his inquiry under the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Code for Senators concerning former Senator Don Meredith, regarding allegations raised in a workplace assessment report that was commissioned by the Steering Committee of the Standing Senate Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. This inquiry is suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation into this same matter by another authority.
Under paragraph 52(1)(b) of the Code, the Senate Ethics Officer may suspend his inquiry into a matter if it is under investigation by another authority, and that authority requests that the inquiry be suspended.
The Interim Senate Ethics Officer is of the view that, in this case, it is in the public interest to comply with this request in order to avoid interfering with the other authority's ongoing investigation.
The Interim Senate Ethics Officer has no further comments about this matter at this time.