Controversial senator Patrick Brazeau kicked out of Conservative caucus
Posted February 7, 2013 2:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Controversial and outspoken Sen. Patrick Brazeau has been kicked out of the Conservative caucus amid media reports that he was arrested Thursday following a domestic disturbance at his home.
The entire Senate caucus was notified of the decision shortly after noon, said Lorraine Rochon, a staff member in his office.
“The Conservative Senate caucus has been advised by Sen. LeBreton’s office that Sen. Brazeau has been removed from caucus effective immediately,” Rochon said.
Conservative Senate Majority Leader Marjory LeBreton would not delve into the details.
“In light of the serious nature of the events reported today, Senator Brazeau has been removed from the Conservative Caucus,” she said in a statement.
“As this is a legal matter, I cannot comment further.”
Gatineau police confirmed they arrested a man Thursday morning at a home in Gatineau on a matter related to domestic violence, but they did not release a name. They said the investigation was ongoing.
Brazeau’s office did not immediately confirm reports that the senator had been arrested. Outside his home, which was cordoned off by red police tape, a police cruiser was seen parked in the driveway.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the decision after learning of the allegations, his office said in a statement. “The prime minister was appalled and saddened when he heard the allegations and took immediate action.”
Brazeau will continue to sit as an independent.
He is also among the senators under scrutiny for claiming housing allowances on the grounds their primary residence far from Ottawa, while in reality they spent most of the time in or near the nation’s capital.
Controversy has dogged Brazeau, the youngest of Canada’s 105 senators, since his appointment to the red chamber in December 2008.
He was criticized initially for his intention to serve as a senator while remaining national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
He eventually resigned from CAP in January 2009 after news broke that a CAP employee had filed a sexual harassment complaint against him with Ontario’s human rights tribunal.
He was also linked to allegations of CAP misspending of federal funds that were supposed to pay for aboriginal health programs. Conservatives argued, at the time, that the misspending happened before Brazeau took over as congress chief.
Over the years, reports have surfaced repeatedly of Brazeau being in arrears on child support payments.
He made the biggest headlines last March when he fought a charity boxing match against Liberal MP Justin Trudeau, now front-runner for the federal Liberal leadership.
Although bigger, heavier and allegedly more experienced in boxing than Trudeau, Brazeau — a former member of the Canadian Forces and a black belt in karate — lost the match.
More recently, Brazeau has come under fire for allegedly claiming his father’s home as his primary residence in order to receive a Senate housing allowance. He’s also alleged to have used his former father-in-law’s address on a Quebec reserve to claim an aboriginal income tax exemption.
