{"id":77705,"date":"2017-05-10T20:47:38","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T20:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/don-meredith-eligible-for-pension-because-he-resigned-avoided-expulsion.html"},"modified":"2017-05-10T20:47:38","modified_gmt":"2017-05-10T20:47:38","slug":"don-meredith-eligible-for-pension-because-he-resigned-avoided-expulsion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/political\/don-meredith-eligible-for-pension-because-he-resigned-avoided-expulsion.html","title":{"rendered":"Don Meredith eligible for pension because he resigned, avoided expulsion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don Meredith is eligible to collect his parliamentary pension because he resigned from the Senate before facing an expulsion vote, Treasury Board officials say.<\/p>\n

If Meredith had been expelled\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a motion his former colleagues were set to vote on in the coming days\u00a0\u2014 he would have had to forgo future\u00a0pension payments, but would have had contributions he made to the plan reimbursed.<\/p>\n

His resignation became official Wednesday as Gov. Gen. David Johnston\u00a0received a hard copy of his resignation letter and sent it on to the Red Chamber to begin the process of removing Meredith from the membership list, recouping Senate resources, and vacating his office.<\/p>\n

\n ‘If the Conservatives are looking to blame someone for Senator Meredith’s pension, they should look at themselves in the mirror.’<\/span>
\n – Scott Brison, Treasury Board president<\/cite>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Senate Speaker George Furey’s office told CBC News that Meredith’s name would be removed from the Senate and Library of Parliament websites shortly. He is now officially considered a former senator.<\/p>\n

Conservative Senator Leo Housakos, the chair of the powerful internal economy committee, called on Treasury Board President Scott Brison\u00a0to block future pension payments to the disgraced senator\u00a0\u2014 a request that was dismissed by Brison Wednesday.<\/p>\n

“Senator Housakos is either ignorant of Senate policy and the law that governs this, which is an act of Parliament, or he’s spinning this,” Brison told reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons.<\/p>\n

Brison blames Conservatives for Don Meredith’s Senate pension<\/strong>0:36<\/p>\n

The Nova Scotia cabinet minister said\u00a0pensions are governed not by Treasury Board policy, but by legislation amended by the former Conservative government: the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act.<\/p>\n

As per the legislation,\u00a0if a parliamentarian resigns and has at least six years of pensionable service, they are entitled to receive a pension.<\/p>\n