Don Meredith (politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Don Meredith
Meredith during his unsuccessful 2008 campaign
Senator for Ontario
In office 18 December 2010 – 10 May 2017
Nominated by	Stephen Harper
Appointed by	David Johnston
Preceded by	Peter Stollery
Personal details
Born	(1964-07-13) 13 July 1964 (age 60) Saint Ann, Jamaica
Political party	Non-affiliated
Other political affiliations	Conservative (2010-2015) Non-affiliated (2015-2017)
Residence	Richmond Hill, Ontario

Donald Meredith (born 13 July 1964) is a Canadian Pentecostal minister and former politician. Meredith was appointed to the Senate of Canada on 18 December 2010 as a Conservative. He was expelled from the Conservative caucus on 17 June 2015, however, following allegations that he had groomed a teenager for two years, starting when the girl was 16. He was found guilty of ethics violations by the Senate ethics office in March 2017.

The Senate Ethics Committee recommend in May 2017 that Meredith be expelled from the Senate. He announced his resignation on 9 May, before a vote could occur; his resignation took effect the next day.

Meredith was also the Conservative candidate in the March 17, 2008 federal by-election in Toronto Centre. He received 12.5% of the vote, and placed fourth behind Liberal victor Bob Rae.

Background

Born and raised in Jamaica, Meredith immigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen in the early 1980s. He attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute but never graduated; while he was a student at Ryerson, he began Donscape Landscaping Services (c. 1994), which he still owns and operates.

Meredith was ordained a minister in 2006, is a graduate of Rhema Studies of Theology Association, which is a non-degree granting association. He is the volunteer senior pastor at the Pentecostal Praise Centre in Maple, Ontario close to Richmond Hill, Ontario where he now lives. Meredith is a member of the Chief's Advisory Council for the Toronto Police Services; he was also a member of the York Regional Police Police Community Advisory Council (PCAC) from 2004 until 2012, as well as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Consultative Committee since 2005. He is the former Co-Chair of the Black Community Police Consultative Committee, an advisory group of community members who advise the police on various issues. Meredith participated in the "Black Family Summit," held in August 2006, he described the event as "a great way to meet young women".

Early political career

In December 2007, he was nominated by the Conservative Party of Canada as its candidate in the downtown Toronto riding of Toronto Centre federal by-election held on March 17, 2008. Meredith won the Conservative nomination by acclamation several weeks after the party controversially removed Mark Warner as its standard-bearer. Meredith placed fourth in the by-election which saw him receiving 12.5% of the vote, down from the 18.2% received by the Conservative candidate in the 2006 federal election and also down from the 18.3% that the Conservative candidate would receive in the federal election held seven months after the by-election.

....." ..... Nonetheless, Meredith had supported New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) Bill Siksay's private member's bill to add gender identity to the list of distinguishable group traits protected from hate speech by the Criminal Code and to allow judges to take into account whether crimes were motivated by hatred of transgender or transsexual people when determining the offender's sentence. In opposition, Stephen Harper had opposed Siksay's predecessor, former NDP MP Svend Robinson's successful private member's bill that added sexual orientation to the law in 2004.

Senator

Meredith was appointed to the Canadian Senate on 18 December 2010 on the advice of Prime Minister Harper, and joined the Conservative caucus.

In September 2012, Meredith was criticized for attending a cultural event at Carleton University organized by the Iranian embassy at a time when the Canadian government was urging a boycott of Iran. In contravention of his government's position on Iran, Meredith travelled to Iran in 2012 in attempts to forge business deals with the government.

In 2014, despite not being authorized by the Senate, he attended the National Prayer Breakfast for notable preachers and politicians in the United States. Meredith expensed the first class trip for himself and his wife along with the hotel cost to the Senate and was later forced to repay the expense.

Credentials

Meredith claims an honorary degree from an association of Christian counsellors, the Canadian Christian Clinical Counsellors' Association, that has no standing as a degree-granting school and has been signing himself as "The Honourable Dr. Don Meredith" since receiving the honour. Meredith stopped calling himself a doctor after his credentials were questioned and he was called upon to substantiate his educational credentials. Meredith also claims to have earned a bachelor's and master's degree in religious studies from California State Christian University, an unaccredited, unregulated school which is not recognized by either the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and is not permitted by the state of California to grant graduate degrees.

Awards

In 2006, Meredith received an Urban Leadership Award from the Canadian Urban Institute for being an "outspoken advocate against crime and for the advancement of a just society".

In 2008, he received the Toronto Police Service 13 Division Community Service Award.

In 2012, he received the Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award and the BBPA Youth Advocacy Award.

Electoral record