OTTAWA — Senator Lynn Beyak has told the Senate she has fully complied with all the conditions laid down by its ethics committee.
Beyak, a resident of Dryden, is now waiting to hear back from Senator Serge Joyal, who chairs the upper chamber's Intersessional Authority on Ethics and Conflict of Interest.
She was suspended from the Senate last spring after her colleagues determined that some letters she had posted to her website were racist, and derogatory to Indigenous people.
Although Beyak's suspension was only for the last session of Parliament, the ethics committee said it would consider further action against her if she failed to comply with the terms of the suspension or "is persistent in her view that she has not breached the [Ethics and Conflict of Interest] Code or acted inappropriately."
In a letter to the Senate made public by her office Wednesday evening, Beyak said she has done everything she was required to do to return to duty including:
- removing five letters identified as containing racist language
- attending educational programs, at her own expense, related to racism toward Indigenous people and the history of Crown-Indigenous relations
- receiving a briefing by the Clerk of the Senate regarding her role and responsibilities as a senator
- apologizing to the Senate in writing, such apology to be made publicly available on the Senate website
During the suspension Beyak did not receive her Senate salary and had no access to Senate resources.
In her letter, she stated "I deeply respect the Senate and love working with my Senate colleagues. I pledge myself to uphold the highest standards of conduct and look forward to working hard for all of the people of Ontario and Canada."
A senator's basic annual compensation is $153,900.
