Senator's convoy rant breached ethics code, watchdog says apology not sufficient

The Senate ethics watchdog has found Conservative Sen. Michael MacDonald in violation of the Red Chamber’s code of conduct for comments he made during the Freedom Convoy protest in February 2022. MacDonald arrives at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, on September 7, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov.

OTTAWA -

The Senate ethics watchdog has found Conservative Sen. Michael MacDonald violated the code of conduct during the "Freedom Convoy" protest in February 2022.

The Nova Scotia senator was caught on video castigating downtown Ottawa residents who complained about the protests, saying they were overpaid and underworked.

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MacDonald has apologized for his remarks in the Senate, and he told media he had been drinking the evening in question.

The Senate Ethics Officer says he breached six sections of the code that governs senators, including two related to his conduct and four others for a lack of compliance in the investigation itself.

That investigation began when nine of his peers submitted complaints, and the ethics officer determined that the Red Chamber must formally censure members whose conduct undermines the Senate's reputation.

The report says MacDonald undermined his own apology by saying he had been drinking and that he believed he wasn't being recorded at the time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2023.