Advertisement

Another hit to the career of suspended Sen. Patrick Brazeau

Another hit to the career of suspended Sen. Patrick Brazeau

Updated at 4:40 p.m. EST

Canadians awoke to yet another unfortunate incident relating to Patrick Brazeau on Thursday morning.

According to Gatineau police, the suspended Senator was arrested at a private residence at 4 a.m. over a domestic disturbance.

"When the first police officer arrived at the scene, they realized there was an altercation [between] a man and the woman. Just in front of the house," Const. Pierre Lanthier, a Gatineau police spokesman, told CBC News in an interview.

"After talking to the female, she was complaining about being a victim of an assault by the man, so police officers [proceeded to arrest] the 39-year-old man at the scene."

Brazeeau was officially charged with five offences: two charges of assault, possession of cocaine, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and breaching previous release conditions.

CBC News reports that Brazeau pleaded not guilty to all five charges and is expected to re-appear in court on Friday.

To add insult to injury, it appears that Brazeau's girlfriend threw out his belongings shortly after the arrest.

[ Related: Patrick Brazeau, suspended senator, arrested in Gatineau ]

This is the just latest disturbing chapter in what's becoming one of the most prominent 'fall from grace' stories in the recent history of Parliament Hill.

Brazeau was appointed to the Senate in 2009 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Prior to joining the government caucus, he was the National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), an organization that advocates for Aboriginal people living off-reserve.

While Harper has never articulated this, Brazeau was likely appointed thanks to his very public support of the Conservative government's First Nations' policies at the time.

But there were red flags that, in hindsight, should have been heeded. Postmedia Newsoutlined some of those in a recent report.

"The PMO ought to have known [Brazeau] had missed child support payments, was boozing during the workday, and a Health Department audit found the organization 'did not exercise proper control' while spending federal money," a recent article noted.

"[Brazeau] was also dealing with a human rights complaint from a female law student at CAP, who stated 'the work environment was toxic due the ubiquitous presence of alcohol, bullying, intimidation, foul language and frequent sexual harassment.' The complaint was dropped after a five-year jurisdictional fight that led all the way to federal court."

Brazeau, it should be noted, has denied all of those allegations.

Nevertheless, it begs the question: how well was Brazeau vetted?

[ Related: Patrick Brazeau to jump into pro wrestling ring ]

Over the past year, the embattled senator has faced — and continues to face — a series of court battles.

Last February, he was charged with both assault and sexual assault for an incident at his home. According to court records publicized in the Globe and Mail, the victim alleges that an argument about Aboriginal issues escalated into violence, with Brazeau pushing her into a handrail hard enough to break it. The charges have not been proven in a court of law.

The RCMP have also charged Brazeau and former Liberal senator Mac Harb with breach of trust and fraud for alleged inappropriate claims on taxpayer-funded housing allowances. Brazeau's case has been put over to April 28.

[ More Politics: What’s happening to all of Canada’s female premiers? ]

There have also been reports of Brazeau's financial difficulties after being suspended from the Senate without pay because of his part in the senate expense scandal.

In February, CTV News reported that the bank was poised to repossess his home.

We also learned in February, that Brazeau became employed as a day manager at an Ottawa-area strip club.

"It is what it is. I have four mouths to feed," he told a Postmedia News reporter at the time, referring to his four children.

Hopefully, for his sake, he's able to get his life together and feed those four mouths.

As for his political career, I don't think there's anyone predicting a successful comeback at this point.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

Are you a politics junkie?
Follow @politicalpoints on Twitter!