OTTAWA—Don Meredith appears to be standing firm in the face of calls to quit his Senate seat even as senators prepare to meet to consider possible sanctions following the ethics investigation verdict that he broke rules with his sexual relationship with a teenage girl.

In a sharply worded open letter, Sen. André Pratte urged the Ontario senator to resign, declaring that “as a senator, and as a man, your conduct was unconscionable.

“Although I know you must be going through a very difficult time, I am writing to plead with you to resign from the Senate as soon as possible. If you do not, I am afraid you will do yourself and, most importantly, the institution, unnecessary and lasting harm,” Pratte wrote.

Pratte said the ethics investigation into Meredith “is as damning as it is thorough” and his failure to co-operate “adds to the injury.”

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Pratte also takes issue with Meredith’s lack of apology to the “victim,” the Senate and all Canadians, “which you should have done long ago.”

“If you sincerely admit to your mistakes, persons of good will and of faith will forgive you; I certainly will. Hopefully, you and your family will be able to rebuild your lives together,” Pratte wrote in his letter, which was sent to Meredith and all other senators Sunday morning.

“But that will not render you fit to serve as a member of the Senate of Canada. In my mind, you have lost that ability forever,” he said.

Meredith did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Pratte’s formal call on Meredith to “do the right thing” follows other similar calls last week following the release of the ethics report that found he failed to uphold the “highest standards of dignity” of the Senate in two-year affair with young woman, beginning when she was 16.

The report concludes that Meredith used the “weight, prestige and notability” of his Senate position to “lure or attract” the teenager.

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Pratte’s letter comes as behind-the-scenes, efforts were being made to convene a meeting of the Senate ethics committee to deliberate on the findings of the report and decide what, if any, sanction Meredith should face.

While the Senate doesn’t sit again until the end of the month, the committee will “meet as promptly as circumstances permit,” Shaila Anwar, acting deputy principal clerk, said in an email.