Sona out on bail pending appeal in robocall case

After 12 nights in a maximum-security jail, former Conservative party campaign worker Michael Sona was released on bail Monday pending an appeal of his conviction and sentence in the 2011 robocalls scandal.

Sona, 26, had been sentenced to nine months in provincial jail and an additional 12 months of probation for his role in the deceptive election-day calls.

Before the Ontario Court of Appeal last week, his lawyer, Howard Krongold, argued that Sona should be released pending the appeal of both conviction and sentence because the process would likely exceed the length of his imprisonment, rendering appeal of the sentence moot.

After considering the application over the weekend, Judge Harry LaForme on Monday granted Sona’s release on $20,000 bail, until May 29, 2015.

LaForme said Sona has not yet demonstrated a viable reason for appealing the conviction, but said he has an arguable appeal of the sentence, particularly as no one had ever been sentenced for the same offence under the Elections Act.

In his decision, LaForme wrote that the nine-month sentence handed down by Judge Gary Hearn came after a “very thorough and thoughtfully reasoned decision” and he noted that the offence was “very serious.”

But there is no public interest in keeping Sona behind bars while the appeal is heard as he is unlikely to commit another offence, LaForme said.

“I concur with counsel for Mr. Sona that Mr. Sona has been subjected to more than the usual ignominy of a public trial and conviction,” he wrote. “Most youthful first-time offenders enjoy some measure of obscurity; Mr. Sona’s trial has been fervently covered by the national media.”

He noted that Sona had lost his employability in politics and was working as an apprentice machinist at the time of his sentencing. This “notorious and extraordinary” case has been difficult for both Sona and his family, LaForme said.

“Imprisonment aside, Mr. Sona has suffered, and continues to suffer, consequences for his criminal conduct.”

While on bail, Sona is required to live in Ottawa and may not possess weapons or unlawful drugs. He also must remain in Canada.

Sona had been held at the maximum-security Maplehurt Correctional Complex in Milton, Ont., since his Nov. 19 sentencing. Had he remained incarcerated, Sona would have been eligible to apply for parole after three months.

Sona was found guilty in August of having played an active role in the scheme to send misleading robocalls to more than 7,000 voters in Guelph, Ont., on election day. The calls directed voters, mostly identified non-Conservatives, to the wrong polling locations.

Sona has consistently maintained he had no role in the calls. Even after he was sent to jail, he issued a statement through a friend saying he wasn’t involved.

Judge Hearn found that Sona, though “actively involved,” was not likely the only one who participated in the scheme. He pointed to evidence about two others who worked on the campaign of Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke.

The commissioner of Canada Elections, Yves Côté, however, is no longer investigating the case.

Green party Leader Elizabeth May last week filed a complaint with Côté, asking him to reopen the investigation based on the Sona decision and another case in Federal Court that also found the Conservative party’s voter-contact database was the likely source of phone numbers used in the robocalls.