Former staffer an ‘experienced political operative’
A former Liberal government employee used his public job to engage in partisan political activities in connection with the so-called Quick Wins scandal, a judge was told Tuesday.
Brian Bonney, who was employed as a communications director for the government and at the same time had close ties to the B.C. Liberal party, in October pleaded guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust.
RCMP launched an investigation following a complaint by the NDP in 2013 that Liberal government resources had been used inappropriately to reach out to ethnic communities for support in the election. Part of the scheme included devising historical apologies to specific ethnic groups as “quick wins” to garner goodwill for the Liberals.
In sentencing submissions Tuesday, special prosecutor David Butcher said while Bonney was receiving directions from others and was not the mastermind of the scheme, he nonetheless played an essential role and was a “very experienced political operative.”
Bonney, who was a regional director of the B.C. Liberal party and on the party’s executive at the time, used his paid time as a public servant for improper purposes, including directing the work of “community liaison workers” to target ethnic communities to get votes for the Liberals, Butcher told B.C. provincial court Judge David St. Pierre in Vancouver.
“In all of these activities, he was sharing confidential government information with people not authorized to receive it,” said Butcher. “And all of these activities were undertaken with the goal of targeting ethnic groups for the purpose of garnering their support for the then-premier, Christy Clark, and the B.C. Liberal party.”
After hearing those submissions, the judge asked Ian Donaldson, a lawyer for Bonney, whether he agreed with Butcher’s description of the crime committed by his client.
Donaldson said some of the communications and actions of Bonney implemented a strategy conceived by others to get others to be involved in the electoral process in a proper fashion and in some of the communications in a partisan fashion.
“That’s the essence of what I’m conceding. As a public servant, he ought not to have authored communications or taken part in any actions which had a partisan tinge to it, that is to say not in the public interest.”
Donaldson added what had happened was a breach of his client’s employment terms without “pecuniary” benefit or corruption.
Butcher said he was seeking a conditional sentence of 12 to 23 months incarceration to be served in the community, including house arrest conditions.
Donaldson told the judge he should consider a discharge for Bonney but if he agreed incarceration was warranted, the conditional sentence should be served in the community for a “modest” duration.
Donaldson is expected to begin his full sentencing submissions Wednesday.