Liberals praised Bonney’s efforts, defence says
Judge told government employee didn’t act for personal gain in plan to woo voters
Numerous senior Liberal government officials, including cabinet ministers and members of former premier Christy Clark’s office, knew about and directed the activities of Brian Bonney in connection with the Quick Wins scandal, but wouldn’t have believed they were encouraging him to break the law, Bonney’s lawyer said Wednesday.
Ian Donaldson, a lawyer for Bonney, said that emails and other documents prove that his client reported to people in the premier’s office, including the deputy chief of staff, to people in the Liberal government caucus and to two ministers.
“All of these different people occupying senior positions in different roles in the government, I say, were aware of his activities and indeed encouraged and gave him positive feedback about many of those activities,” Donaldson told Provincial Court Justice David St. Pierre. “They set directions and had expectations of him.”
Under questioning from the judge, Donaldson said that those he was referring to included Kim Haakstad, Clark’s former deputy chief of staff, as well as former cabinet ministers Harry Bloy and John Yap.
“These people are involved in many of the emails,” said Donaldson. “And I don’t say that on (Bonney’s) behalf to blame anybody else. Clearly these people didn’t think, in my submission, there’s no reason to think, that they believed they were directing Mr. Bonney to break the law.”
Donaldson said that it would be easy to lay the blame on the senior Liberal officials for Bonney’s crimes, but he said he didn’t think anybody was knowingly encouraging his client to commit criminal offences.
“They’re trying to do the work of government, properly for the people of British Columbia, by giving Mr. Bonney directions to do things,” said the defence lawyer. “And so all of that assists the court to place Bonney’s behaviour in the proper context, which is not the lone wolf out there doing everything on his own. But it means doing things he ought to do, that people knew he was doing, but going too far in the doing of them, some of them.”
A B.C. Liberal Party communications manager who was in court said there would be no comment while the sentencing submissions for Bonney are ongoing.
Bonney, who has pleaded guilty to one count of breach of trust in connection with the Quick Wins scandal that erupted in 2013, is the only person in government to have been charged with a criminal offence.
Court has heard that Bonney, who had close ties to the Liberals, was hired as a government communications director and helped carry out a Liberal government plan referred to as the Quick Wins plan that involved efforts to woo ethnic voters.
Bonney’s role was to recruit people to contact members of ethnic communities in swing ridings with the goal of garnering votes for the Liberals in the upcoming election.
Court heard that he crossed the line between what was permissible in his government-paid job by carrying out partisan political activities during the workday.
The Crown is seeking a 12- to 23-month conditional sentence to be served in the community, while Donaldson is asking the judge to consider a discharge, or failing that, a “modest” conditional sentence.
Earlier Wednesday, Donaldson told the judge that it was important to remember what the case was not about.
“It’s not about corruption, personal gain, dishonesty or any of those things.”
He pointed to other breach of trust cases where an accused was involved in influence peddling or taking or giving bribes and contrasted those cases with Bonney, who gained no financial benefit.
“Mr. Bonney is the one who said, ‘I wish to plead guilty to this.’ Mr. Bonney is the one who read thousands of his own emails and said, ‘I realize I went astray, I went wrong.’ ”