Cloud of suspicion lifted from Liberals
Judge tosses bribery charges saying Election Act does not apply to potential candidates
Judge rules there was a lack of evidence to proceed in the byelection bribery trial of former Wynne deputy chief of staff Patricia Sorbara and Sudbury organizer Gerry Lougheed
SUDBURY— The byelection bribery trial of two Liberals came to an abrupt end Tuesday as a judge took the rare step of dismissing Election Act charges against them for lack of evidence.
The acquittal lifts a cloud of suspicion hanging over Patricia Sorbara — former deputy chief of staff to Premier Kathleen Wynne — and local Liberal organizer Gerry Lougheed for more than two years.
“One who seeks to be a party’s nominee is not running in a general election,” Judge Howard Borenstein ruled in a 40-minute decision read to the court.
Sorbara and Lougheed were accused of offering prospective candidate Andrew Olivier jobs or posts to quit his push for the Liberal nomination in a 2015 byelection, making way for Wynne’s choice, defecting New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault, who is now her energy minister.
Sorbara faced an additional charge of offering paid campaign jobs to two of Thibeault’s NDP office staff as an inducement for Thibeault to leave federal politics and join Wynne’s team. She was acquitted on that because Borenstein said he “cannot see how employing two entrusted staff” violates the act when bribery is commonly described as “an element of dishonesty.”
Sorbara cried and hugged her legal team after the verdict, and Lougheed was visibly relieved at the decision.
Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault said he was pleased by the verdict.
“It’s great news,” said Thibeault, adding he will have more to say Wednesday.
The dramatic ruling followed an application from defence lawyers Michael Lacy, Brian Greenspan and Erin Dann for a directed verdict after the Crown finished presenting its case. No defence witnesses had been called pending the judge’s decision.
The defence argued that evidence from witnesses in court last month showed Thibeault had agreed to become the candidate before Sorbara and Lougheed approached Olivier with opportunities to stay involved in the party after he was passed over, meaning there was no official nomination race.
They also maintained the Election Act does not apply to “private” nomination races governed by the constitutions of political parties.
Sorbara and Lougheed faced fines of up to $25,000 and maximum jail time of two years less a day under the charges, which were not criminal.
It’s the second time Lougheed has been cleared following an Ontario Provincial Police investigation.
Criminal charges against the wealthy local funeral homeowner and philanthropist were stayed in 2016, several months before the lesser Election Act charges were laid against him and Sorbara. She had not been charged previously.
Moments after the verdict, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown, whose party has been airing attack ads on the Sudbury trial, said “this whole episode is but one part of a consistent pattern of political corruption.”
“We’re worried about what they’ve been able to keep hidden and are fearful of what scandal will come next,” said Brown, who was recently served with a notice of libel from Wynne for claiming she was on “trial” in Sudbury.
NDP House leader Gilles Bisson, who attended parts of the trial, complained that the Liberals “got off on a technicality.”
“They can wrap this as a victory if they want,” he said, adding the Liberals lost “in the court of public opinion.”
The probes by the OPP and Elections Ontario began after Bisson and his Progressive Conservative counterpart Steve Clark called on authorities to investigate allegations from Olivier.
Olivier released tapes of recorded conversations with Lougheed and Sorbara, accusing them of trying to reward him for not contesting the February 2015 byelection called after New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino unexpectedly quit five months into his term.
Olivier ran for the Liberals in the June 2014 provincial election but placed second to Cimino, who won the seat held for 19 years by retired Liberal MPP and cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci.
Wynne testified at the trial that Olivier had not been a “strong” flagbearer for the Liberals in 2014 after losing the party stronghold to the NDP. With files from Robert Benzie