Former political aide to Marois pleads guilty

A former political aide to former Quebec premier Pauline Marois has pleaded guilty to counselling a criminal offence that was not committed.

Ernest Murray was part of a group of seven people, including former deputy Quebec premier Nathalie Normandeau, who were arrested in 2016 and charged with fraud-related offences.

Murray pleaded guilty Friday to sending an email to an engineering firm with names of people he claimed were willing to be used in a scheme to violate campaign finance laws. His defence lawyer Mathieu Camirand said sentencing arguments are scheduled to take place at the end of August.

Normandeau and five others will head straight to trial.