Charges come after nearly two years of OPP investigation

Nov. 20, 2014 — New Democrat MPP Joe Cimino, who beat Liberal Andrew Olivier by 980 votes in Sudbury in the June 2014 provincial election, resigns suddenly, citing the difficulty of balancing his “young children, wife and extended family.”

Dec. 11 — Liberal activist Gerry Lougheed visits Olivier to urge him not to run in the upcoming byelection, saying, “I come to you on behalf of the premier.” The next day, Patricia Sorbara, then Premier Kathleen Wynne’s deputy chief of staff, phones Olivier.

Dec. 15 — Olivier says he has been “bullied” by the Liberals into stepping aside for a different candidate, prompting the Progressive Conservatives to contact Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the NDP to alert Elections Ontario.

Dec. 16 — The Star reveals Wynne has lured New Democrat MP Glenn Thibeault to be the Liberal candidate in the Sudbury byelection.

Jan. 15, 2015 — Exactly one month after going public, Olivier takes to Facebook by posting the recordings of his conversations with Sorbara and Lougheed, which leads the OPP to broaden their probe the next day.

Feb. 5 — Liberal Thibeault wins the byelection, with Olivier, running as an independent, finishing third behind the NDP’s Suzanne Shawbonquit.

Feb. 19 — Elections Ontario chief Greg Essensa releases a 29-page report on the byelection, concluding the Liberals were in “apparent contravention” of bribery laws over the job offers to Olivier.

Sept. 24 — Police charge Lougheed with one count of counselling an offence not committed and one count of unlawfully influencing or negotiating appointments.

Sorbara is cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. April 27, 2016 — Those criminal charges against Lougheed are stayed, but the OPP says it is continuing a probe of alleged Ontario Elections Act violations.

Nov. 1, 2016 — OPP announces charges under the provincial act against Lougheed and Sorbara. Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson