OTTAWA – The lone former Conservative staffer found guilty in the 2011 Guelph robocalls scheme could find out Friday if he is going to jail.
Michael Sona, 26, faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine after Justice Gary Hearn found the former Conservative campaign staffer guilty in August of being “very actively” involved in the voter-suppression plan.
Sona is the first person in Canada to be convicted under the Canada Elections Act with wilfully preventing or endeavouring to prevent an elector from voting.
The conviction means there is no precedent – with no idea what to expect in terms of sentencing.
“All things considered, I’m ok, I guess,” Sona said when reached by phone this week.
He wouldn’t say how he’d proceed if he gets jail time on Friday. Sona has 30 days to appeal the conviction as of the date of the sentencing.
The scheme involved setting up an account under the pseudonym “Pierre Poutine” from Conservative candidate Marty Burke’s office and sending out thousands of misleading calls on May 2, 2011, mostly to Liberal supporters, telling them their polling stations had changed.
All parties, including the judge, agreed Sona could not have acted alone.
Hearn himself called into question the evidence of so-called star witness Andrew Prescott, a fellow Burke campaign worker who received immunity to testify. Questions were also raised throughout the trial about Ken Morgan, the campaign manager who refused to cooperate with investigators.
READ MORE: Michael Sona’s ‘apparent arrogance’ led to conviction in robocalls trial
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Both the Crown and defence are set to make submissions to the court on Friday, which includes victim impact statements.
Hearn could reserve sentencing for a later date, or make his decision on Friday.
Neither Crown prosecutor Croft Michaelson nor Sona’s lawyer, Norm Boxall, would comment on the case.
WATCH: Prosecutor in Michael Sona case comments on guilty verdict
After Sona’s conviction, Michaelson said he would be making “forceful submissions.”
“It’s a very serious crime for people to interfere with the democratic rights of citizens in this country,” he said at the time.
In his ruling, Hearn said the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to establish Sona as the one who essentially “pulled the trigger” by sending out the calls on election day.
But he found the young political staffer to be “fully aware” of what was being done.
Hearn said the “most significant evidence” of Sona’s guilt came from Sona himself – after he bragged to fellow Conservative workers of his involvement.
“His apparent arrogance and self-importance prevailed,” Hearn wrote in his ruling.
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