QUEBEC CITY – Disgraced former lieutenant-governor Lise Thibault will remain behind bars for the weekend as her lawyer appeals an 18-month jail term for fraud.
A judge on Thursday rejected Thibault’s request to be freed while she challenges the sentence.
Thibault, 76, was taken from court in handcuffs on Wednesday afternoon after a judge sentenced her for fraud and breach of trust.
She had earlier admitted to filing double expense claims and holding taxpayer-funded family parties during her decade as the Queen’s viceroy from 1997 to 2007.
Thibault is the first Canadian vice-regal ever sent to jail for a criminal offense.
She was ordered to repay $300,000.
A 2007 report by the federal and provincial auditors general revealed Thibault claimed more than $700,000 in improper expenses, including gifts, trips, parties, and skiing and golf lessons.
-With files from The Canadian Press