Brian Bonney, the former communications director for Christy Clark’s B.C. Liberals, has been handed a nine-month conditional sentence after pleading guilty to one count of breach of trust last October in relation to the so-called “quick wins” scandal.
The judge said in court that Bonney didn’t act for any personal gain or any financial gain himself.
He was charged under the B.C. Elections Act in 2014.
“A sentence in these kinds of cases must express how important it is to maintain plain boundaries between partisan politicking and public service,” said Judge David St. Pierre under his reasons for sentence.
St. Pierre said the sentence should serve as a message to other public servants, “…while there may be unfair and underserved consequences for saying ‘No Minister,’ these consequences pale in comparison to the ones being experienced by Mr. Bonney right now.”
The Clark-era scandal saw the party plan to use provincial resources to raise ethnic votes ahead of the 2013 election.
A leaked memo at the time referenced a number of “quick win” strategies the party could use, including apologizing for historical wrongs, to woo ethnic voters in a 2012 Port Moody byelection.