OTTAWA -- The only person convicted in the "robocalls" affair says an appeal court should reduce the nine-month jail sentence he received because he was caught up in a hyper-partisan "pressure-cooker political campaign."
The Ontario Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear an appeal next week of the sentenced imposed on Michael Sona, who worked on the Conservative campaign in Guelph, Ont., in the 2011 election.
Sona was found guilty of breaking the elections law by participating in automated calls to voters on election day that directed them to the wrong polling station.
Though the judge said it was possible others were involved, he found Sona was implicated in the 7,000 bogus calls launched by a phone registered to the pseudonym Pierre Poutine.
In a factum filed in court, Sona’s lawyer admits his client made a “terrible decision” but said that, at the time, he didn’t have the maturity to cope with the campaign.
So distraught was Sona in the height of the robocalls scandal that he tried to take his own life, the factum says.
“Most striking, in approximately 2012, he attempted suicide. Fortunately, the gun jammed.”
The factum argues that “it was apparent that Mr. Sona, a 22 year-old shouldering considerable responsibility, lost his moral bearings during a campaign that had developed a ‘siege mentality’” and got carried away.
“The conduct here was clearly very grave, but given his youth and the significant personal consequences Mr. Sona has endured, this was an ideal case for a conditional sentence of imprisonment or a short, sharp jail sentence.”
Sona is currently free on bail pending the appeal of his sentence. He now works as a machinist, earning between $25 and $35 an hour.
He argues for a lesser sentence of 30, 60 or 90 days, saying he had already been harshly punished by the publicity surrounding the robocalls case.
“His promising career is over. His relationships with his peers and co-workers in politics have ended. His reputation has been destroyed. He has brought shame and hardship not only on himself, but on his family and his close-knit church community.”
Sona served 13 days in the provincial correctional facility in Milton, Ont., in 2014 before he was released on bail.
The Crown is also appealing the sentence, saying the seriousness of the crime -- attempting to disenfranchise voters -- required a stronger penalty that the nine-month sentence imposed by the trial judge.
The Crown wants the duration of the sentence increased to 20 months.
“Sona has no remorse,” Crown prosecutor Nick Devlin writes in his factum. “To the contrary, he reveled in his conduct. He continues to shield at least one other co-conspirators (sic) from prosecution. He has done nothing to make amends to his community.”
The appeal hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, in Toronto.
