It's not the news Premier Kathleen Wynne was hoping for as voters were heading to the polls.
The Toronto Sun is reporting today that it has obtained an OPP document alleging the Ontario Liberals broke the law by asking byelection candidate Andrew Olivier to step aside in exchange for a political appointment or job.
Sun Media said it obtained the 250-page Information to Obtain (ITO) document today. The newspaper has not released the document, but reports the allegations of criminality are contained in court documents sworn and filed by Det.-Const. Erin Thomas of the OPP Anti Rackets Branch.
The information has not been proven in court.
As is widely known by now, in December, Olivier released recordings of conversations he'd had with local Liberal fundraiser Gerry Lougheed Jr. and party strategist Pat Sorbara. Olivier says the recordings amount to bribery.
Lougheed and the party maintain they were simply trying to keep a talented young politician active in the party.
As Olivier told NorthernLife.ca, he also had a conversation with Wynne about his political future, but he did not record that conversation.
In the ITO, The Sun reports that Thomas says there are grounds to believe a Criminal Code offence was committed.
“I do believe that Gerry Lougheed and Patricia Sorbara both engaged in soliciting and negotiating with Andrew Olivier in their respective conversations,” Toronto Sun quotes the ITO as saying. “I believe the words spoken by both Lougheed and Sorbara to Olivier assists me in my belief the Criminal Code offence has been committed.”
Lougheed, Sorbara and Wynne have all denied any wrongdoing.
The Sun Media paper also reports that Thomas notes both Sorbara and Lougheed tell Olivier they are speaking to him on Wynne's behalf and that she has the authority to help him in some fashion.
“I believe this reference to the premier’s authority threatens the appearance of the government’s integrity,” the paper again quotes from the ITO.
Although Election Ontario cannot say if it is investigating the Olivier allegations, bribery is covered under Sec. 96.1 of the Elections Act, making it illegal to “give, procure or promise or agree to procure an office or employment to induce a person to become a candidate, refrain from becoming a candidate or withdraw his or her candidacy.”
The penalty is covered by Sec. 97.1. A person convicted under that section of the act is also guilty of a “corrupt practice,” making them liable for a fine of not more than $25,000 and/or imprisonment of no more than two years less a day.
That person must also forfeit any office to which he or she has been elected, and can no longer hold office “until the eighth anniversary of date of the official return.”
The Globe and Mail is also reporting it has obtained a copy of the ITO. It reports that Thomas says she believe section 125 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which deals with corruption, may have been broken. That section makes it illegal to influence or negotiate appointments or deal in offices. An indictable offence, anyone found guilty is liable to imprisonment for up to five years.
NorthernLife.ca will have more on this story as it develops.
