Regular readers of Crime Diary will know that, on principle, I am not a big fan of mandatory minimum prison sentences. If there ever was a crime for which mandatory minimums are warranted, however, it is election fraud.
This, for me, is almost akin to treason. There is nothing more fundamental to our democracy than free and fair elections. Subverting, or even attempting to subvert that process fits the most basic definition of treason as criminal disloyalty.
Last week, Michael Sona, the only person ever charged in the infamous 2011 Robocalls scandal received a paltry nine months for his role in attempting to rig the federal election in Guelph.
In his decision, Judge Gary Hearn said he was "fully satisfied" Sona at least aided or abetted those who were involved. In other words, the judge believest Michael Sona did not act alone. In my opinion, he should have received the maximum sentence of five years and $5,000 based on the aggravating circumstance of not giving up his co-conspirators.
Let us not forget that Sona was a minor local player in the robocalls scandal. It was a widespread and orchestrated campaign affecting 246 federal ridings.
In six of the tightest races where Conservatives won, the Council of Canadians initiated a court challenge to have the results overturned.
In his decision, Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley wrote the calls "struck at the integrity of the electoral process by attempting to dissuade voters from casting ballots for their preferred candidates. This form of 'voter suppression,' was, until the 41st General Election [2011], largely unknown in this country."
He also found that it was a "concerted campaign by persons who had access to a database of voter information maintained by a political party," and that "the most likely source of the information used to make the misleading calls was the CIMS database maintained and controlled by the CPC."
Nevertheless, Mosley refused to annul the results saying, "I am not satisfied that it has been established that the fraud affected the outcomes in the subject ridings."
If that is what the law prescribes, the law needs to be changed. It should not matter one iota whether or not the cheating worked, the judge was fully satisfied widespread fraud had been committed. In fact, the judgment in Sona contradicts the idea that outcomes matter. The Conservative candidate did not even win in Guelph.
Then there is Dean Del Mastro. On October 31, the former Peterborough MP was convicted of exceeding spending limits, failing to report a personal contribution of $21,000 to his own campaign and knowingly submitting a falsified document in the 2008 federal election.
Let us not forget that in Canadian courts the Crown must prove not only that a criminal act was committed (mens actus), but that the accused intended to commit the act (mens rea).
According to the Court, therefore, this was not accidental overspending and poor accounting, it was a deliberate criminal enterprise designed to undermine democracy.
Ironically, Del Mastro was one of the most vocal and vehement defenders of his party's dirty election tactics.
Demonstrating the complete lack of shame characteristic of this government, even after he was convicted, Del Mastro continued to sit as an independent even though the Elections Act prescribes ejection from the House of Commons for those convicted of election fraud.
When he finally caved and resigned, fearing his pension might be in jeopardy, his former Conservative colleagues gave him a standing ovation as he left Parliament as if to say, "way to go Dean, you almost got away with it."
Del Mastro is scheduled to be sentenced in January. I know it is probably way too much to ask, but I hope he gets the maximum one year and $2,000 on each of the three counts to be served consecutively.
In my mind, election crimes are crimes against the Canada and crimes against the Canadian people. There are roughly 35.16 million victims of Conservative election crimes.
My prediction is that Sona is out of jail within three months and that Del Mastro serves no time at all. The high-ranking party members responsible for the robocalls fiasco will never see the inside of a courtroom.
Meanwhile, the new (Un)Fair Elections Act, institutionalizes rules that favour Conservatives and make it more difficult for Elections Canada to investigate fraud. Although the Council of Canadians is challenging the Act there is only one sure way to undo the damage Conservatives have done to our democracy, by voting them out of office.
This is a non-partisan issue for me. If it had been any other party perpetrating these crimes, I would be writing the same thing.
When the old Liberal Party was embroiled in its scandals, I felt the same way; they had to go. And it wasn't so bad at first, when Harper only had a minority, but we eventually took it too far and handed him a majority.
It is clear this Conservative goverment cannot be trusted with our democracy. It is time to kick them out and give the next guys a chance to prove or disprove the old adage that power corrupts.
