Michael Sona arrives at the Guelph courthouse for his sentencing. THE CANADIAN PRESS Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette How many lone outlaws can pop up on how many grassy knolls before a series of supposedly isolated incidents coagulate into one large, collectively worn blob of disreputability?
This is the question that emerges, again, in the wake of Michael Sona’s sentencing to nine months in prison and a subsequent year’s probation for his role in the robocalls affair, which saw thousands of voters in Guelph, Ont., fraudulently misinformed in an attempt to skew the 2011 election. Sona, now 26, becomes the first person ever to go to jail for such an offence in Canada.
“A period of custody in a traditional setting is necessary in order that the public and particularly those involved in political campaigns at any level will appreciate that the courts regard this type of activity as criminal and to be treated seriously,” wrote Justice Gary Hearn with exquisite tact.
By way of response, Sona’s former bosses in the party said, well, nothing. And why would it be otherwise? He’s no longer a Conservative. Though the judge found the young man had not acted alone, no co-conspirators have been charged. Sona himself declined to testify in his own defence. So, failing a judicial investigation or further revelations that kick-start new lines of inquiry, this may be a wrap.
Still at issue, though, is whether the Conservative party can mutter, as has become its habit, that malefactors have no place in its bosom, or any other of its regions, and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, etc., and elicit anything but a cynical snort. When the commonsensical, fair-minded voter begins to assume you’re systemically crooked, you have a big problem — particularly in an election cycle in which the balance of power rests with just those voters.
Keep in mind, key questions that emerged on the very first day the story broke in 2012, courtesy of Postmedia’s Stephen Maher and the Ottawa Citizen’s Glen McGregor, are still outstanding. Does it make any sense at all to think that a 22-year-old planned and executed this scheme, which required access to the party’s Constituent Information Management System (CIMS) database, on his own? And would he have participated had he thought such actions were antithetical to the values of his party and his bosses?
Of the two questions, the second is actually the more dangerous politically, because it doesn’t require that any new charges be laid, in order to have legs. Party politics is a game of personal relationships. What can the mindset among the people closest to Sona have been, in the party, for him to have believed he was doing them good by breaking the law?
Michael Sona arrives at the Guelph courthouse for his sentencing. THE CANADIAN PRESS
And of course, it’s not just this one case, now. There’s Dean Del Mastro, the former Peterborough, Ont., MP and parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister convicted of over-spending and filing a false document to cover that up, who is now awaiting sentencing. And there’s the Ol’ Duff, arguably still the greatest single threat to the Conservative legacy, whose 41-day trial is set to begin in early April.
Beyond all that, there’s the miasma of tawdriness that hangs over so much of this Conservative party’s political tool kit; personal attacks on the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; tactics that, since the in-and-out affair in the 2006 election, have skirted the edge of legality and sometimes crossed over; and an advertising strategy that, though legal, routinely, deliberately quotes Conservative opponents out of context.
The gap between that reality, and the way in which most die-hard Tories prefer to see themselves, is wide. Attend any Conservative fundraiser in the land and you will find people who say they espouse blunt speech, honesty, hard work, patriotism, family and a clear delineation between right and wrong. In their speeches, Conservatives are all about personal responsibility.
Defence lawyer Norm Boxall, left, speaks to the media regarding the Michael Sona jail sentence. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
So where, then, is the expression of remorse, on the part of the party or its senior leaderships, for the growing list of wrongs done in their name and on their watch? Where is the frank acknowledgment that Sona, Del Mastro, Mike Duffy, Nigel Wright, Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin, Bruce Carson and others were not operating in a vacuum?
We’re long past the moment when anyone could reasonably expect humility or remorse from this prime minister. “Never apologize, never explain,” appears to be among Stephen Harper’s guiding principles. It’s always worked for him before.
The bet he’s making is that opprobrium over Sona and other scandals will be outweighed by individual self-interest, driven by tax cuts. And the risk the PM runs, very simply, is that the goodies on offer are not compelling enough to reverse the momentum for change. Or, another party could put up plums of equal sweetness, while also offering a change of bums in seats.
The trend in the polls, with Liberals leading, is clear: What’s unclear is how the Conservatives propose to turn this around, with so many blemishes already on their record — and the Duffy circus still ahead.
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