An Ontario judge warned legislators that they face stiff justice if they steal from taxpayers, as he sent an ex-Liberal senator to jail on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
Mr. Justice Robert Smith of the Ontario Superior Court shocked former senator Raymond Lavigne on Thursday by imposing a sentence of six months in jail, six months of subsequent house arrest and a $10,000 donation to a charitable cause.
As he laid out the need for jail time in this precedent-setting case, Judge Smith said Mr. Lavigne’s fraud of $10,120.50 was “not extremely large, but the breach of his position of trust was great.”
“A clear message must be delivered that such conduct in high public office is unacceptable. No one is above the law,” he said.
Mr. Lavigne’s lawyer immediately moved to appeal the verdict and the sentence, adding he will seek his client’s release as the legal proceedings continue. During sentencing arguments, lawyer Dominique St-Laurent said Mr. Lavigne did not deserve to “set one toe in prison” for a series of fake travel claims and using Senate staff to cut trees on a private property.
But in explaining why he rejected a conditional sentence, Judge Smith said he could not ignore the fact that Mr. Lavigne “abused” his seat in Parliament and never expressed remorse.
“The position of senator in Canada is one of privilege,” Judge Smith said. “A person in such a position is expected to behave with the utmost integrity and honesty. When that trust is breached … deterrence and denunciation must be the court’s primary focus.”
With little jurisprudence in similar crimes, Mr. Lavigne’s sentence is expected to serve as a benchmark for future criminal cases involving legislators.
“When people are in a position of authority, it’s more serious if they commit fraud or a crime than someone with a job in the private sector,” said Charles-Maxime Panaccio, vice-dean at the University of Ottawa law school. “The standards for these people are higher.”
At the judge’s invitation, Mr. Lavigne spoke out for the first time in the courtroom before receiving his sentence. He stated that in his view, he was not guilty of the charges held out against him. “I do not feel that I received a fair and balanced trial,” said Mr. Lavigne, who arrived at the courthouse carrying a bag of personal belongings.
After hearing Judge Smith’s sentence, Mr. Lavigne muttered: “There is no justice.”
He went on to remove his tie, dress shirt and jacket, before being escorted by Ottawa police to a detention centre. Mr. Lavigne’s wife cried as she watched him leave the courtroom, saying: “This can’t be true.”
Earlier this year, Judge Smith invoked “basic common sense” as he ruled that Mr. Lavigne had to be aware that he falsely claimed $10,120.50 in mileage for car trips made by two of his staffers. Mr. Lavigne obtained the reimbursements, and gave a fraction of the amount to his employees under the table.
Regarding Mr. Lavigne’s sending of a Senate staffer to cut trees on his private land, Judge Smith said Mr. Lavigne used parliamentary resources “for a purpose other than the public good.”
The Crown had called for a prison sentence of 12 to 15 months, arguing that crimes by public officeholders should be punished more severely than other similar cases of fraud.
“The difference here is the accused’s position of authority. It goes beyond the amounts involved,” prosecutor Jonathan Brunet said.
In his sentencing arguments, Mr. Lavigne’s lawyer said his client had already repaid $23,000 to taxpayers for the misappropriation of parliamentary resources.
Mr. St-Laurent also pointed out that Mr. Lavigne was one of 14 children living in a “state of misery” after the Second World War in a poor part of Montreal, where he survived by using his wits and being enterprising. Mr. Lavigne became a businessman and then a Liberal MP in 1993 with only a Grade 11 education, moving on to the Senate in 2002.
But Judge Smith was not moved by that argument. “Fortunately, many individuals from humble beginnings are able to succeed in Canada without committing criminal offences,” he said.
