Sudbury byelection bribery case bad timing for Liberals says opposition MPP

The scandal surrounding allegations of bribery in the 2015 Sudbury, Ont. byelection does not come at a good time for the governing Ontario Liberals, says a northeastern Ontario opposition MPP.

Timmins-James Bay New Democrat Gilles Bisson spoke to CBC Sudbury's Morning North program on Thursday and said it's a unique situation.

"It's the first time I think any of us have seen this kind of thing where the chief of staff of the Premier of Ontario gets charged," he said.

• Dates set for Lougheed, Sorbara trial in Ontario byelection scandal

• Gerry Lougheed, Pat Sorbara charged in Sudbury byelection scandal

Pat Sorbara, Premier Kathleen Wynne's former campaign director and deputy chief of staff, and Gerry Lougheed, a Sudbury Liberal fundraiser,were charged in November 2016with bribery under the Elections Act, for allegedly offering former Sudbury Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier a job or an appointment in exchange for not running in the byelection.

Sorbara is also accused of bribing Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault to quit his job as the city's New Democrat MPand run for the Ontario Liberals.

• Sudbury byelection timeline

Lougheed, Sorbara, Thibeault and the Ontario Liberal Party have always maintained their innocence and said they did nothing wrong.

"The timing couldn't be worse for the government," Bisson continued, noting that the court dates, set for September and October, aren't too far away from the 2018 provincial election, set to be held in June.

"I think the quicker they get this thing out of the way, the better they would be the further away from the election they could make it," he added.

Lougheed was previously facing criminal charges related to the scandal, with trial dates set for last summer, but those chargeswere stayed in April 2016 after prosecutors said the Elections Act investigation was complicating the criminal case.

"I don't think this bodes well for the government in a whole bunch of ways, and I don't think it bodes well for democracy either, quite frankly," Bisson said.