Court Lifts Publication Ban from Robocalls Witnesses

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Court has finally lifted a publication ban on the names of six witnesses who allegedly testified having had heard then Conservative Party staffer, Michael Sona, bragging about having had originated misleading robocalls in Canada’s 2011 federal election. The names of witnesses filled in the blanks in an Elections Canada investigation into the misleading calls in Guelph, Ont., on the May 2, 2011, i.e. Election Day. The calls are said to have impersonated staff of Elections Canada in order to mislead Liberal and NDP supporters to the wrong polling station.

The names were finally been lifted from a publication ban due to efforts of several news outlets. Among the six witnesses were a former director of communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Tyler Barker, and a former Conservative Party intern, Messom. Both of them had previously worked for Stewart Olsen. Moreover, they included Rebecca Docksteader, who then time worked for Conservative MP Chris Warkentin, and John Schudlo. Also among witnesses were Benjamin Hicks, who used to work in the Prime Minister’s Office and was president of the University of New Brunswick Conservatives, and a former worker of Senator Doug Finley, named Conrad Johnson.

The ban was lifted by judge on Friday morning only after previously hearing arguments by a lawyer representing the media outlets, along with Sona’s lawyer, and the Crown on Wednesday. Sona, the only person charged in the case, formerly worked for Guelph Conservative candidate, Marty Burke, in the lead-up to the 2011, election, and went on to work for Conservative MP Eve Adams. 

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