The Honourable
Raymond Lavigne
Senator for Montarville, Quebec
In office
March 26, 2002 – March 21, 2011
Appointed byJean Chrétien
Preceded bySheila Finestone
Succeeded byJosée Verner
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe Saint-Charles
Verdun—Saint-Paul (1993–1997)
Verdun—Saint-Henri (1997–2000)
In office
October 25, 1993 – March 25, 2002[1]
Preceded byGilbert Chartrand
Succeeded byLiza Frulla
Personal details
Born (1945-11-16) November 16, 1945
Political partyIndependent Liberal
(2006-2011)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Party of Canada
(1993-2006)
SpouseCarmen Robichaud

Raymond Lavigne (born November 16, 1945) is a former Canadian senator and businessman, and a former Member of Parliament (MP).

Career

Lavigne first ran as a Liberal candidate for the House of Commons of Canada in the Quebec riding of Verdun—Saint-Paul at the 1988 election but was unsuccessful. He successfully contested the riding in the 1993 election. He was re-elected as the MP for the riding, with altered boundaries, in the 1997 and 2000 federal elections. He served until he was appointed to the Canadian Senate on March 26, 2002.

He was appointed to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to make his riding available for Liza Frulla, a former Quebec cabinet minister.

Criminal charges and convictions

On June 8, 2006, he was expelled from the Liberal caucus after allegedly misusing Senate funds for personal use. He apparently used $23,000 in funds for work on his estate, including having his executive assistant cut down trees on his property.[2]

Since then, Lavigne's lawyer said that Lavigne had agreed to pay back the $23,000, without an admission of wrongdoing.[2]

On August 14, 2007, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who had been investigating allegations raised concerning the misuse of funds for the last year, laid criminal charges against Lavigne: fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and obstruction of justice.[3] Because of the criminal proceedings, Lavigne is barred from sitting in the Senate or taking part in any Senate committees, but still drew a salary and was entitled to claim expenses.[4]

His trial on these charges began December 9, 2009.[5] Closing arguments took place on September 17, 2010,[6] having been rescheduled from July 2010 to allow Lavigne to obtain trial transcripts.[7] On November 12, 2010, it was announced by the court that Judge Robert Smith's decision is ready but a date for the decision could not be set because Lavigne's lawyers did not show up.[8] A final ruling was scheduled to be issued on February 22, 2011,[9] but the court instead heard argument on how much weight should be given to Senate report on expenses spending. Lavigne's lawyers argued he should not be found guilty because the rules were unclear.[10] On March 11, 2011, Lavigne was found guilty of fraud and breach of trust, and was acquitted on the third charge of obstruction of justice.[11]

Because of the maximum term of 14 years in prison, Lavigne is not eligible for a discharge.[12] Therefore, he will be suspended from the Senate under Senate Rule 141 from the date of his sentencing until his sentence is overturned on appeal or the Senate decides whether to expel him.[13] Under Rules 138–139,[13] he will not receive a sessional allowance or various perquisites to which senators are entitled; it is not clear whether his salary will be affected by the suspension.

On March 21, 2011, Lavigne resigned from the Senate.[14][15]

On May 10, 2011, Lavigne was sentenced to six months in prison with an additional, consecutive six month conditional sentence to be served at home.[11] Lavigne appealed both his convictions and sentences, but his appeals were rejected. He began serving his sentence in June, 2013.[16]

Electoral record

2000 Canadian federal election: Verdun–Saint-Henri–Saint-Paul–Pointe Saint-Charles
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
LiberalRaymond Lavigne (incumbent)20,90551.27$59,347
Bloc QuébécoisPedro Utillano11,97629.37$34,065
Progressive ConservativeBernard Côté2,6706.55$3,761
AllianceJacques Gendron2,0985.15$12,598
New DemocraticMatthew McLauchlin1,0032.46$1,499
GreenLorraine Ann Craig9332.29$22
MarijuanaMarc-André Roy9242.27$46
CommunistBill Sloan1480.36$1,627
Christian HeritageWilliam Lorenson1170.29$298
Total valid votes 40,774 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,200
Turnout 41,974 59.05
Electors on the lists 71,085
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.
1997 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
LiberalRaymond Lavigne21,424
Bloc QuébécoisDonald Longépée15,153
Progressive ConservativeAline Aubut6,838
New DemocraticClaude Ledoux1,156
Natural LawMichèle Beausoleil498
ReformDeepak Massand380
Marxist–LeninistGeneviève Royer205
1993 Canadian federal election: Verdun—Saint-Paul
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalRaymond Lavigne19,64443.69–$36,451
  Bloc Québécois Kim Beaudoin 19,095 42.47 $35,583
  Progressive Conservative André Martin 3,864 8.59 $51,508
  New Democratic Party Claude Ledoux 860 1.91 $0
GreenJean-Marc Beaudin5981.33$1
  Natural Law Marylise Baux 432 0.96 $408
  Abolitionist Yvan Cousineau 140 0.31 $0
  National J.J. McPherson 130 0.29 $466
  Non-affiliated Deepak Massand 115 0.26 $6,744
  Commonwealth Golam Khan 88 0.20 $0
Total valid votes 44,966 100.00
Total rejected ballots 1,720
Turnout 46,686 75.50
Electors on the lists 61,838
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from the official contributions and expenses submitted by the candidates, provided by Elections Canada.
1988 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Progressive ConservativeGilbert Chartrand20,113
LiberalRaymond Lavigne15,207
New DemocraticAlain Tassé6,572
GreenJan-Marc Lavergne1,339
RhinocerosIrène Maman Mayer902
Commonwealth of CanadaClaude Brosseau142
IndependentYvon Turgeon105

References

  1. ↑ House of Commons Journal for April 8, 2002 (37th Parliament, 1st Session, No. 163)
  2. 1 2 Liberal Senator Lavigne kicked out of caucus
  3. ↑ Liberal Sen. Raymond Lavigne charged with fraud
  4. ↑ "Senator charged with fraud still spending". CBC News. 5 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "Lavigne pleads not guilty". Ottawa Citizen. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  6. ↑ Raj, Althia (17 September 2010). "Senator defrauded taxpayers, judge told". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Raj, Althia (14 July 2010). "Another delay in senator's trial". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Senator's fraud trial decision delayed". TorontoSun. 12 November 2010.
  9. ↑ "Ruling to come next month in Senator Raymond Lavigne's fraud trial". Winnipeg Free Press. 7 January 2011.
  10. ↑ Thompson, Elizabeth (12 February 2011). "Senator's date with judgment postponed again". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Sen. Lavigne guilty of fraud, breach of trust". CBC News. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  12. ↑ "Sentencing in Canada" (PDF). John Howard Society. 1999. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  13. 1 2 "Rules of the Senate". Senate of Canada. December 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  14. ↑ "Convicted Senator Lavigne quits". CBC News, 21 March 2011.
  15. ↑ "Disgraced Senator Lavigne resigns after fraud conviction". Toronto Star, 21 March 2011.
  16. ↑ "Former Liberal senator convicted of fraud begins jail term". CBC.ca. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.