Ontario appeal court upholds convictions for former MP Del Mastro

An OCA courtroom at Osgoode Hall. (Photo By I, Padraic Ryan, CC BY-SA 3.0)

TORONTO — A former federal politician has lost his bid to have his convictions for electoral offences overturned.

The Ontario Court of Appeal said Wednesday it is upholding Dean Del Mastro’s 2014 convictions on three violations of the Canada Elections Act.

Del Mastro was former prime minister Stephen Harper’s one-time point man on defending the Tories against allegations of electoral fraud.

He was convicted of overspending, failing to report a personal contribution of $21,000 he made to his own campaign, and filing a false report during the 2008 election.

He was sentenced to a month in jail, but has been free on bail since last year as the appeal process moved forward.

Del Mastro has 60 days to decide whether to seek leave to bring his appeal before the Supreme Court.

“We are actively considering an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada,” his lawyer, Scott Fenton, said Wednesday in an email.

“My client is very disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s decision concerning important matters regarding the proper interpretation of the Elections Act as they impacted his trial,” Fenton said.