A former advocate for housing in St. John’s is heading back to prison due to her latest in a series of criminal convictions. Michelle Voisey has been sentenced to 10 months in jail with 24 months of probation for unlawfully transferring $8,000 in Canada Emergency Response Benefit funds from her niece’s Canada Revenue Agency account to her own bank account. The CERB initiative provided financial assistance to individuals who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During Voisey’s sentencing at the Supreme Court in St. John’s on September 11, Justice Peter Browne emphasized the gravity of the offense, citing the deliberate nature of the act, breach of trust, impact on the victim, and Voisey’s extensive history of similar crimes.
Justice Browne has mandated Voisey to reimburse the full $8,000 to the CRA and prohibited her from holding any position, paid or volunteer, that involves control over others’ finances or property for the next 20 years. Browne acknowledged Voisey’s guilty plea as a mitigating factor but also took into account her extensive criminal record, which includes nearly 160 prior convictions primarily related to fraud, forgery, and theft.
Voisey was charged in 2021 after her niece reported missing GST payments and discovered the unauthorized disbursement of $8,000 in CERB funds in her name. Despite being involved in the tent city protest on Confederation Hill in 2023 under the alias Michelle Gushue, Voisey’s latest conviction is unrelated to that incident.
Voisey pleaded guilty in June 2025, but sentencing was postponed to 2026 due to a late request for a legal aid lawyer. At the sentencing, Voisey’s lawyer presented a letter from her family doctor stating her ovarian cancer diagnosis. However, Browne declined to consider the letter without expert testimony. Following the sentencing, Voisey inquired about delaying her sentence for medical reasons, but Browne rejected the request.
Voisey’s lawyer has not confirmed whether she plans to appeal the sentence.
