OTTAWA - An Ontario Court judge has imposed $50,000 in fines on Bruce Carson, a former Stephen Harper confidant convicted of illegal lobbying.

Although Carson's lawyer, Patrick McCann, argued that his client was on the verge of bankruptcy and unable to pay, Ontario Court Justice Catherine Kehoe said Carson remains employable, calling the fine a necessary deterrent to others.

The Crown had asked for a $50,000 penalty.

Carson was found guilty in September on three counts under the Lobbying Act over work he did on a national energy strategy while director of the Canada School of Energy and Environment and later as the vice-chair of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada.

The judge determined he had contact with ministers and deputy ministers at Industry Canada and Environment Canada, as well as the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office, while he was employed at the institute even though he was under a five-year prohibition from lobbying public office holders because he had worked in the PMO until February 2009.

The court was told that, between 2009 and 2011, Carson was paid about $600,000 for his lobbying work.