A Manitoba senator and his wife walked out of a courthouse together Thursday after she pleaded guilty to causing a disturbance on an Air Canada flight.
Maygan Sensenberger, who is married to Senator Rod Zimmer, appeared in Saskatoon court to deal with charges stemming from a ruckus on a flight from Ottawa to Saskatoon at the end of August.
Sensenberger, 23, sat quietly next to her lawyer with her hands clasped together in her lap.
"She realizes that a lot of people on the plane were disturbed by her behaviour," defence lawyer Leslie Sullivan told the court.
Sensenberger was given a 12-month suspended sentence with probation. She'll also have to attend counselling as directed by her probation officer. The court said that could include anger management or alcohol treatment classes.
It's not the first time Sensenberger has been in trouble. In January 2009, she pleaded guilty to impaired driving. A charge of uttering threats against her husband was withdrawn.
People on the plane gave varying accounts of the seriousness of what happened on the flight, which was days before the couple's first anniversary.
One witness said Sensenberger became upset when Zimmer, 69, started feeling tightness in his chest. The couple began arguing over how seriously Zimmer, a throat cancer survivor, was taking his health.
Sullivan told the court that Zimmer had to be taken to hospital a few days before the flight for hornet bites.
"His lack of taking care of his health has been a constant issue between them. And after that incident, and before it, she's been trying to get him to deal with certain health issues and his attitude is, 'I don't have to do that,' " said Sullivan.
She said the couple were arguing about his health in the Ottawa airport before they left and continued to fight on the plane. Sensenberger believed Zimmer had a heart attack during the flight, said Sullivan.
Police alleged the two were arguing before any health issues surfaced and the argument escalated as the flight got closer to Saskatoon. The Crown told court that one witness said Sensenberger could be overheard saying she would cut Zimmer's throat.
