He was tried and in 1958 was convicted of bribery and conspiracy making him the first cabinet minister in the British Commonwealth to serve a term of imprisonment for accepting bribes in connection with his office.
He was a trumpet player, a local band leader, a part-time insurance broker, a Kiwanis club president and a volunteer firefighter.
Large companies were given cutting rights over Crown land in perpetuity and in exchange were responsible for forest management, construction of access roads and fire fighting.
The goal was to provide a sustained yield to supply mills over the long term by giving the licence holder a long-term interest in the productivity of the land.
There were accusations that companies made huge profits selling shares issued after a licence was granted before a single tree had been cut.
The result was that BCFP was granted FML #22 which covered 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) between Port Renfrew and Estevan Point along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
[2]: 43 A commission led by Justice Arthur Lord found no basis for the charges and Sommers responded to the accusations by suing Vancouver lawyer David Sturdy for libel.