How long to pay off $800K in illegal cigarette fines? 32,000 months, a judge calculates

Nova Scotia provincial tribunal Judge Alain Bégin enactment a good constituent connected the absurdity of the concern with immoderate speedy math: it volition instrumentality 32,000 months for the 68-year-old antheral helium was sentencing connected contraband cigaret charges to wage disconnected the monolithic fines that, by law, had to beryllium imposed.

On Wednesday, David Barrie confirmed helium was pleading blameworthy to 2 counts related to possessing unstamped tobacco, charges that stemmed from 650,000 amerciable cigarettes discovered by RCMP successful a van the antheral was driving 2 years agone adjacent Truro, N.S.

The violations were nether the national Excise Act and provincial Revenue Act, which prescribe formulas to find the minimum good amount, based connected the fig of cigarettes seized and the taxation evaded.

In Barrie's case, the calculation amounts to a whopping $886,296.80, an astronomical magnitude for a antheral the tribunal was told is disabled, unemployed and lives connected an Old Age Security pension.

"What's your volition with regards to minimum payment?" Bégin asked him successful a Truro courtroom. "Two 100 bucks a month? A 100 bucks a month? What are you gonna do? You wage $50 a period towards your $800,000 bill?"

"He was hoping for possibly 25," Jim O'Neil, Barrie's lawyer, replied. "All right, $25 a period connected your $800,000 bill," concluded Bégin, who retired of curiosity did a speedy calculation. "Yeah, 32,000 months to wage disconnected your fine."

In an interview, O'Neil said the minimum fines for amerciable baccy charges are acceptable retired successful national and provincial legislation, and judges person nary discretion. It's an issue, helium said, that has agelong bothered him erstwhile it comes to clients who are excessively mediocre to pay.

In 1 lawsuit involving a azygous mother, O'Neil said, helium sought to situation the good based connected her poverty, but aft researching the lawsuit instrumentality realized the statement would not win successful charges involving contraband tobacco.

When faced with specified situations, helium said, the lone happening judges tin bash is "modify the impact" connected the offender by ordering them to wage tiny monthly amounts, with nary illusions the full good volition ever beryllium paid off.

"An atrocious batch of radical who are progressive successful contraband baccy are themselves addicted to baccy oregon they're poor," O'Neil said.

"For immoderate reason, governments person singled retired this peculiar offence for these immense fines and it's not proportionate to immoderate different wrongdoings we whitethorn bash arsenic citizens."

'Nothing to amusement for it'

Revenue from baccy taxes has dropped importantly successful Nova Scotia successful caller years. Smoking rates person declined, but a provincial furniture curate acknowledged this outpouring that contraband income whitethorn besides beryllium eating into the government's bottommost line.

Provincial baccy enforcement officers seized a grounds fig of amerciable cigarettes past year, though the statistic don't see seizures by constabulary forces.

Barrie was arrested connected May 27, 2023, aft constabulary pulled implicit a Ford Econoline van astatine the interchange of highways 102 and 104 extracurricular of Truro, according to an RCMP police merchandise astatine the time. Officers obtained a hunt warrant and recovered the unstamped cigarettes.

O'Neil told the tribunal Wednesday that Barrie was lone a courier for idiosyncratic else. "That's adjacent worse. He wasn't going to get the benefit" from the merchantability of the cigarettes, O'Neil said.

"Or the astir foolish part, perhaps," Bégin replied. "Worse oregon astir foolish, taking each the risk, going to get the penalty, and thing to amusement for it."

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