Judge sends Hamilton fentanyl dealer to prison despite 'immigration consequences' - National Post

Hamilton's John Sopinka Courthouse. Photo by Peter J. Thompson /National PostArticle contentA judge in Hamilton, Ont., has resisted a drug dealer’s attempt to get a lighter sentence because he might be deported to Jamaica.

Hopeton McFarlane pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking. His lawyer argued unsuccessfully for a conditional sentence, the Crown recommended three years in prison.

The judge handed the 28-year-old permanent resident, who emigrated from Jamaica at the age of five with his mother, two years behind bars and three years of probation.

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“I am concerned about the immigration consequences that may result from the sentence imposed on Mr. McFarlane,” Justice Joe Patrick Paul Fiorucci wrote in a recent sentencing decision.

“However, having regard to the seriousness of the offence and Mr. McFarlane’s degree of responsibility, I am satisfied that a penitentiary sentence is required notwithstanding those immigration consequences.”

McFarlane’s immigration lawyer filed a letter with the court advising “that a conviction for possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking renders Mr. McFarlane inadmissible to Canada on grounds of serious criminality under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and would likely result in admissibility and removal proceedings,” said the judge’s Sept. 9 decision.

“Counsel also advises that a custodial sentence of six months or more would eliminate Mr. McFarlane’s right to appeal any resulting removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division, whereas a conditional sentence would preserve that right,” Fiorucci said.

“Given that Mr. McFarlane has lived in Canada since childhood and that his family and support network are located here, I accept that these potential immigration consequences are significant.”