Judge sends Hamilton fentanyl dealer to prison despite ‘immigration consequences’

Hamilton's John Sopinka Courthouse. Photo by Peter J. Thompson /National Post

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A judge in Hamilton, Ont., has resisted a drug dealer’s attempt to get a lighter sentence because he might be deported to Jamaica.

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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.

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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“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.

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“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.”

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The Supreme Court of Canada “has recognized that immigration consequences may properly be considered in crafting a fit sentence,” the judge noted.

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“However, the court also cautioned that collateral immigration consequences cannot be permitted to dominate or skew the sentencing process and that sentencing judges must not impose artificial sentences designed to circumvent Parliament’s immigration regime.”

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The court heard that police officers were conducting a foot patrol on James Street South on July 2, 2024, just before 10 a.m., when they spotted McFarlane on the north side of a building.

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“He was kneeling beside a working digital scale on which fentanyl was visible,” said the decision.

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“He was speaking with a female who was seated a few feet away on nearby steps. Based on their observations, the officers believed that Mr. McFarlane was in the midst of a drug transaction.”