In T. (R.A.), the British Columbia Court of Appeal held that a person is "subject to a sentence” within the meaning of s. 490.02 of the Criminal Code when they are subject to a lifelong firearms ban in accordance with s. 109 of the Criminal Code.
The appellant was convicted of sexual assault in 1994 and sentenced to both a prison sentence and a lifelong firearms ban. After the completion of the appellant’s prison sentence, Parliament passed the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act. It required the registration and reporting of individuals convicted of certain crimes such as sexual assault. The Act only applies retrospectively if the offender was still “subject to a sentence.” The appellant challenged that the Act did not apply to him as the prohibition did not qualify as a sentence. Saunders J.A. rejected this argument, finding that other areas of the Criminal Code treat a firearms prohibition as a sentence, and drawing support from a previous sentencing case, R. v. Ferguson.
June 8, 2011
Link to Decision
Sam Golder, Kai Sheffield & Dominik Swierad
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