Bjorn represented our client who was convicted of a criminal offense by returning to Canada illegally. He is seeking a conditional discharge which will not result in a criminal record.
From the Calgary Sun:
Short jail terms won’t deter people from fleeing danger in their homelands to enter Canada illegally, a lawyer told an immigration sentencing hearing Tuesday.
Bjorn Harsanyi said the one-month sentence the prosecution wants for Jorge Aguirre Gonzalez will have little impact on others seeking to breach our immigration laws.
As a result, Harsanyi told provincial court Judge Anne Brown that Aguirre Gonzalez should be given a conditional discharge, so he won’t have a criminal record.
Harsanyi said Aguirre Gonzalez illegally returned to Canada to escape his native Guatemala after an earlier refugee claim was turned down and he was deported.
“Should we be denouncing this kind of behaviour (by imposing jail)?” Harsanyi said.
“Should we be denouncing individuals fleeing for their life?”
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