Jail Time for Contraband Tobacco

Three individuals were convicted and fined $79,618 for Tobacco Tax Act offences in the Ontario Court of Justice in Cornwall on February 26, 2009.

Nicholas McKenna of Cornwall was found guilty of possession of 201,400 unmarked cigarettes and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. The Ministry of Revenue's Special Investigations Branch laid charges following an incident on August 5, 2008 when the Cornwall Community Police Service pulled over a vehicle in Cornwall and found unmarked cigarettes. McKenna was also fined $75,118 and must pay $18,779 to the Victims' Justice Fund.

A 17-year-old female youth of Cornwall pleaded guilty to possession of 200,000 unmarked cigarettes. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) pulled over a vehicle on Highway 401 West in the Cornwall area on March 7, 2008 and discovered the unmarked cigarettes. The court imposed a fine of $1,000 and six months probation. The woman must also pay $250 to the Victims' Justice Fund.

Jeana MacDonald of Cornwall pleaded guilty to possession of 530,000 unmarked cigarettes. MacDonald was driving a pickup truck on Highway 401 near Summerstown on January 10, 2008 when it was pulled over by the OPP and the cigarettes were found. MacDonald was fined $3,500 and must pay $875 to the Victims' Justice Fund. She was also sentenced to 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service.

In all three cases, the cigarettes were seized and later forfeited to the Ontario government.

The Government of Ontario has many enforcement measures to discourage the sale of contraband tobacco. The Tobacco Tax Act has been strengthened with new inspection and seizure powers, new offence provisions, increased fines, jail provisions, civil penalties, and provisions that permit tax investigators to share intelligence information with police and other agencies that enforce tobacco-related laws.

A proposed amendment to suspend the driver's licences of persons convicted of certain tobacco offences under the act is contained in the Budget Measures Act, 2009. The amendment must be passed by the Ontario legislature and receive Royal Assent to become law. The proposed amendment is one of several in the 2009 Budget which build on measures enacted over the past five years to strengthen tobacco tax enforcement.