The appellant appealed his conviction and sentence for using a firearm while committing an offence under s. 85(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, as well as the imposition of a victim fine surcharge.
He had pled guilty to robbery with a firearm and other offences.
The Court of Appeal held that a conviction under s. 85(1)(a) is precluded when the underlying offence is robbery under s. 344, as the use of a firearm is already an essential element.
The conviction and its consecutive one-year sentence were quashed, reducing the global sentence to five years.
The victim fine surcharge was also struck down on consent pursuant to Boudreault.
