The offender, an immigration lawyer, was convicted of fabricating a fraudulent refugee claim for an undercover police officer posing as a client.
The Crown sought a penitentiary sentence of three to five years, while the defence requested a conditional sentence.
The court emphasized the paramount principles of denunciation and general deterrence, noting that the offender's status as a lawyer and the systemic impact of immigration fraud aggravated the offences.
Despite mitigating factors including the offender's mental health struggles and loss of her legal career, the court found a conditional sentence inappropriate and imposed a concurrent sentence of 12 months' incarceration on each count.
