A client accused of breaking and entering is acquitted and finally obtains an absolute discharge and avoids expulsion from the country

A client of our firm with foreign student status was facing several charges, including one count of harassment and breaking and entering in a domestic context. After we submitted a decision from the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador to the judge, he agreed with the defence in that he found that the accused was guilty of being unlawfully in a dwelling-house, an objectively less serious charge. The Criminal Code thus allowed us to present a request for an absolute discharge, and this was granted to our client. Without this decision, our client might have been deemed inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and would have been expelled from Canada.