April 14, 2015 – Moncton, NB – Department of Justice.
Today, Justice Minister and Attorney General Peter MacKay and Robert Goguen, Parliamentary Secretary and MP for Moncton-Dieppe-Riverview, announced that the Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act has now come into force.
The new criminal law provisions advance the Government's efforts to combat the trafficking and cross-border smuggling of contraband tobacco by creating a new Criminal Code offence with mandatory penalties of imprisonment for repeat offenders, many of whom are affiliated with other serious organized criminal activity such as weapons and illegal drug trafficking.
Cheap, illegal tobacco can make it easier for children and teens to get cigarettes and start smoking, which has a negative impact on their health and can result in life-threatening diseases. This law is in place to target criminals whose activities involve the sale, offer of sale, possession for the purpose of sale, transportation, distribution or delivery of contraband tobacco, including high-volume amounts of contraband tobacco.
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