A man from Quebec has been sentenced to nine months in jail for importing counterfeit toonies from China.
Généreux was sentenced just before the Labour Day weekend based on a joint submission by his defense lawyer and the federal Crown on the recommended punishment, federal prosecutor Frédéric Hivon confirmed in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times on Sept. 6. He was also given a 30-day sentence for his case with the province of Quebec for possessing illegal cannabis.
The Epoch Times contacted Généreux’s lawyer, Laurence Legault-Denis, but did not receive a response by publication time.
The investigation began in January 2023 when the CBSA intercepted 12,049 counterfeit $2 coins at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. A search of Généreux’s residence in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, in February 2023 led to the seizure of an additional 14,581 fake $2 coins and 91 fake US$50 bills, the agency said.
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Généreux is the second Canadian to be convicted of importing thousands of counterfeit $2 coins from China in recent years.
The CBSA declined to comment when asked whether these cases indicate a trend in counterfeit coin imports from China.
“Several elements can have an impact on the number of seizures from year to year, such as traveler volumes and/or size/volume of a seizure, as well as ongoing investigations. As such, the CBSA does not speculate on possible trends,” CBSA spokesperson Maria Ladouceur told The Epoch Times in an email on Sept. 6.
“We stay current on global trends and patterns to ensure that its frontline border services officers are well equipped to identify and prevent illegal goods from entering Canada,” she said.
Ladouceur also confirmed that the CBSA “has had 3 counterfeit coin seizures in the last 5 years; one for CAD toonies in 2019, one for USD silver dollars in 2022, and another CAD toonie seizure in 2023.”
She added that smugglers are increasingly using sophisticated concealment methods, and CBSA officers combat this with contraband detection tools such as handheld devices, X-ray machines, and detector dogs. They are always “on the lookout for to prohibited, restricted or regulated goods,” she said.
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