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National Post
15-07-2025
- National Post
Jamie Sarkonak: Non-citizen johns shouldn't get sentence discounts for their crimes
Article content Logically, Khant would be getting a higher sentence if he were Canadian — which is why this sentencing practice is so deeply unfair. Article content O'Marra also found a lot of good in the accused, noting his above-average IQ, his first-time offender status, his lack of mental illness or criminal record, his 'modest and reserved' nature, and his low likelihood of reoffending (he did show 'some response to younger females' in phallometric testing, but he agreed to take therapy in light of the finding). Article content In the judge's eyes, these overcame Khant's flaws, such as his apparent intention to see the fictitious 15-year-old on a regular basis: 'we could do this a lot depending on how this goes,' he told the officer-in-disguise. After he was caught, he told the risk-assessment psychologist that he never intended to go for underage girls. Article content The judge was troubled, on the other hand, by what he characterized as 'evidentiary weaknesses' in the Crown's case: namely, 'a partial phone download, no direct link between the phone and Mr. Khant, and surveillance footage that failed to show him at the hotel room door.' Though, these concerns are questionable, as police should be able to testify to Khant's presence at the door, and because his phone was seized upon arrest (and was thus in his possession). Article content Taking all into account, O'Marra concluded, 'A conviction would lead to severe collateral consequences, such as jeopardizing his immigration status, delaying his citizenship, and preventing him from sponsoring his wife, which would likely result in their separation. These consequences would be disproportionate to the offence and would undermine his rehabilitative progress.' Article content This is an uphill battle. At the top end, Canadian law requires that judges take immigration consequences into account in sentencing 'provided that the sentence that is ultimately imposed is proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.' At no point did we explicitly legislate this: rather, in 2013, it was decided by the Supreme Court, in a judgment authored by now-Chief Justice Richard Wagner. Article content Lower down, we have to contend with courts that set soft precedents that later justify even softer decisions. Aside from Ontario's mandatory minimum strikedown for underage solicitation, Khant was assisted by a 2018 case in which a man was conditionally discharged for breaking his wife's arm on one occasion and, years later, threatening to kill her while pushing her head into a pillow. Article content Article content This is happening all around Canada. In Calgary last year, a man on a study visa was found guilty of groping a woman's genitals at a club; he was given a conditional discharge to lessen his chances of deportation. Article content
Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
20 NHL Players From Unique Locales
By Jack Sponagle, The Hockey News Intern The typical NHL player tends to hail from one of five or sixcountries. Canadians have long made up the majority of the talent in theleague, with Americans, Russians, Swedes and Finns also filling out NHL teams'rosters. But every so often wesee players who were born in countries that rarely come up when discussing thebirthplaces of NHL stars. Robyn Regehr, theCalgary Flames defenseman who played 1,089 NHL games, was born in Recife, inthe Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Regehr's parents were Mennonitemissionaries, which also explains why his younger brother, Richie, who got into20 NHL games, was born in Bandung, Indonesia. Both brothersrepresented Canada internationally, but neither were born in the world'sdominant hockey nation. With the 2025 IIHFWorld Championship on the horizon, here are 20 NHL players who were born in andsometimes even represented nations that don't typically produce world-classhockey players. The Los Angeles Kingsdefenseman was born to a Canadian father and Japanese mother in the Australian state of New South Wales. He lived in Osaka, Japan, until his familyrelocated to Prince Edward Island when he was 13. The St. Louis Blueswinger was born in Cardiff, but his family moved to Australia when he was justtwo years old. He was the first Australian to make it to the NHL when he brokein with Washington in 2017-18. He may have only playedin four NHL games as a goaltender with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-07, and hefailed to register a win, but Fukufuji can hang his hat on being the firstJapanese player to appear in an NHL game. O'Marra is the otherNHLer who can claim the Land of the Rising Sun as his birthplace. Born inTokyo to Irish-Canadian parents, O'Marra saw 33 NHL games with the EdmontonOilers and Anaheim Ducks from 2009 to 2012. The first Croatian-bornand -trained player in the NHL, Rendulic is better known for his performancesin Finnish and Russian leagues. The Zagreb-born Rendulic played 14 games withthe Colorado Avalanche between 2014-15 and 2015-16, registering a goal and two also got into a single game with the Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17. Ozieri is a smallmunicipality on the Italian island of Sardinia, and it's reputed to have oneof the oldest-known cultures in Italy. It is also the birthplace of Sbisa, whoplayed in 549 NHL games for seven different NHL teams between 2008 and 2021. Sbisarepresented Switzerland internationally. Townshend calledJamaica's capital of Kingston his home until his family moved to Toronto whenhe was three. Townshend played for the Bruins, Islanders and Senators in theearly 1990s. He was the first Jamaican-born player to make it to the NHL. Deveaux played for theToronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers in a 31-game NHL career from 2008to 2012. He was born in Freeport, the second-largest city in the played 13 years of pro hockey in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, as well as in Russia,Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. A defenseman, Daybecame the fourth player to be granted exceptional status to play in the OHL ayear early. Long before that, though, he was born in Belgium to Canadianparents, and the first time Day skated was at a mall in Singapore. Day played twogames with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22. Komarov was born to aRussian-Finnish family in the Estonian city of Narva. Komarov representedFinland internationally and played in the NHl for nine seasons for the Maple Leafs and Islanders. He's the first and, so far, only Estonian-born NHLer. Plett was anintimidating winger who played 834 NHL games in the 1970s and 1980s, putting up222 goals, 437 points and 2,570 penalty minutes. Plett's family were RussianMennonites who fled to South America during the Second World War. The 1977Calder Trophy winner was born in Asuncion, Paraguay, before settling inNiagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Robyn Regehr isn't theonly NHLer born in Brazil, as goalie Greenlay, who was born in Vitoria, playedtwo games for the Oilers in 1989-90. Szuper also had a shortNHL career – so short, in fact, that he never actually played in a game. TheBudapest native served as a backup goalie for nine games with Calgary in2002-03, becoming the first and, so far, only Hungarian player to dress in an NHL game. San Jose Sharks goalieAlexandar Georgiev is the first Bulgarian player in NHL history. Born in Ruse, the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria, the former Rangers and Avs netminder was raised in Russia. The first of two pairson this list, both Paek and Park were born in the South Korean capital ofSeoul. Paek became the first Korean-born NHLer and the first player of Koreandescent to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup after his contributions inthe playoffs with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Park never won hockey'smost coveted prize, but he ended up playing 738 NHL games for the Penguins,Mighty Ducks, Flyers, Islanders, Wild and Canucks. The second sharedbirthplace is Elektrenai, Lithuania, which produced both Kasparaitis andZubrus. Kasparaitis, a veteran of 863 NHL games in the1990s and 2000s, was known for his aggressive and hard-hitting gameplay, whichsaw him accumulate 1,379 PIM in his career. Zubrus has the most NHLexperience on this list, with 1,293 NHL games across his 19-year big-leaguetenure, primarily with the New Jersey Devils, although his most productive seasons came with Washington in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Vilgrain became thefirst Haitian to play in the NHL when he joined the Vancouver Canucks duringthe 1987-88 season. He played in 89 games in his NHL career. Kaliyev became thefirst NHL player born in Uzbekistan when he made his debut in 2021 with LosAngeles. Now with the Rangers, Kaliyev moved to Staten Island, N.Y., when hewas two, and later to Michigan when he was 13. Kaliyev represents the USAinternationally. Aliu played seven NHLgames with Calgary in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He was born in Nigeria and thenraised in Ukraine until his family left due to the political climate caused bythe fall of the Soviet Union. His family moved to Toronto when he was seven. The Belfast-born Nolanwas the No. 1 overall pick in the 1990 draft by the Quebec Nordiques. He played1,200 NHL games, scoring 422 goals and 885 points. Nolan represented Canadainternationally, winning a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Get thelatest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and bysubscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. 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