A retired citizenship judge has become the first in Canada to be imprisoned for breach of trust.  Seventy-one year old Philip Gaynor has been convicted of illegally selling copies of citizenship exams.  Gaynor was led away in handcuffs yesterday after Ontario Court Judge Harvey Brownstone sentenced him to 3 years in prison.  He called Gaynor’s actions “reprehensible” and “appalling” saying they went “straight to the heart of the integrity of Canada’s immigration system” and potentially tarnished perceptions of the judiciary by new Canadians.

When Gaynor was a citizenship judge in February of 2012, he began stealing exam papers and providing them to Scarborough immigration consultant Li Ling and her assistant.  Judge Brownstone said this continued even after Gaynor’s retirement in September of that year, lasting until about April of 2013.  The papers were then given to citizenship applicants who went through Li’s consulting business.  Both Li and her assistant have been charged with possession of stolen property.  The status of those charges is unclear