Where an offender is convicted of both possessing a firearm as a prohibited person and owning a handgun without a licence in respect of the same firearm, the offences are not duplicitous because their elements are not identical or wholly included in one another; however, the sentencing court must ensure that the residual criminality in the lesser offence is properly reflected in the sentence. A conviction entered on a guilty plea must be set aside where the admitted facts cannot support the offence as charged, or where an indictable offence has been improperly charged as a summary offence without arraignment. Setting aside convictions carrying only a fine or conviction and discharge does not reopen the sentencing discretion on other charges where the total effective sentence is unaffected.
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