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An Ottawa judge who struck down the Conservative government’s mandatory victim surcharge as cruel and unusual punishment in a landmark decision now says he has no choice but to impose it after a ruling from a higher court.

In a decision that appears will bring an end to the steady stream of constitutional challenges to the contentious law, Ontario Court Justice David Paciocco conceded this week that his decision finding the surcharge to be of no force or effect could no longer stand in the face of an Ontario Superior Court ruling that upheld the mandatory fee intended to help raise funds for victims of crime.

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The surcharge amounts to 30 per cent of any fine imposed on an offender or $100 or $200 per offence, depending on whether prosecutors proceed by summary conviction or indictable offence.

Critics of the surcharge have argued that its one-size-fits-all approach discriminates against the poor.