As with taxes that Keith David Lawson sought and taught others to avoid, prison is now certain.

A court has tossed out Lawson’s appeal of his 18-month sentence and an order for him to produce DNA.

“We are of the opinion that the sentencing reasons were thorough and that the judge correctly instructed herself on the relevant sentencing provisions of the Criminal Code,” according to reasons by a B.C. Court of Appeal.

The ruling was written by justices Lauri Ann Fenlon and Patrice Abrioux, and dated September 4, 2019. Justice Harvey Groberman concurred.

Lawson’s jail sentence arose from his involvement with the Paradigm Educational Group, a Chilliwack-based organization that taught people how to illegally avoid paying taxes.

Lawson, who was described at the time of his sentencing in 2016 as someone from Burnaby, worked with Paradigm as an “educator”.

As the appeal court recalled, the man was with Paradigm from 2001 to 2010.

From 2004 to 2008, Lawson earned a net income of $159,629.88 from his work.

He did not report this income on his tax returns, evading federal income taxes of 8,036.45. Also, he did not collect or remit $12,681.15 of GST, which were payable pursuant to the Excise Tax Act.

Paradigm taught people that they could avoid taxes if they declared themselves as a “natural person”. According to the organization’s logic, a person has a natural right to livelihood, and their incomes are not for profit, hence not subject to tax.

During his time at Paradigm, Lawson instructed 33 individuals.

In 2016, he was convicted by a jury of income tax and GST evasion, making false statements in income tax returns, and counselling fraud.

Lawson subsequently lost his appeal of his conviction.

In the current case, Lawson was appealing his custodial sentence and the court order for him to provide a DNA sample.

The appeal court looked into whether Lawson’s “serious health issues” were properly considered by the lower court judge, who decided that a conditional sentence or house arrest was not appropriate.

The court noted medical evidence that Lawson had surgery in 2013 to “repair a severe urethral stricture”.

There is also a doctor’s report that Lawson needs to “self-catheterize on a regular basis”, and requires regular monitoring.

While the appeal court noted that that is “evident that the appellant has a significant health issue”, it is “not of the view that Mr. Lawson’s health concerns amounted to an overriding consideration which would warrant a conditional sentence and that the judge made a reviewable error in concluding otherwise”.

“The appellant will serve his sentence in a Provincial Institution and we are prepared to take judicial notice of the fact that healthcare professionals are available in such institutions to monitor, treat and refer inmates if necessary,” according to the court.

Regarding Lawson’s production of DNA, the court noted that the trial judge made the order “without addressing Mr. Lawson’s particular concern for informational privacy”.

“However, before privacy interests can outweigh the state’s interest in the making of such an order, there must be something in the circumstances of the case that take it out of the ordinary,” according to the court.

In Lawson’s case, his “particular preference for keeping the state at arm’s length does not take his case out of the ordinary”.

Accordingly, “it will be in the best interests of the administration of justice in the vast majority of cases to make a DNA order”.