VANCOUVER - A six-month sentence handed to the first person in Canada convicted of raising money for a terrorist group was appropriate for a man whose relatively small amount of fundraising was on the "low end" of terrorism-related crimes, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Monday.

Prapaharan Thambithurai, 47, of Maple, Ont., pleaded guilty last year to raising $600 for the Tamil Tigers and collecting pledges for another $2,000 from Sri Lankans in the Vancouver area.

The Crown described Thambithurai as a "street-level canvasser" with a relatively insignificant role in Tamil Tiger fundraising, but still asked for a two-year sentence.

The trial judge sentenced him to six months -- far less than the 10-year maximum outlined in the Anti-Terrorism Act passed after the 9-11 attacks in the United States.

The federal government appealed the sentence, arguing six months didn't properly reflect the seriousness of the terrorism financing charge.

The Crown argued the trial judge was wrong to point to the low amount of money that Thambithurai had raised, and said the sentence failed to fulfil Canada's international obligations to deter terrorism.

The three-member Appeal Court panel rejected those arguments.

"(The trial judge) recognized the unique and serious nature of terrorism but, in my view, properly accepted the Crown's submission that Mr. Thambithurai's activities fell at the low end of the scale," Justice Kathryn Neilson wrote in the unanimous decision, posted on the court's website Monday.

"I find nothing to criticize in the approach or the conclusion of the sentencing judge."

An agreed statement of facts presented in court said Thambithurai, who once lived in Vancouver, spent two days visiting Tamils in the Lower Mainland, asking them for money to fund humanitarian work in Sri Lanka.

Thambithurai told the people he visited he was raising money on behalf of the World Tamil Movement, which wasn't on the list when Thambithurai was arrested in 2004 but has since been declared a banned terrorist group. He later admitted to investigators he knew some of the money -- as much as half -- would find its way into the hands of the Tigers.

The federal government listed the World Tamil Movement as a banned terrorist organization three months after Thambithurai's arrest. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were listed in 2006.

Thambithurai collected $600 and took pledges for more. He also told the RCMP he had collected between $2,000 and $3,000 since late 2007.

The statement of facts acknowledged that Thambithurai did not use threats or violence to seek donations -- tactics linked with Tiger fundraising within the Tamil diaspora.

After pleading guilty, Thambithurai told reporters the Tigers weren't terrorists.

The Appeal Court noted the trial judge concluded Thambithurai didn't present an ongoing threat to the public, and had "otherwise good character."

Neilson wrote that, while six months was far from the maximum, it is a significant punishment.

A six-month sentence "would ordinarily be viewed as a harsh penalty for a first offender with an otherwise unblemished record," the judge wrote.

"As well, Mr. Thambithurai's conviction will have long-lasting effects, as it will interfere with his ability to travel beyond Canada."

Thambithurai is now living in Ontario, his lawyer said.

"We're happy that the matter is over," said Kathleen Bradley. "It's a well-reasoned decision."

A spokesperson for the federal Public Prosecution Service was unavailable for comment.