Justice committee  Maybe what I'll do is just take a little step back and explain the broader framework in which this amendment is taking place. I know there have been some questions about the kidnapping offence, forceable confinement, the abduction offences, etc. What we have in the Criminal Code

Justice committee  I understand what you're saying. These are policy issues and policy calls. The concern in the framework of the offences is that we have offences that deal specifically with parents, and in those cases the government does not want mandatory minimums to apply. As to the possibil

Justice committee  We do, in fact, know what that phrase means from a legal perspective in the English. I believe it would cover anyone with legal or de facto custody of a child. Wherever somebody with legal custody, for example, transfers that custody—even by saying, you take care of my child for

Justice committee  Just to be clear, this isn't about guilt; this is about application of the MMP.

Justice committee  Yes. That sounds like a complicated fact scenario. I think the issue is that at the time the offence was committed, was the person a parent or a person standing in place of the parent? That can be determined on the basis of law—as your colleague has pointed out, by a legal paper

Justice committee  At the time of the offence.

Justice committee  That may be helpful in these cases, yes.

Justice committee  If you're a parent, you are excluded from the mandatory minimum penalty, or if you are a person in loco parentis.

Justice committee  There are a few, but there is some dispute in the case law about when custodial rights are extinguished, so I can't give you a clear answer. I suppose there could be some rare cases where custodial rights are extinguished. I would imagine that a family court would have very goo

Justice committee  Correct; by the way it's drafted, yes.

Justice committee  Only generally.... I do speak some French, but I'm not a francophone, nor am I a civil lawyer. All I can say is that when we sit in a drafting room we try to ensure that the English and the French mean the same thing. Now, we have case law that has elucidated points where the i

Justice committee  I would have to verify that. My instinct tells me that all parental rights would be extinguished and they would no longer be a parent of that child. But I'm a criminal lawyer, not a family lawyer, so before I make any kind of definitive statement I would prefer to consult with my

Justice committee  Thank you very much. During the break I had a little time to reflect and I just want to bring to the committee's attention a particular issue that I'm hoping will be helpful. Of course, I will be verifying that the English and French do, in fact, mean the same thing. But my in

Justice committee  I would have to look at it more carefully. I heard you read it out, and I know you're placing it in subsection 279(1.2). Is that right? I would imagine that if both the mandatory minimum and the aggravating factor applied, then the judge would be asked by Parliament to start at t

Justice committee  Your concern is that it might exclude the mandatory minimum penalty.