I'm trying to understand just who exactly received a conditional sentence of imprisonment. At the time the bill was tabled, one third of those sent to prison were jailed for unpaid fines. That's why judges had the option of handing down a conditional sentence.
If I understand correctly the statistics you've given us, according to slide 8, the individuals involved received sentences of less than two years and are serving their time in provincial penitentiaries. They are the ones eligible for conditional sentencing.
For example, does slide 8 show that 18 per cent of offenders who received a conditional sentence in 2003-2004, or who were ordered to serve their sentence in the community, had committed a drug-related offence? It isn't clear to me if their offence was simple possession of cannabis, trafficking or some similar crime, but the chart reflects the offence type considered .
Is my understanding correct?