Well, I'm not a charter expert. I want to put that out there, so I'm not misleading anybody. But I'm sure the committee members are aware that mandatory minimum penalties do pose a risk of violating section 12 of the charter, which entrenches the right not to be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Now, this is quite a high test to meet, and the test is whether the punishment is “grossly disproportionate” for the offender, such that Canadians would find the punishment intolerable.
Now, it goes without saying that the lower the mandatory minimum penalty, the less risk of infringing section 12. And it also goes without saying that there should not be too much of a disproportion between a mandatory minimum penalty imposed for one offence and a mandatory minimum penalty imposed for another similar offence—if that makes sense. Where the disproportion is great, there is a higher risk of section 12 infringement. Where there is no disproportion, or they're similar, there is a lower risk.
I hope this helps the committee consider the issue.