I am very sorry, Ms. Morency, but I want to be sure that you understand my three questions, and so I will ask them one after the other. Perhaps you can respond in the time you will be given, and that way, it will not take away any of mine.
First, regarding the minimum sentences which were imposed in 2005, I would like to know whether the effect of these sentences on the crime rate has been evaluated. I understand that, of course, there was an effect on the number of cases which were prosecuted, but I would like to know whether there was a definite effect on the crime rate. If studies have been done on this issue, I would like you to provide them to us.
Second, you may have heard of the study carried out by Julian V. Roberts, which was undertaken by the Research and Statistics Division of the Department of Justice, and which was entitled “Mandatory Sentences of Imprisonment in Common Law Jurisdictions: Some Representative Models”. Could you please send enough copies so that each member of the committee has one?
Third, the study concluded that the majority of Commonwealth countries have a saving clause, which allows a judge, who feels that a minimum sentence would be completely unfair in a given case, who believes that the mandatory imposition of such a sentence would result in unfairness, to not do so and to provide the reasons for this, either in writing or verbally. Could you provide us with models of such clauses which exist in other Commonwealth countries?