I think the minister answered your question well.
Of course we looked at the Supreme Court's recent decision regarding this legal issue. In summary, we think that the penalty set out in the bill will not be seen as cruel and unusual punishment. The minister brought up the ruling in the Quanto murder case a few times. The court imposed a 26-month sentence for several offences. The judge stated that 18 months of the sentence were imposed specifically for killing the animal. We could speculate that, in the absence of other offences, the judge might have imposed a sentence of more than 18 months for the animal's killing. The assumption can be made.
When you look at the notion of cruel and unusual punishment, a six-month minimum is not excessive, considering the sentences the courts have handed down in the past for similar offences.
In this case, we considered other situations and concluded that the bill's provision
would resist or survive a constitutional challenge.