I sincerely wish that they were considered. Most of the time, the plea deals have already been decided on and the sentencing range has already been decided on. People spend hours writing and rewriting this, and then it is taken and briefly read. Does it make a difference? I don't know that it does in sentencing. I don't think so. I say that because of such low sentences that we have seen.
We've seen for fatalities one day in jail, 90 days to be served on weekends only, a $1,500 fine and seven weekends in jail. These are all for fatalities. It's ridiculous what's being given out in our courts. Nobody's held accountable anymore for their actions at all, it seems.
Families are retraumatized. It's not only the experience of losing their loved ones, the death of their loved ones, but then going through the court system and finding out the sentences are so low. It basically says to that family, “Your loved one really didn't matter in the eyes of the Canadian criminal justice system.”