The object of the proposed amendment, as Mr. Moore and Mr. Fortin pointed out, would be that a court, at sentencing, would not be under an obligation to consider that situation as an aggravating factor.
Now, aggravating factors are part of the sentencing process. This doesn't take away the fact that a court will still have to impose a sentence proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the moral worthiness of the offender. To say “shall consider” means to have an aggravating factor, as we have in subsection 718.2 and other places in the Criminal Code. It's deemed to be an aggravating factor, meaning that in all circumstances it shall be treated as aggravating. This doesn't foreclose a judge from imposing a sentence that is proportionate under the circumstances.