Thank you. I believe a hard copy was circulated at the commencement of the hearing.
This amendment directs judges not to consider the fact that the accused, who has just been convicted of an offence...could have some sort of an effect on their immigration status and, therefore, give them a more lenient sentence. We've seen a number of situations, in recent years, in which courts decided to impose a more lenient sentence so as to not cause prejudice to a person who had just been convicted of offence vis-à-vis their immigration file. Conservatives believe that Canadian citizenship is a unique gift, and those who are not Canadian citizens should not enjoy a more lenient sentence, because they're not citizens and are potentially working...the immigration process.
I think that this very much makes sense.