Justice committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to present to you today the CBA's national criminal justice section submission on Bill C-15. We acknowledge that this committee has heard numerous presentations already on this bill from different g

Justice committee  As I stated in my submission, of course we hear anecdotally about different cases, and each case is subject to its own individual sentencing process, which is why we support the important role of judicial discretion. If in any given particular case there is an opinion that the s

Justice committee  We would say it does eliminate judicial discretion, which is working just fine.

Justice committee  We submit that the existing legislation that's already in place, section 718 of the Criminal Code, the aggravating factors set out there as well as the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the important role of judicial discretion, already achieve the goals that have been iden

Justice committee  With respect to the drug treatment courts, the bill prevents entry into the drug treatment courts if any of the aggravating factors are met. Our submission on that point is that entry into the drug treatment courts shouldn't be precluded by those particular factors and that they

Justice committee  We could identify two points in the criminal justice process where there may be a result of increasing delays because of this legislation. The first would be the fewer number of people who we would anticipate pleading guilty by virtue of the automatic mandatory minimum sentence b

Justice committee  Thank you. Our association is opposed and has taken a position in opposition to mandatory minimum sentences consistently. With respect to our submission on the other aspects of the bill that set out mandatory minimum sentences for more serious offences—for instance, cocaine off

Justice committee  What we know about offenders who go into penal institutions is that in terms of the resources available for rehabilitation, there may be less depending on the penal institution, depending on how far the person might be from their family in terms of where they're incarcerated. And

Justice committee  Well, any piece of legislation, obviously, would be subject to potential arguments on whether or not it's cruel and unusual punishment, but we've identified the primary legislative difficulties we have with respect to its implication. Any legislation has to comply with section 12

Justice committee  Our organization has consistently opposed the use of mandatory minimum sentences because of the elimination of judicial discretion. For serious, violent offences, the judges would be guided by the purposes and principles of sentencing set out in section 718 and the aggravating fa

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  With respect, I can't comment on the particular statistics that you've provided. We are represented in our organization by prosecutors and defence counsel and people across the country who work within the criminal courts on a daily basis. Jurisprudence from the highest courts i

Justice committee  I'm not here today on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association to advocate for the elimination of those sentences that are set out in respect to murder. I'm simply here addressing Bill C-15 and some of the issues that arise with respect to the mandatory minimum sentences that are t

Justice committee  We're not aware of any.

Justice committee  My response to that is that judges do take guidance from Parliament through, obviously, the legislation that it enacts, but the current legislation that's already in place, both in the Criminal Code and within the CDSA, sets out the aggravating factors that are identified in Bill