Justice committee  It's hard to say definitively what would happen. I mean, it's left to the discretion of the court at that point regarding how they're going to deal with the totality principle, once they determine that given the totality principle the combination or the whole sentence would be un

Justice committee  For sure it sends a message of denunciation, what the worst offender in the worst circumstance committing this offence should get as a sentence. It does encourage a court to turn the mind. The maximum sentence is higher; it has been increased, which could therefore turn their min

Justice committee  Whether the word "significant" is there or not, the burden of proof will be the same in sentencing. The goal, the foundation is to arrive at a proportionate sentence. That is the cornerstone of sentencing. The sentence must be proportionate to the degree of the offender's respons

Justice committee  I can't say whether it's good or bad; I can't comment on that. I can say that the courts recognize the existence of these criteria. For example, we recognize the cases in subsection 380.1(1). We have seen the jurisprudence in cases of large-scale fraud. It is important to state

Justice committee  Good afternoon, everyone. Based on the wording, the proposed subparagraph in Bill C-36 is intended for cases where the impact on the victim may be exacerbated by the combination of the person's age and other personal factors. Furthermore, we must also ensure some consistency wit

Justice committee  The purpose of mentioning this aggravating circumstance in the Criminal Code is not to raise general awareness of the problem, but rather to make sure that people keep it in mind when determining a sentence. Some of the government programs that the minister mentioned seek to prov

Justice committee  Those two provisions—the one in the bill and the one in section 380.1 of the Criminal Code—are not in conflict. As you know, the aggravating provision in section 380.1 has to do with fraud The aggravating circumstance proposed in Bill C-36 is intended to be applied generally. So

Justice committee  It is a bit difficult to give you a clear answer. When it is reported in case law, we know that it is reported and taken into consideration. To some extent, it really has to do with going back to case law and the current practice of taking into consideration the impact and age co

Justice committee  There is always a danger with exhaustive lists. The more elements we list, the more we will think that it is exhaustive and are likely to limit ourselves to that list. We would certainly not want to leave some situations out. You are right, it is not only about the health and fi

Justice committee  You're right, that could technically apply in situations that are not necessarily perceived as being elder abuse. However, it has to be the combination of age and other personal circumstances. Therefore, logic would apply in cases where the victim is an elderly person. To that ex

Justice committee  No, the legislation really is focused, short of setting a chronological age, on addressing those cases of elder abuse. So, yes, the aim of the legislation....

Justice committee  Yes. Again, technically, it could apply to situations that don't necessarily appear as such at first. Again, to the prior facts, a sentencing court will have to balance the facts of the case and come to a justification of the application by an aggravating factor. There is a reco

Justice committee  This goes somewhat beyond the scope of the Criminal Code, but I can talk about the crime victims assistance fund, for example. The fund has been used for organizing an awareness week with a view to educating the public about the realities of victims of crime. During that week, th

Justice committee  That is a great point. In fact, over the next few days, you will see on the website of the Department of Justice that a study was conducted, as a result of one of the initiatives that the Minister of Justice mentioned. The study will be public and a copy can be forwarded to this

Justice committee  Thank you for your question. The minister has already answered this question, but I will say that the chronological age of 18 is accepted in terms of it being clear-cut and everybody understanding why it is. It's quite different in the elder abuse context, where a chronological a