Justice committee  Yes. When one examines the case law and the sentences that are imposed for particular types of offences, particularly large amounts of cocaine, trafficking in the more serious drugs, offences where criminal organizations are involved, courts are mandated and directed by Parliamen

Justice committee  I can't point you to a particular study per se. I can only indicate that based upon our experience and the experience that we bring to bear with the representatives across the country, who comprise our organization, and as Ms. Schellenberg indicated, the input that goes into the

Justice committee  I would say we have opposed the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences in the past, and we are opposed to the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences as set out in this particular bill. I wouldn't want to say categorically.... I'm not in a position to say categorically, in e

Justice committee  I can.

Justice committee  Paragraph 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code identifies particularly specialized sentencing considerations with respect to aboriginal offenders. Often aboriginal offenders are removed from communities and main centres and are living on reserves in rural areas, far from particular plac

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

Justice committee  But with respect to any review that states that the judge didn't appropriately sentence the person or didn't sentence the person in accordance with the sentencing principles, the appeal mechanisms in place and the other mechanisms that you referred to are available ways through w

Justice committee  Our response is that judges are being held accountable, and judges do take into account the needs and circumstances of particular communities in delivering their decisions. In that sense, they are accountable back to the communities, to follow up on the question that was posed ea

Justice committee  We're not aware of any.

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  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