Prison impact in sentencing…

Feb 1, 2023  Canadian Bar Association – Dale Smith What is cruel and unusual punishment? In a pair of rulings on mandatory minimum sentences, the Supreme Court of Canada directs lower courts to consider the impacts of imprisonment on offenders with … [Read more...]

Systemic racism…

May 25, 2022 News Release:  Senate of Canada The Honourable Kim Pate, C.M., and The Honourable Murray Sinclair, C.C., MSC Bill C-5 Will Not Redress Systemic Racism in Sentencing. Parliamentarians Can and Must Act Now to Ensure Meaningful … [Read more...]

Smart and humane…

Oct. 9, 2020  Toronto Star Editorial (Oct 8, 2020) Governments should heed this smart, humane ruling Justice David Gibson of the Ontario Court of Justice said: ‘No!’  He refused to apply the mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for six … [Read more...]

End of mandatory…

Nov. 1, 2016 Globe and Mail – Sean Fine Ottawa plans to reduce use of mandatory prison sentences The plan announced by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould involves ending the mandatory sentencing and restoring the discretionary power of judges. … [Read more...]

Right and wrong…

    April 22, 2015  National Post – Peter MacKay Peter MacKay: What the Court got right — and wrong — on mandatory sentences for gun crimes Minister of Justice Peter MacKay writes a guest column for the National Post to remind us that the tension … [Read more...]

Bending, but not far…

    Feb 5, 2015  Globe and Mail – Sean Fine Ottawa to delay parole eligibility for convicted killers The federal government appears to have second thoughts about a sentence of life without parole but continues to embrace retro solutions, to a … [Read more...]

Prison costs revised

February 19, 2013  Livingston Daily.com – Paul Egan – Gannett News Service Michigan prison costs high despite fewer inmates, staff Lots of the rhetoric around growth in prisons and mass incarceration has prompted realization about the cost of … [Read more...]