Liberals to Reduce Use of Mandatory Minimum Sentences

Slowly but surely, we’re beginning to see Justin Trudeau & co. undo much of the wrongs for which Harper’s Conservative government is now infamous, particularly with regards to criminal justice. One of the most contentious chapters of Harper’s “tough-on-crime” agenda was the imposition of 60 mandatory minimum sentences during their decade in power, in areas ranging from sex crimes to gun possession.

In theory, such minimal sentences were supposed to deter potential criminals. In reality, all they did was take away the judges’ discretionary powers and increase the number of Canadians behind bars.

Newly appointed Justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had this to say on the matter:

I think that a lot of people that present themselves as offenders in the criminal justice system are there for other reasons than that they’re inherently criminal. I think our justice system has become a catch-all for the challenges and problems we face in society.

Hopefully, this new federal law will succeed in giving judges back the ability to render sentences which are individually tailored to the individual. Ideally, this should put less people in jail and promote rehabilitative measures. This should certainly make life easier for hard-working criminal attorneys, as they too will now have more freedom to negotiate better, more appropriate sentences for their clients.

If you’ve been convicted of gun possession or sex crime, call Ginzburg Legal in Montreal to speak with a criminal defense lawyer.

Ginzburg Legal
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Montréal QC
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