In R v Sharma, 2022 SCC 29 [“Sharma”], the Supreme Court of Canada [“SCC”/”the Court"] upheld the constitutionality of provisions that restricted the availability of conditional sentences. This decision marks a break from the SCC’s recent trend of overturning amendments to the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [“Code”] made during the Harper era. Conditional […]
“The figures are stark and reflect what may fairly be termed a crisis.”
Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada by Harold R. Johnson McClelland & Stewart, 160 pages, $24.75 Peace and Good Order is part autobiographical tale of Harold R. Johnson’s life as an Indigenous Crown prosecutor and part scathing indictment of Canada’s criminal justice system. It is a timely and provocative read […]
Federal prisons are run by the Correctional Service of Canada (“CSC”). To fulfill its statutory mandate of rehabilitating inmates while keeping other inmates, staff, and society safe, the CSC assigns its prisoners a risk classification, largely using quantitative tests. For inmates, being deemed “high-risk” can lead to segregation, stigmatization, and diminished chances of parole, while […]