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mandatory minimum sentences

R v Basque: Strange Statutory Interpretation

Section 259(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada [Code] imposes a mandatory minimum; at sentencing, judges must apply a driving prohibition of at least twelve months for offenders convicted of impaired driving pursuant to this provision. Interpretation of the interaction between three provisions implies that pre-sentence driving prohibitions cannot be credited toward that minimum. The […]

R. v. Hills: SCC Overturns Harper-Era Mandatory Minimum Sentence (Part II)

The Supreme Court of Canada [“SCC” or “The Court”] recently released its decision on three Alberta cases: R. v. Hills 2023 SCC 2 [“Hills”] and R. v. Hilbach 2023 SCC 3 [“Hilbach”], the latter argued with the companion appeal, R. v. Zwozdesky. These cases challenge the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions, inviting the Court […]

“Unsolicited, unnecessary, and contrary to stare decisis“: Dissent Criticizes SCC’s Majority Opinion in R. v. Sharma

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 […]

Mandatory Minimums & Drug Offences: An Interpretation of R v Lloyd

This guest post was contributed by Lily MacLeod, Faith Cameletti, and Adam Lake. Lily, Faith, and Adam are all JD Candidates (2019) at Osgoode Hall Law School. Before the Supreme Court’s decision in R v Lloyd, 2016 SCC 13 to strike down a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for violating section 12 of the Charter (which […]

A Brief Look at Osgoode’s 2015 Constitutional Cases Conference

Osgoode’s Constitutional Cases Conference is the leading constitutional law conference in Canada and a much anticipated annual event. The Conference, now in its 19th year, brings together constitutional law experts and practitioners for insightful analysis of the past year’s Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) constitutional judgments. There were a few novelties to this year’s event […]

Mandatory Minimum Sentence for Drug Offences Struck Down by BC Provincial Court: R v Lloyd

After finding the mandatory minimum sentence for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking (contrary to s. 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC 1996, c 19 [CDSA]) violated s. 12 of the Charter (R v Lloyd, 2014 BCPC 8 (CanLII) [Lloyd]) in January 2014, Galati J. of the Provincial Court of British Columbia has […]

Conservatives Twist Trudeau’s Tweet: Guns, Rights, Judges, and Mandatory Minimums

Further to my bulletin posted here, on November 12, 2013, the Court of Appeal for Ontario (ONCA) has struck down the three-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of prohibited or restricted firearm (with ammunition either loaded or easily accessible; s. 95 of the Criminal Code) in a series of six decisions. The unanimous decisions come […]