In its recent decision, R v Ndhlovu, 2022 SCC 38 [Ndhlovu], the Supreme Court of Canada [“SCC”] struck down two provisions of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [“the Code”] relating to registration of offenders convicted of designated sexual offences in the national sex offender registry. In its 5-4 ruling, the majority held that […]
Content Warning: This article mentions instances of sexual violence that may be triggering for some readers. R v Nahanee, 2022 SCC 37 [Nahanee] is a case which addressed two key issues related to contested sentencing hearings following a guilty plea. The first issue was whether sentencing judges could depart from sentencing ranges proposed by the […]
On May 27, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) decided R. v. Bissonnette, 2022 SCC 23 [Bissonnette], in which the Court considered the constitutional status of s. 745.51 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [“Code”]. In Canadian criminal law, an offender convicted of first-degree murder automatically receives a sentence of life imprisonment, […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will revisit mandatory minimum sentences in Jennifer Basque v Her Majesty the Queen (SCC case no. 39997, leave to appeal granted March 10, 2022). This time, the SCC will consider whether pre-sentence prohibitions can, like “time served”, be credited to reduce a sentence below the mandatory minimum. Background Jennifer […]
How should criminal courts account for the existence of systemic and pervasive anti-Black racism when sentencing Black offenders? This is the question that the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal (“NSCA”) grappled with in R v Anderson, 2021 NSCA 62 [Anderson]. More specifically, the appellate court examined how evidence from ‘Impact of Race and Culture Assessments’ […]
Introduction The Ontario Court of Appeal [“ONCA”] opens the case of R v Morris, 2021 ONCA 680 [“Morris”] with a revolutionary admission that “it is beyond doubt that anti-Black racism […] continues to be, a reality in Canadian society, and in particular the Greater Toronto Area” (Morris, para 1). The appellate court’s powerful declaration is […]
In R v Parranto, 2021 SCC 46 [Parranto], the Supreme Court (“the Court”) weighed in on the criminal sentences of two drug traffickers in Alberta. In the process, they made powerful statements about individualized sentences, the power of provincial appeal courts and the future of criminal sentencing.
*TRIGGER WARNING: This post has descriptions of violence that may be triggering to some readers* Since the abolition of the death penalty, the highest sentence a judge can prescribe to a criminal offender is a life sentence with a 25-year parole ineligibility period. Where there are multiple murder victims, under s. 745.51 of the Criminal […]
This month, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to appeal from a decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal (“ABCA”), which found that the mandatory minimum sentences for two related firearms offences violated the accused individuals’ rights under section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [Charter]. Section 12 protects the […]
In July 2020, the Ontario Court of Appeal ("ONCA") ruled that two provisions of the Criminal Code are unconstitutional, ultimately making conditional sentences available to more offenders. In particular, the ONCA ruled that s.742.1(c) and s.742.1(e)(ii) of the Code violated Cheyenne Sharma’s section 15 right to equality on the basis of race and section 7 […]