"Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed disbelief at a Supreme Court ruling against mandatory minimum jail sentences for accessing or possessing child pornography. A nine judge panel with the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a tight 5-4 decision Friday that the one-year mandatory minimum sentence was unconstitutional. It said cases cover a variety of situations and would remove the judges' ability to impose sentences other than imprisonment when appropriate."
"Justice Mary Moreau wrote on the behalf of the majority that in the age of digital communication that last scenario is not uncommon. She said while the actions of the offender in this scenario are serious, they fall on the low end of the gravity scale for crimes of possessing child pornography. Imposing a sentence of one year's imprisonment on the 18-year-old representative offender when a fit punishment would be a conditional discharge with strict probationary terms would constitute a grossly disproportionate sentence, she said."
Ontario’s one-year mandatory minimum for accessing or possessing child pornography was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada in a 5-4 decision. The Court found mandatory minimums would prevent judges from imposing non-custodial sentences in lower-gravity cases and could produce grossly disproportionate punishments. The majority examined a scenario of an 18-year-old receiving an explicit photo of a 17-year-old and concluded that a conditional discharge with strict probation could be proportionate, whereas a one-year jail term would be excessive. The decision affirms the Quebec Court of Appeal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged federal use of the Notwithstanding Clause to overturn the ruling.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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