| Historical Information |
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| This post is about a previous Session of Parliament. Any legislation here that did not receive Royal Assent has been terminated. |
C-394 – The Stronger Sentences for Safer Streets Act – restores minimum sentences for drug trafficking.
Not much to say on this one, minimum sentencing for drug trafficking charges was removed back in 2022 and Rob wants to put them back. None of the sentences are changing from what they were.
Author’s Note
So I’m going to get into a bit of the history of minimum sentencing here as it’s relevant. Basically these were removed because the Supreme Court ruled that minimum sentences can lead to “unreasonable punishment”, which the Charter protects us from. A quick example from this Act is that the minimum sentence for trafficking less than one kilogram of drugs has a minimum sentence of 1 year. That means someone caught with 5g will face the same sentence as someone caught with 900g. That doesn’t really make a lot of sense, and the Supreme Court agreed. A lot of people were able to appeal their sentences and get them reduced, so even when minimum sentencing was used it never really applied. This is why it was originally removed, all it was doing was clogging the court system with people appealing their sentences. There’s nothing in this Act that would prevent that from happening again.
Progress of C-394
C-394 is currently up for its Second Reading vote. If this is something that matters to you, whether you support it or are opposed, contact your MP and let them know!
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Another example of performative politics by a sitting Con MP. Why don’t cons ever work for the benefit of their constituents? It’s always political stunts from these empty, Russian-aligned suits.