SENTENCING PLAN LEAVES JUDGES AMPLE DISCRETION

The mandatory sentencing scheme designed by the Harper government is
sensible and prudent. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the 1987
case of Smith and again this year in the case of Ferguson that
mandatory prison sentences do not constitute cruel and unusual
punishment as long as they are proportionate to the gravity and
circumstances of the offence. Bill C-26 clearly follows the
prescription of the court. It imposes compulsory prison terms for drug
trafficking in or near schools and within a prison, for the use of
children as drug couriers and according to the quantity of the
substance produced or distributed.

But the minimum sentence can be suspended if the offender completes a
drug treatment program or the judge is not satisfied that there are
sufficient aggravating factors to warrant the sentence. The discretion
of judges is still quite ample. Nobody will receive a life sentence
for possession of a single joint of marijuana.

My only criticism is that the mandatory sentences are too short. Terms
of less than two years will place far too much stress on provincial
jails.

Steven Austin,

Delta