Canada already has a very low crime rate. Canada's Parliament is changing the criminal laws to change the way offenders are punished. We are building more prisons so persons convicted of certain offences can be automatically sent to jail, whether the Judge thinks they should go to jail or not. Parliament is imposing a kind of grid which will require that a conviction for an enumerated offence automatically means a specific minimum time in jail.
What are Canada's new minimum criminal law penalties? What are the least sentences that Judges can now impose for criminal law offences?
Will crime grow in this new soil or wither and die out? Will the mandatory minimums produce serious suffering in Canadian society or will our social well-being increase as we focus on automatic minimum sentences? Will Canada's economic well-being grow under this new legislation or will expensive new prisons and longer waits for trials choke the system?
Please report any errors to Stephen Biss 905-273-3322.