Supreme Court to hear arguments against minimum drug sentences
Posted January 12, 2016 9:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) — A lawyer representing the BC Civil Liberties Association says a case before Canada’s Supreme Court could signal the Trudeau government to put a critical eye on a law brought in under the Conservatives.
Amendments to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in 2012, through Bill C-10, brought in minimum one-year sentences for drug offenses.
The problem, according to the BCCLA, is this means people who are drug addicted, and trafficking small amounts to feed that addiction, are going to jail with the same minimum sentence as drug dealers aiming to make a profit.
Lawyer Matthew Nathanson says judges are “essentially handcuffed” to that one year sentence, despite unique circumstance.
“This law, by sending people to jail willy-nilly in a mandatory way, prevents trial judges from exercising their discretion in a reasoned way,” Nathanson says.
“Each case is different, each person is different, but the mischief behind this law is that it treats everybody the same when they are not the same and basically is sacrifices important principals, like rehabilitating offenders.”
On Wednesday, Nathenson will present arguments on behalf of the BCCLA in the case of R. v. Lloyd.
This case is on appeal from the B.C. Provincial Court.
Lloyd was convicted of possession for the purposes of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Nathen expects the full nine members of the Supreme Court Bench to sit in on Wednesday. He says a ruling will likely not be made immediately.
