Liberals looking to eliminate many mandatory minimum sentences, justice minister says

The federal justice ministersays the work has already begun to eliminate many of the Criminal Code'smandatory minimum sentences.

In an interview with CBC News,JodyWilson-Raybouldsaid her departmentis dissectingevery mandatory penalty on the books.

"Certainly we recognize for the most serious crimes, mandatory minimum penalties are entirely appropriate, "shesaid.

"I'm going to be moving forward on revisiting the mandatory minimum penalties in the Criminal Code in a comprehensive way. And that's going to be coming in the very near future."

As a former prosecutor,Wilson-Raybouldsaysjudges should determine the appropriate sentence for the individual before them.

She saysthere's enough evidence to show mandatory minimums have contributed to the backlogs in Canada's courts.

Exhaustive study

Ottawa defence lawyer MichaelSpratthas seen it first-hand. He recalled how oneclient who was charged with impaired driving, which carries aminimum penalty ofa one-year licence suspension, felthe had no option but to go to trial because his wife was seriously ill.

"If there was a mechanism for him to plead guilty and retain his licence for the specific purpose of driving his wife to cancer treatment, that case likely wouldn't have gone to trial,"Spratt said.

Mandatory minimum sentences are also in the sights of a Senate committee conducting an exhaustive study on court delays.

"We are going to touch on that. We're not going to ignore it. It's a concern and it is a concern in some situations," said committee chair BobRunciman, a Conservative senator fromOntario.

There's a sense of urgency among lawmakers, lawyers and judges to speed up the court system following last summer's Supreme Court decision in the case ofBarrettRichard Jordan, whose drug charges were stayed after a 49-month wait for trial. The top court's ruling set limits for criminal trials: 18 months for proceedings at provincial court and 30 months for cases at Superior Court.

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