Time yet to revisit mandatory minimums?

Tuesday was not a good day for the Conservative government’s so-called “tough on crime” agenda.

Ontario’s highest court ruled that a three-year mandatory minimum sentence for possessing a loaded prohibited gun, a key part of the government’s 2008 omnibus bill, is unconstitutional.

This would be a good time for the Conservative government to re-read this brief from the John Howard Society about why mandatory minimums for gun-related offences are bad public policy, exacerbate racial bias, and are potentially unconstitutional.

And to prepare for what’s likely to come from the courts about the government’s mandatory minimums for drug-related charges, the Conservatives should re-watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA12sqAvPoU

Photo: YouTube