This post is about 800 words and can be read in 3-4 minutes. One result of the abolition by the previous federal government of conditional sentences (house arrest) for many crimes has been a significant increase in what are called...
Read MoreThis post is under 800 words and can be read in about 4 minutes. Although many Canadians don’t seem to believe this – perhaps because so much media coverage is about crime – crime rates in Canada have fallen dramatically...
Read MoreThis post is about 700 words and takes 3-4 minutes to read. The Liberal government elected in 2015 had as one of its election commitments ending mandatory minimum (MM) sentences for various crimes. Although the first mandatory minimums were put...
Read MoreReliable information on Canadian prisons and jails is hard to come by. You would think that an institution that deals with many thousands of people each year plus their families and friends, almost always involving a high degree of anxiety,...
Read MoreIn 2016, as part of a general review of criminal justice for the new federal government, the Department of Justice commissioned a set of papers on possible reforms to criminal sentencing in Canada. Five papers were published on the Department’s...
Read MoreMost Canadians would be shocked to learn that more than half of the prisoners in provincial jails in Canada today have not been found guilty of a crime. Instead, they are being held on ‘remand’; being held because they have...
Read MoreA major purpose of the criminal justice system is to reduce the number of crimes committed. The Criminal Code sections on sentencing (s 718) lists several reasons for giving criminal sentences, including denunciation and deterrence, both of which are presumed...
Read MoreInternational studies. From time to time we will post material about criminal justice in other countries. Canadians hear most about the United States, and it is likely that American trends and practices have had a strong effect on what happens...
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