The Supreme Court found one mandatory minimum sentence for a firearm offense unconstitutional and upheld two others in a pair of decisions
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Canada has tighter gun laws than the United States but higher rates of gun ownership than some other rich countries. The federal government has been criticized by some gun rights advocates for tightening gun laws, including through a freeze on handgun purchases.Article contentIn one case, Jesse Dallas Hills had pleaded guilty to four charges, including recklessly discharging a firearm at a home in 2014 in Lethbridge, Alberta. That charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.
The Hills ruling found this mandatory minimum unconstitutional and also said courts “should consider the effect of a sentence on the particular offender.” This is significant, said lawyer Chris Rudnicki, because it will oblige judges to consider whether Black or Indigenous offenders will have a harder time behind bars and perhaps change sentencings with that in mind.Article content
The Supreme Court found that penalty constitutional, as well as that imposed on Curtis Zwozdesky, who pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm. His counsel used a hypothetical scenario to argue the four-year mandatory minimum sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
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