TOP COURT TO LOOK AT CONDITIONAL SENTENCING LIMITS

The Supreme Court of Canada will examine the constitutionality of a law that prevented a judge from allowing an offender to avoid jail by imposing a conditional sentence for certain crimes. The top court has agreed to review an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that found the Criminal Code provisions violated the charter because of their effect on Indigenous offenders. In 2016, Cheyenne Sharma, an Indigenous woman, pleaded guilty to importing two kilograms of cocaine in exchange for $20,000 from her boyfriend, in order to avoid eviction for herself and her daughter. Sharma successfully challenged a Criminal Code provision that called for a twoyear mandatory minimum sentence, and she was ordered to serve 17 months in custody. However, a judge rejected her constitutional challenge of provisions that disallow a conditional sentence for offences that can entail a stiff prison term. Sharma contested the decision and the Court of Appeal found the Criminal Code sections violated the charter, saying they discriminated on the basis of race.