Mandatory Minimums for Drug Crimes Are a Giant Step Backward for Canada (Opinion)

Erika Sasson, a former federal prosecutor in Toronto, opines that when Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament last December, at least one good thing happened: Bill C-15 was temporarily put to rest. That bill sought to introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug offenses, in order to tackle “organized crime and serious drug offenses.” Now in its newest iteration as Bill S-10, the draft legislation has already survived a second reading and has a very good chance of becoming law.