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Summary

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Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Criminal law - Cruel and unusual treatment or punishment - Mandatory minimum sentence - Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition - Does s. 95(2)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code infringe s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? - If so, is the infringement a reasonable limit prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society under s. 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? - Does s. 95(2) of the Criminal Code infringe s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? - If so, is the infringement a reasonable limit prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society under s. 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? - Criminal Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46.

In 2009, a young man approached a staff member at a community centre and said that someone was waiting outside to “get him.” The staff member put the community centre on lockdown and called the police. When the police arrived, they saw four men outside an entrance run off in different directions. One officer chased the Respondent who was seen throwing something away, later determined to be a fully operable, 22-calibre semiautomatic hand gun, a prohibited firearm, fully loaded with an oversized ammunition clip containing 23 bullets. The Respondent was 19 years old at the time of the offence and was not licensed to possess a firearm which was not itself registered. The Crown elected to proceed by indictment. In 2010, the Respondent pled guilty to possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, contrary to s. 95(1) of the Criminal Code, but challenged the three-year mandatory minimum sentencing regime under s. 95(2)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code.

Lower Court Rulings