By Canadian Press

Parliamentary budget officer says one minimum sentence costs $98 million per year

Mar 30, 2022 | 10:43 AM

OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer says that one particular mandatory minimum sentence costs a total of $98 million each year.

Budget officer Yves Giroux’s report focuses on costs related to the three-year minimum sentence for possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition, in force since 2008.

His report says people convicted of this crime are sentenced to a total of 1,162 more years in federal custody than before the minimum was in place.

Giroux’s office says this translates into about 684 more people in federal custody and 467 more people on federal parole at any given time.

Mandatory minimum sentences require judges to impose a minimum penalty on those convicted of a specific crime.

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The report says this minimum sentence disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press