Earlier this month, a judge in Kitchener, Ont. said he was “embarrassed” to do what Parliament had told him to do and levy a “victim surcharge” fine on those convicted of crimes.
Last month, a judge in Manitoba said the decision by Parliament (i.e. the Conservative majority) to impose mandatory miniumum sentences in all cases results in “cruel and unusual punishment” in some cases. The judge ignore Parliament’s wish and did not impose a mandatory minimum sentence.
Those two judges — and others who don’t like Parliament telling them what to do — have a friend in Justin Trudeau who, a few minutes ago on Twitter, responded to a question about mandatory miniumums this way:
@JustinTrudeau Would a Trudeau-led federal government reconsider the slew of new mandatory minimum sentences recently rolled out by the CPC?
— Michael James (@MJGismondi) November 10, 2013
.@MJGismondi I (and the Liberal party) trust the Judiciary to do their jobs well, so yes. — Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) November 10, 2013