OTTAWA, March 09, 2011 — The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, is pleased to announce the passing in Parliament of Bill C-48, the Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act.
"This important legislation puts an end to sentence discounts for multiple murderers, meaning that from now on they can be made to serve their parole ineligibility periods one after another," said Minister Nicholson. “Families of murder victims can now take comfort in the fact that the sentencing process will be able to acknowledge the value of each life taken.”
The new legislation allows judges to impose consecutive parole ineligibility periods on individuals convicted of more than one first- or second-degree murder. Under the old system, criminals convicted of multiple murders served their parole ineligibility periods concurrently, meaning that they were eligible to apply for parole after just one period ranging from 10 to 25 years, depending on their sentence.
“This is an important part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring more truth in sentencing,” said Minister Nicholson. “Multiple murders will now face a sentence that better reflects the severity of their crimes.”
First-degree murder and two categories of second-degree murder carry a mandatory life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. The remaining categories of second-degree murder carry a mandatory life sentence with no eligibility for parole for a minimum of 10 years up to a maximum of 25 years.
An online version of the legislation is available at www.parl.gc.ca.
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Ref.:
- Pamela Stephens
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621
- Media Relations
Department of Justice
613-957-4207
