Supreme Court sets new framework for sentencing Indigenous offenders in partner assault cases
The 5-4 ruling came in a Nova Scotia case where a Mi’kmaq man’s sentence for aggravated assault was reduced to three years.
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled judges must harmonize sentencing principles for Indigenous offenders and victims in cases of intimate partner violence.
In a 5-4 judgment Friday, the top court provided guidance and set out a new framework for determining an appropriate sentence in such cases.
The court said the sentencing methodology is not a mathematical formula but a guide to help judges take into account the circumstances of Indigenous offenders and the vulnerability of Indigenous women and girls to abuse and violence.
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"Proportionality requires due attention to the circumstances of the offender and of the victim in light of relevant sentencing objectives," Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin wrote on behalf of the majority.
"The appropriate balancing will inevitably vary depending on the specific circumstances of the offence."
Origins in a Nova Scotia assault
The ruling comes in the case of a Mi’kmaq man with severe mental health challenges who was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault against his partner, a Mi’kmaq woman.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to three years, and the Supreme Court ruled Friday the three-year sentence should stand.
The top court found the sentencing judge did not recognize that the offender’s mental illness contributed to the commission of the aggravated assault and did not consider the effect of that illness on the relevant sentencing objectives.
The sentencing judge would have settled on a shorter prison term had she properly considered the offender’s significant mental health factors, particularly when viewed in light of a sentencing circle’s recommendations in the case, the Supreme Court said.
Linking systemic issues
The court said Indigenous people are disproportionately and excessively imprisoned, while Indigenous women and girls suffer from unacceptably high levels of violence and abuse.
It said both of these issues have been shaped by the experiences of colonization, and addressing them together is central to the ongoing process of reconciliation.
Parliament has tried to address both concerns through the criminal sentencing process, the court noted.
The judgment states that in cases where an Indigenous offender commits an offence against an intimate partner who is an Indigenous woman, a judge must apply sentencing principles related to both Indigenous offenders and victims of crime in a harmonious way.
The ruling provides a framework but emphasizes that the balancing act is case-specific.
The decision was split, with four justices dissenting from the majority opinion written by Justice O'Bonsawin.
The court's guidance is now binding on all lower courts in Canada.
With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and CBC News