General
Principles
1
I. The Purpose of Sentencing .................................
II. The Fundamental Principle of Sentencing: Proportionality ........
III. The Objectives of Sentencing ...............................
A. Denunciation .......................................
B. Deterrence .........................................
C. Separation from Society ..............................
D. Rehabilitation ......................................
E. Reparations ........................................
F. Promotion of Responsibility Among Oenders and
Acknowledgment of the Harm Done to Victims or
theCommunity .....................................
IV. Parity (Section .(b)) and Individualization .................
V. Totality: Section .(c) ...................................
VI. Restraint: Sections .(d) and (e) ..........................
VII. Retribution ..............................................
VIII. Weighing the Factors ......................................
A. Emphasis on Denunciation and Deterrence ..............
IX. Repeat Oenders: The Jump Principle, the Gap Principle, and the
Coke Rule ...............................................
A. The Jump Principle ..................................
B. The Gap Principle ...................................
C. The Coke Rule ......................................
X. What Will the Sentence Be? .................................
Copyright © 2024 Emond Montgomery Publications. All Rights Reserved.
Sentencing: Principles and Practice
This chapter will outline the principles, purpose, and objectives of sentencing. Many
sentencing hearings are relatively brief and take place in busy provincial courts. None-
theless, each sentencing decision a court makes, even on routine cases, can contribute
to building a just, peaceful, and safe society. It is our hope that in thinking about
these principles, you’ll consider them in the larger context of the thousands of
sentencing hearings that occur across Canada every day. We encourage you to con-
sider that in the aggregate, the choices our courts make in responding to crimes,
including which objectives to emphasize in each situation, are enormously powerful
and concrete expressions of Canadian values.1 A deep understanding of the broader
principles is the first step in properly analyzing the sentencing issues, interests, and
dynamics of any particular case. No matter your role in the administration of justice
(Crown, defence, judge), you must understand the macro level before you can truly
apply yourself to the micro of any one case.
I. The Purpose of Sentencing
The fundamental purpose and principle of sentencing in relation to adult oenders2 are
established in sections 718 and 718.1 of the Criminal Code.3 The purpose of sentenc-
ing is to impose a just sanction that fulfills the objectives of denunciation, deterrence,
separation of the oender from society, rehabilitation, reparations to victims and the
community, and the promotion of a sense of responsibility in oenders. Sentencing
must be done in accordance with its fundamental principle: proportionality.
718 The fundamental purpose of sentencing is to protect society and to contribute,
along with crime prevention initiatives, to respect for the law and the maintenance of a
just, peaceful and safe society by imposing just sanctions that have one or more of the
following objectives:
(a) to denounce unlawful conduct and the harm done to victims or to the community
that is caused by unlawful conduct;
(b) to deter the oender and other persons from committing oences;
(c) to separate oenders from society, where necessary;
(d) to assist in rehabilitating oenders;
(e) to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and
(f ) to promote a sense of responsibility in oenders, and acknowledgment of the
harm done to victims or to the community.
718.1 A sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the oence and the degree of
responsibility of the oender.
1 R v M (CA), [1996] 1 SCR 500, 1996 CanLII 230 at para 81.
2 The sentencing principles applicable to youth are discussed in Chapter 11, Sentencing Young
Persons.
3 RSC 1985, c C-46.
Copyright © 2024 Emond Montgomery Publications. All Rights Reserved.
