from the SCOC majority decision, written by then Chief Justice Beverly McLachin: a decision that found that the 3 year minimum penalty for a first offence and 5 years for a subsequent offence, violated the “cruel and unusual” provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
Mandatory minimum sentences, by their very nature, have the potential to depart from the principle of proportionality in sentencing. They emphasize denunciation, general deterrence and retribution at the expense of what is a fit sentence for the gravity of the offence, the blameworthiness of the offender, and the harm caused by the crime. They function as a blunt instrument that may deprive courts of the ability to tailor proportionate sentences at the lower end of a sentencing range.
the Chief Justice also wrote... "that trial judges are not prevented from imposing exemplary sentences that emphasize deterrence and denunciation in appropriate circumstances."