Mandatory Jail DENIED
In contrast to a ruling a few weeks ago about the mandatory jail penalties for grow-operations being upheld by a BC Supreme Court Judge, the Supreme Court of Canada just ruled on the constitutionality of mandatory jail sentences for possessing restricted or prohibited firearms in proximity to ammunition and the SCC ruled that the mandatory minimum sentences are NOT constitutional.
That said...the Court upheld the jail sentence of 6 years for the offender and basically said that although a specitic jail length is not "required", it would be hard to envision a hypothetical situation where a lengthy jail term wasn't appropriate. (This is basically exactly what the Ontario Court of Appeal said in 2013)
Either way, it's good to see that the SCC is alive to the risks of mandatory jail sentences. Now if only they'd do something about BC's horrendous IRP regime.