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The Department
March 31, 2003

Report on sentencing for manslaughter in cases involving intimate relationships

Background

The issue of sentencing for manslaughter in cases of intimate relationships was originally brought up at the meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Deputy Ministers of Justice in June 2001 in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island raised the issue because of the public call for stiffer penalties in response to recent sentencing decisions in P.E.I., most notably in the case of R. v. Sheppard. This subject was added to the agenda for the FPT meeting of Ministers of Justice in September 2001 at White Point, Nova Scotia.

The Ministers subsequently decided that the FPT Working Group on Sentencing should investigate this subject and report back in the fall of 2002. A subgroup was formed, composed of members of the FPT Sentencing Working Group and other federal Justice officials from the Research and Statistics Division and the Family, Children and Youth Section (which included members of the FPT Working Group on Spousal Abuse).

A preliminary report was tabled at the FPT meeting of Deputy Ministers of June 4-5, 2002, in Charlevoix, Quebec. That report included only the case law analysis; the final report has now been completed.

The investigation led to five recommendations:

Recommendation No. 1 - It is recommended that Ministers encourage the National Judicial Institute to continue to develop, deliver and evaluate the Social Context Program on family violence.

Recommendation No. 2 - It is recommended that research be undertaken on the subject of plea-resolutions respecting intimate partner homicides; furthermore, that Crown prosecutors and others who are working within the criminal justice system make every effort to enhance awareness and understanding in relation to the sentencing process in cases of domestic violence; and finally, that jurisdictions make resource material available to Crown prosecutors on the dynamics of family violence.

Recommendation No. 3 - It is recommended that the Federal Department of Justice re-open discussions based on its 1998 consultation document entitled Reforming Criminal Code Defences: Provocation, Self-Defence, and Defence of Property.

Recommendation No. 4 - It is recommended that jurisdictions work together in developing and designing approaches to public and justice system education concerning sentencing in domestic violence cases.

Recommendation No. 5 - It is recommended that Canadian research be undertaken to look more closely at sentencing patterns in case law respecting intimate partner homicide and, in particular, the factors judges give most weight to in rendering their decisions; furthermore, that jurisdictions, working in conjunction with the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, inquire into the feasibility of developing a coordinated, user-friendly data collection system to aid in the analysis of domestic violence sentences.

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Last Updated: 2005-10-20 Back to Top Important Notices