SENTENCE - SUPREME COURT OF CANADA - R. V. LACASSE
Sunday, February 7, 2016 at 7:44PM The Supreme Court of Canada has reinstated a 6 1/2 year jail sentence in a case where two passengers were killed by an impaired driver. Mr. Lacasse, who did not have a criminal record, was 20 years old when he was sentenced to 6 1/2 years by the trial judge. He had been convicted of three speeding offences previously. The Quebec Court of Appeal had allowed Mr. Lacasse's sentence appeal and reduced the sentence to 4 years. Many factors were looked at by the Supreme Court, including the fact that the trial judge was correct in taking into account the particular situation in the Beauce region with regard to impaired driving offences. Also:
The increase in the minimum and maximum sentences for impaired driving offences shows that Parliament wanted such offences to be punished more harshly. Despite countless awareness campaigns conducted over the years, impaired driving offences still cause more deaths than any other offences in Canada. R. v. Lacasse, 2015 SCC 64