In R. v. Cope, released Oct. 9, the Supreme Court dismissed the Crown’s appeal and left in place a three-year prison sentence for a Mi’kmaw man who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of his Mi’kmaw partner. The Court said sentencing judges must apply provisions concerning Indigenous offenders and Indigenous victims together, rather than treating one as overriding the other. Source↗

The ruling is binding across Canada, including Nunavut. It directs judges to consider the seriousness of the offence and the offender’s responsibility in light of both people’s Indigenous circumstances; decide the goals of the sentence; and then choose a fair, proportionate sentence. The Court said denunciation and deterrence of intimate-partner violence do not automatically require a longer jail sentence, although they remain important sentencing goals. Source↗

Nunavut courts will apply the framework in future relevant sentencing cases. The decision does not change the Criminal Code, create a Nunavut service, or prescribe a particular result in any future case. Its effect will depend on the evidence and circumstances before each sentencing judge.

The Supreme Court majority found the original sentencing judge did not adequately connect the offender’s mental illness, substance use and Indigenous background to his level of responsibility, and did not give sufficient weight to the sentencing circle’s recommendations. The ruling was split 5–4. It preserved the three-year sentence imposed by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. Source↗