Safety Valves: A Band-Aid Solution to the Ills of Mandatory Minimums?

Author

Venus Sayed, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University (Student Author)

Date of Award

12-14-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Laws (LLM)

First Advisor

Benjamin L. Berger

Abstract

This work examines the Supreme Court of Canada’s statutory safety valve proposal in the case of R. v. Lloyd as a solution to the problems presented by mandatory minimum sentences. The thesis develops a safety valve matrix which allows various valves to be plotted along broad-narrow and high-low discretion matrices. Following a review of the development of exemptions in Canadian jurisprudence, the paper then takes a comparative approach of analysis to look at three similarly placed jurisdictions – Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. By examining the statutory safety valves in use in these jurisdictions, this work concludes that a broad, high-discretion safety valve may be most effective in the Canadian context.

Comments

Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.

Recommended Citation

Sayed, Venus, "Safety Valves: A Band-Aid Solution to the Ills of Mandatory Minimums?" (2022). LLM Theses. 57.
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/llm/57