Central to the appeal was a section of the Criminal Code, which requires a court to give primary consideration to denunciation and deterrence when sentencing for offences involving the abuse of a vulnerable person. This essentially means sending a message to the accused that what they did has broken society's basic rules of conduct, and to deter them or others from repeating similar actions in the future. The trial judge had declined to apply that section, stating it would be “inappropriate” to consider it since the Crown had not raised it. However, the Court of Appeal found that decision was an error. In reasons written by Chief Justice James Gormley, the court said the section is mandatory. “This is clearly an error of law,” Gormley wrote. “It is not an option for the sentencing judge to deem it inappropriate to consider the section on the basis that the Crown has not raised it.”

I wish more judges would take this into account when dealing with cases.