Conservatives Want Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Fentanyl Crimes

As drug overdose deaths related to fentanyl continue to rise across Canada, Conservative members of Parliament are calling for "heavy" mandatory minimum sentences against people found guilty of trafficking the synthetic opioid. But legal experts warn that fentanyl should not be treated differently, and point out that mandatory minimum sentences are unconstitutional.

More than 400 people in Alberta are believed to have died from overdoses linked to fentanyl since 2015. The death toll in BC this year is on track to hit around 800. Much of the data on similar overdose deaths in other provinces and territories is scant or outdated.

"We need to send a message to these drug pushers who are poisoning Canadians with fentanyl that to do so is tantamount to a death sentence," Calgary MP Jason Kenney told the House of Commons on Tuesday, urging the Liberals to support mandatory minimums in these cases.

Health Minister Jane Philpott dodged Kenney's suggestion with familiar refrains: that her department takes the opioid crisis seriously and is working with authorities across the country. But Kenney pushed back and asked Philpott whether the issue of bootleg fentanyl being smuggled into Canada from China was brought up by Trudeau during his recent meetings with his Chinese counterparts.

"There is no single player that is going to resolve this problem … all appropriate measures will be undertaken," Philpott responded. In recent months, courts across the country have struck down a number of mandatory minimum sentences brought in by the previous Conservative government as part of its "trough on crime" agenda. Trudeau has criticized such measures and has said his government would consider repealing them. Last week, members of the Wildrose party in Alberta sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the federal government to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act so that fentanyl trafficking, importing, and production would carry years-long minimum prison sentences. Read More: It's Never Been Less Safe to do Drugs in Canada Alberta's justice minister, Kathleen Ganley, slammed the proposal for mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl earlier this week. Ganley pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision that ruled the current mandatory minimum one-year prison sentence for drug offences unconstitutional. "Fentanyl has had a terrible impact here in Alberta … But in addressing that impact, we need to be guided by the law and evidence," she said. Courts are facing the issue already, and the outcome has varied. In April, a Crown prosecutor in BC argued that a Kamloops man found guilty of fentanyl trafficking should be sentenced to more years in prison because of the serious dangers associated with the drug. The man's defence lawyer urged the judge not to make any decisions based on the "media and moral outrage" around fentanyl at the moment. The judge sided with the defence in the sentencing hearing and said he would not treat fentanyl as distinct from any other drugs in its category. "Until Parliament legislates otherwise, I will make no distinction," he said. However, this week in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, a man found guilty of dealing small amounts of fentanyl in the territory was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. The prosecutor in that case had put forward similar evidence as in the BC case showing the deadly impact of fentanyl. "It kills people," Justice Louise Charbonneau said at that sentencing hearing. "Those who make such an addictive and highly dangerous drug available to other have a high level of blameworthiness." Follow Rachel Browne on Twitter.