As many of you know, there is a special sentencing regime for native Canadians, stemming from a Supreme Court case from many years ago, called Gladue. The probation people will issue special pre sentence reports called Gladue reports.
The courts decided not to give black folk the same degree of elaborate protections, but they have indicated that if a black person can show a poor upbringing linked to his/her race, then a reduction in a sentence can be considered.
A recent London criminal sentencing case called AA, involved a successful black man from a good background. Normally then race could not be considered as a mitigating factor in sentencing.
However, the judge accepted the defence argument that the person in question will have a harder time re integrating into society after prison. That was then considered to be a mitigating factor in sentencing.
The decision was delivered orally last week and the written decision will come out in a few weeks.