Justice Paul Bellefontaine: Ontario Court

Mandatory Minimum Sentences Dept: OTTAWA -- An Ontario Court judge has struck down a cherished part of the Harper government's tough-on-crime agenda, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Mandatory minimum sentences are the backbone of the Conservatives reforms to criminal law and marianne Helm / The Canadian Press Archives Prime Minister Harper s legal reforms have been dealt a blow. CP Justice Paul Bellefontaine ruled Friday in Oshawa, Ont., Christopher Lewis -- a crack dealer who offered to sell an undercover police officer a gun -- should not have to face the mandatory minimum sentence of three years in jail for firearms trafficking. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.