In contrast with many Western nations, the structure of Canadian sentencing and its overall effects on imprisonment did not change dramatically over the past century. To a large extent, Parliament left sentencing to judges. Broadly speaking, imprisonment was seen as a necessary evil to be used sparingly. Sentencing principles legislated in 1996 largely reflected the status quo. However, the period 2006–15 reflected a dramatic break. The Conservative government in power repeatedly attempted to restrict judicial discretion. Prison was touted as the solution to crime. Scores of politically motivated modifications were introduced to sentencing legislation. Perhaps surprisingly, few of these changes had large effects on large numbers of people. There were no appreciable changes to imprisonment rates by the time of the Conservatives’ electoral defeat in October 2015.

中文翻译：

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渡过难关？测试二十一世纪加拿大的长期判刑政策

与许多西方国家相比，加拿大的判刑结构及其对监禁的总体影响在过去一个世纪中没有发生太大变化。议会在很大程度上将判决留给了法官。从广义上讲，监禁被认为是必须谨慎使用的必要罪恶。1996年立法的量刑原则在很大程度上反映了现状。但是，2006-15年期间出现了戏剧性的突破。保守党执政政府一再试图限制司法自由裁量权。监狱被吹捧为解决犯罪的方法。数十项出于政治动机的修改被引入量刑立法。也许令人惊讶的是，这些变化中很少有对大批人产生重大影响的。