Acts and Regulations

P-22.1 - Provincial Offences Procedure Act

Section 55
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Release without penalty
55(1)Despite any provision of this Act or any other Act, a judge may release a defendant without the imposition of a fine, a term of imprisonment or any other sentence that a judge may or shall impose under this Act or any other Act if the judge has convicted the defendant of an offence that does not, on conviction, carry a mandatory term of imprisonment and the judge is of the opinion that
(a) exceptional circumstances exist, and
(b) given those exceptional circumstances,
(i) it is not in the public interest to impose a fine or a term of imprisonment, and
(ii) the imposition of such a sentence would harm the reputation of the system of justice.
55(2)A judge acting under subsection (1) who releases a defendant without the imposition of a fine, a term of imprisonment or any other sentence shall give reasons.
2021, c.24, s.7
Release without penalty
55Notwithstanding any provision of this Act or any other Act, where a judge who has convicted a defendant of an offence that does not, on conviction, carry a mandatory term of imprisonment is of the opinion that
(a) it is not in the public interest to impose a fine or a term of imprisonment, and
(b) the imposition of such a sentence would harm the reputation of the system of justice,
the judge may release the defendant without the imposition of a fine, a term of imprisonment or any other sentence that a judge may or shall impose under this Act or any other Act.