Bill to curb mandatory minimums in legislative limbo as Parliament winds down

A bill aimed at eliminating mandatory minimum penalties for some firearm and drug offences is stuck in the legislative process, with just days to go before the end of Parliament’s spring session.

The Liberal government introduced Bill C-22 in February, but it has only gone as far as second reading in the House of Commons. The proposed law would eliminate mandatory minimum penalties for all drug offences as well as for some firearms offences; currently, anyone convicted of those offences is automatically sentenced to a minimum amount of prison time.

With just a handful of sitting days remaining for Parliament before breaking for summer and a