The reduced significance of prior good character when sentencing for white collar breach-of-trust offences applies equally to the decision whether to suspend a sentence of imprisonment, and cannot be transformed into a more compelling factor at the suspension stage. A sentencing judge must not determine to suspend a sentence before assessing the appropriate length of the sentence. However, the CCA retains a lively discretion to decline to intervene on a Crown appeal even where manifest inadequacy is established, having regard to double jeopardy and the offender's circumstances.
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