Mere receipt of a prosecution sentencing range submission (MacNeil-Brown range) does not of itself vitiate the sentencing discretion; an applicant must demonstrate the judge was materially influenced by the range. The Barbaro proscription against quantified range submissions does not extend to defence counsel. The Crown's pre-existing duties on sentencing pleas — including the duty to assist the court to avoid appealable error by reference to comparable cases, sentencing statistics and relevant principles — survive Barbaro. The reasoning in Barbaro is confined to criminal sentencing and does not extend to other discretionary contexts.
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