The Court held that where a sentencing judge makes a discrete arithmetical error in calculating the effect of a discount for a guilty plea, and the judge's intention is expressly stated and discernible, the appellate court may correct the error without re-exercising the sentencing discretion afresh, applying Kentwell and Lehn. The Crown's submission that the Court should proceed to a full resentencing did not bind the Court; whether an error vitiates the sentencing discretion is a question of law, and broadening the scope of appellate intervention where unnecessary would introduce delay and complexity. The Court left unresolved the separate question of whether party agreement can confine a resentencing exercise where the error is of a kind that would otherwise require a full re-exercise of discretion.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 2 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.