Legal Question in Criminal Law in Canada

Re: Sentencing Language

The term usual used is "two years less a day." Offenders have historically preferred to be sentenced to reformatories rather than penitentiaries. Because sentences of two years or more must be served in a penitentiary as opposed to a provincial reformatory, a sentence of two years less a day secures a reformatory term. In the sentencing process, this is only kind of sentence commonly imposed which is uses this type of language.

A trend has emerged in which some offenders expressly ask for sentences of two years instead of two years less a day. The reason is because provincial parole boards in recent years have generally required reformatory inmates to complete full two thirds of their sentences. Under the federal system, prisoners often get full parole after serving only a third of their sentences, and sometimes day parole after only a sixth. In many cases then, a two-year sentence requires serving less time than a reformatory sentence up to half that length.

The advantage to a reformatory sentence however, is that an inmate will not be transferred out of the province, the sentence looks better on one's record and the sentence, with earned remission, is normally fully served after two thirds of the time.

One other note regarding the question: There is one statutory instance in which the maximum penalty is phrased as "five years less a day." It is found in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Because an accused has a right to jury trial where the penalty is five years or more, this penalty takes away that right.