Here is the opinion in :
The court’s summary:
L and M were Aboriginal Canadians whose extradition was sought by the United States of America to stand trial on drug charges. Their aboriginality and the systemic factors identified by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Gladue would not be considered in U.S. sentencing proceedings. Land M could both be prosecuted in Canada for the conduct that gave rise to the U.S. charges. L entered the United States with approximately 46,000 ecstasy pills. He was 18 years old at the time of the offence and had no criminal record. If convicted, he would probably receive a sentence of between 15 years, 8 months’ to 19 years, 7 months’ imprisonment with no prospect of release until 85 per cent of the sentence had been served. The U.S. prisons to which he would likely be assigned if convicted lacked culturally appropriate programs for Aboriginal inmates. If tried and convicted in Canada, L would likely receive a conditional or relatively short prison sentence. M was allegedly involved in importing oxycodone into the United States from Canada. If convicted in the United States, he faced a sentence of between six and ten years. He submitted that, in Canada, the sentencing range was three to five years and that consideration of his Aboriginal status and the Gladue principles could yield a lower sentence. L and M were committed forextradition. In considering whether to surrender them, the Minister of Justice found that their Aboriginal status and the Gladue principles were not relevant to an analysis under s. 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He found that the Gladue factors were relevant in assessing the applicants’ claims that surrender would violate their rights under s. 7 of the Charter, but concluded that surrendering them would not shock the conscience. He also found that surrender would not be ”unjust or oppressive” under s. 44(1)(a) of the Extradition Act, S.C. 1999, c. 18. He ordered their surrender. The applicants applied for judicial review of that decision. L also appealed his committal order. [The court granted the application]
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