CHAPTER 34
SENTENCE

Minimum period of imprisonment four days

313. No person may be sentenced by a court to imprisonment for a period of less than four days unless the sentence is that the person concerned be detained until the rising of the court.

Periodical imprisonment

314. (1) A court convicting a person of any offence, other than an offence in respect of which any law prescribes a minimum punishment, may, instead of any other punishment, sentence that person to undergo in accordance with the laws relating to prisons, periodical imprisonment for a period of not less than 100 hours and not more than 2 000 hours.

(2) (a) The court that imposes a sentence of periodical imprisonment on a person must cause to be served on that person a notice in writing directing that person to surrender himself or herself on a date and at a time specified in the notice or (if prevented from doing so by circumstances beyond his or her control) as soon as practicable thereafter, to the officer in charge of the place so specified, whether within or outside the area of jurisdiction of the court, for the purpose of undergoing such imprisonment.

(b) The court that tries a person on a charge of contravening subsection (4)(a) must, subject to subsection (5), cause a notice contemplated in paragraph (a) to be served on that person.

(3) A copy of the notice issued under subsection (2) serves as a warrant for the reception into custody of the convicted person by the officer referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection.

(4) A person who -

(a) without sufficient cause fails to comply with a notice issued under subsection (2) ; or
(b) when surrendering himself or herself for the purpose of undergoing periodical imprisonment, is under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or the like ; or
(c) impersonates or falsely represents himself or herself to be a person who has been directed to surrender himself or herself for the purpose of undergoing periodical imprisonment,
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.

(5) If, before the expiration of a sentence of periodical imprisonment imposed on a person for an offence, that person is undergoing a punishment of any other form of detention imposed by a court, a magistrate before whom that person is brought, must set aside the unexpired portion of the sentence of periodical imprisonment and, after considering the evidence recorded in respect of that offence, may impose instead of such unexpired portion any punishment within the limits of his or her jurisdiction and of any punishment prescribed by any law as a punishment for that offence.