General Principles
Ranges describe the parameters within which most sentences for similar offences committed by similar offenders will fall. They are not de facto maximums or minimums: R v Tahir, 2016 ONCA 136 at para 2
While sentencing ranges can be helpful in determining the appropriate sentence in a given case, “the ultimate question is not what range does or does not apply, but whether the sentence imposed is appropriate in the specific circumstances of the case:” R v SMC, 2017 ONCA 107 at para 7.
A sentence at the upper end of the range for a first time offender who was gainfully employed throughout the proceedings may not be warranted: R v McIntyre, 2016 ONCA 843 at para 20
In reviewing a sentence, the court is concerned with fitness and not the accuracy of the range of sentence identified by the trial judge: R v Dow, 2017 ONCA 233 at para 1
Failing to Provide Necessaries