Fore the foregoing reasons and more, CAEFS’ recommendations to the Department of Justice are as follows:

• Abolish the mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment for first and second degree murder, and all other mandatory minimum sentences.
• Abandon the parole ineligibility rules for murder.
• Permit the extension of the period of parole ineligibility for murder only upon a clear burden of proof, where a jury so recommends to a judge, and where reasons are provided in writing for the decision.
• Make appellate review of parole ineligibility decisions and judicial review of parole decisions available automatically in the case of alleged Charter violations.
• Initiate or fund quantitative and qualitative research into the current operation of self-defence and provocation in the context of intimate homicide and femicide, as well as other hate- inspired killings.
• Initiate or fund research into the use of the defence of property at the level of charging and prosecutorial and trial decisions, including an equality-based analysis of its relevance and significance in Aboriginal land disputes where possession is asserted.
• Convene and fund a national consultation on provocation and self-defence with women’s groups who work on violence issues, and ensure an ongoing process of consultation with women’s groups that work on violence against women.