In November 2007, the Justice Minister Rob Nicholson introduced Bill C-26, which proposed a number of mandatory minimum penalties imposed on those who commit drug offences.
When the Canadian Parliament dissolved in a prorogation on 31 January 2010, Bill C-15, along with all unpassed legislation then tabled before the Commons, fell.
Early in 2012, the next parliament passed the Safe Streets and Communities Act, which received Royal Assent in March.
The final legislation sees changes made to four areas of the Act, outlining mandatory minimum sentences for offences relating to the trafficking and production of various controlled substances.
Section (4), Subsection (2) of the CDSA reads that any person who obtains or who makes any attempt to obtain a Schedule I through IV substance from a physician without fully disclosing the details of any previous instances of obtaining a Schedule I through IV substance in the preceding thirty (30) days, a practice often referred to as "doctor shopping",[3] is guilty of a summary or indictable offense, as per Section (4), Subsection (7)(a) and (b).