BENEFIT OF LESSER PUNISHMENT – The Charter provides that “any person charged with an offence has the right if found guilty of the offence and if the punishment for the offence has been varied between the time of commission and the time of sentencing, to the benefit of the lesser punishment.” What if the punishment was lower between those two points in time. Does one get the benefit of the LOWEST punishment prescribed over that period of time? The S.C.C. says: “A binary right involves a comparison of the punishments under the laws in force at two set points in time (commission of the offence and sentencing) and the right to receive the lesser of these punishments. … 11 (i) is intended to confer a binary right.” In other words, NO. It is not a “global right”.