OTTAWA — Canada’s top court has struck down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence for the possession and access of child pornography.

The Supreme Court of Canada delivered its decision on Friday.

The case, which was heard by a nine-judge panel, involved a challenge to the sentencing rules brought forward by two men in Quebec who pleaded guilty to the offences.

They challenged the mandatory minimum sentences in the lower courts on the basis that they violated the Charter-protected right that guards against cruel and unusual punishment.

The Crown then appealed to the Supreme Court.

The top court dismissed that appeal and declared the mandatory minimum sentences for the two child porn offences as unconstitutional in a 5-4 decision.

The finding comes as the governing Liberals vow to cr

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