(1) A court must not sentence an offender to imprisonment unless it is
satisfied, having considered all possible alternatives, that no penalty other
than imprisonment is appropriate.
(2) A court that sentences an offender to
imprisonment for 6 months or less must indicate to the offender, and make a
record of, its reasons for doing so, including--
(a) its reasons for deciding
that no penalty other than imprisonment is appropriate, and
(b) its reasons
for deciding not to make an order allowing the offender to participate in an
intervention program or other program for treatment or rehabilitation (if the
offender has not previously participated in such a program in respect of the
offence for which the court is sentencing the offender).
(3) Subsection (2)
does not limit any other requirement that a court has, apart from that
subsection, to record the reasons for its decisions.
(4) A sentence of
imprisonment is not invalidated by a failure to comply with this section.
