In order to engage section 12 of the Charter, the plaintiffs were required to show that the action involves some treatment or punishment by the state, and that such treatment is cruel and unusual. A mere prohibition on certain conduct, even if it results in cruel and unusual effects, does not qualify as treatment under s. 12. Punishment means a sanction imposed by the state as a corrective measure for the commission of a particular offence. The test for cruel and unusual is that the action must be "so excessive as to outrage standards of decency": Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 1993 CanLII 75 (SCC), [1993] 3 S.C.R. 519. The plaintiffs have failed to plead any state action which could conceivably constitute treatment and punishment, or cruel and unusual treatment. The allegations are bare assertions of conclusions with no factual underpinnings.
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