Canadian Criminal Sentencing/Available Sentences/Imprisonment

General Principles
A judge has the power to impose a sentence of imprisonment under the authority of s. 718.3 and 787:

Intermittent Sentence
Intermittent sentences cannot exceed 90 days. This includes consecutive sentences totaling more than 90 days.

Intermittent sentences "strike a legislative balance between the denunciatory and deterrent functions of 'real jail time' and the rehabilitative functions of preserving the offender's employment, family relationships and responsibilities, and obligations to the community."

A court has no authority to vary a sentence from an intermittent sentence to a non-intermittent sentence a once it has been ordered.

There is some suggestion that the court has some jurisdiction to vary the entry and exit time of a conditional sentence.