Yes, whenever a government wants a cheap, easy hot button topic, they roll out the 'get tough on crime' stuff...but in reality, Canada is not a crime-ridden society, and, as you said, not that many murderers are serial murderers anyway. On top of that, mandatory sentencing takes away any chance of thinking on the part of the judges. For example, a woman who murders, in cold blood, a guy who raped her 12 year old daughter might not need the death penalty or a life sentence. That's why we have judges who use their understanding to come up with sentences, taking the facts into account.