This paper examines changes in Canadian sentencing legislation between 1984 and 1997 in relation to M. Foucault's genealogy of discursive practices. Foucault suggested three regulatory practices which were associated with contemporary projects of governmentality: punishment, discipline and risk management. The legislative changes regarding sentencing in court and conditional release decisions are reviewed to assess the extent to which the various regulatory practices have been adopted. It is suggested that Canadian sentencing discourse has become increasingly bifurcated around a combination of risk management and disciplinary strategies which are presented in a context of denunciation. The character of this arrangement and several of its anomalous features are examined.