Justice Minister David Lametti says the government is considering legislative changes to deal with repeat offenders, while the Conservatives are pushing for the federal government to tighten bail conditions in certain cases.
Lametti announced in the House of Commons on Thursday that he would also contact his provincial and territorial colleagues to convene an “urgent” bail meeting.
“We will act at the federal level,” he said. “I hope my provincial colleagues will do the same.
The meeting comes less than a month after the 13 premiers wrote to the prime minister calling for a change that would make it harder to get bail for people facing charges related to possession of a loaded, prohibited or restricted firearm.
The Prime Ministers are specifically calling for the creation of “reverse liability” for those charged under Section 95 of the Criminal Code, which includes offenses of possessing a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm.
“I am considering this seriously and work is underway,” Lametti said, adding that work was also underway to “develop legislative and non-legislative options to address the specific challenges of repeat offenders.”
WATCH | Conservative MP calls Canada’s bail system ‘too weak’
Conservative MP calls Canada’s bail system ‘too weak’
Conservative MP and Shadow Minister for Public Safety Raquel Dancho discusses the Conservative Party’s proposed changes to the bail system.
The country’s bail system has come under increased scrutiny since the death of a Toronto officer late last year.
Randall McKenzie, who is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Const. On December 27, Grzegorz Pierzchala was released on bail and banned for life from possessing firearms.
Conservative MPs used their opposition day motion Thursday to pressure the Liberals to tighten the country’s bail system and demand the government reform the justice system through Bill C-75. Passed into law back in 2019, this bill aimed to modernize the bail system and reduce the over-representation of racist people in prison.
“They went too far and made the bail system too weak and now police officers are dying,” Raquel Dancho, the Conservatives’ public safety critic, said at a news conference Thursday morning.
“Bill C-75 essentially introduced a default position that the courts and the police will facilitate bail,” Dancho said.
OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala, a newly minted member of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), died Dec. 27 after being shot while responding to a call about a vehicle in a ditch west of Hagersville, about 45 kilometers southwest of Hamilton. He was 28 years old. (The Six Nations of the Great River)
“That’s the default position now for violent criminals and we don’t believe it should be that way. When it comes to repeat offenders, it should be harder for them to get bail.”
The Conservatives are also urging the government to direct existing laws “so that those who are banned from possessing firearms and are then charged with serious firearms offenses are not easily granted bail”.
Bail policy under scrutiny
Earlier this year, Canadian Police Association president Tom Stamatakis called for reforms to deal with serial offenders.
“We recognize that the vast majority of offenders do not re-offend,” he said. “There are a small number of prolific and violent offenders who continue to pose a danger to society when they are released, and we need to find sensible reforms that will deal with these cases.”
Critics say stricter bail rules would clog Canada’s prison systems with people who have not yet been found guilty and could infringe on the rights of Canadians.
WATCH | Justice Minister calls for urgent bail meeting with provincial and territorial colleagues
The federal justice minister is calling for an urgent bail meeting with provincial and territorial colleagues
Attorney-General David Lametti spoke in the House of Commons about the need for a “comprehensive approach” at all levels of government to address the “specific challenges posed by repeat offenders”.
A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Being granted bail means they can stay out of jail, often with conditions, while their case moves through the court system, a process that can take many months.
Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, accused persons in Canada are entitled to bail unless there is a very compelling reason to detain them.
It is up to the police and prosecutors to appeal bail, although some crimes such as murder have a “reverse burden”, meaning the accused must persuade the court to release them.
Dancho told reporters Thursday that the Conservative proposal was aimed at “repeat violent offenders.”
Violent crime is on the rise in Canada, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. The federal agency tracks what it calls the Crime Severity Index, which takes into account both the volume and seriousness of serious crimes.
The index rose in 2021, largely due to more police-reported sexual assaults, child sexual assaults, murder, extortion, harassment and threats, and violent firearms offences, Statistics Canada said.
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