Ontario is calling for further bail reforms, with some charges leaving no chance of bail

Ontario is calling on the federal government to make several bail-related changes to the Criminal Code, including abolishing cash bail for certain offenses and introducing a three-strike rule for repeat offenders.

At a news conference Monday, Attorney General Michael Kerzner said too many crimes are being committed by “individuals who are out on bail after being charged with a previous serious crime.” He also claimed the federal Liberal government is taking a “easy approach to crime” that has resulted in a “catch-and-release bail system.”

In a public letter to the federal ministers of Justice and Public Safety, Kerzner asked Ottawa to implement a series of bail reforms, including:

• Eliminate the bail option for those charged with murder, terrorism, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, drug trafficking, criminal possession or use of restricted or prohibited firearms, and theft.
• Introduce a three-strike rule mandating pre-trial detention for repeat offenders.
• Reinstate mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes.
• Remove credit for time served while awaiting trial for “repeat and violent offenders.”

CBC News has reached out to federal Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani for comment.

Monday’s letter is the latest salvo in one continued pressure from provincial and territorial premiers for Ottawa to enact stricter bail measures in the wake of the law several high-profile cases of crimes allegedly committed by offenders on bail, including the fatal shooting of the Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala end of 2022.

In response to this, the The federal government has passed Bill C-48 into law last year. The law expands “reverse-onus” provisions, meaning that instead of a prosecutor having to prove why a suspect should remain behind bars until trial, the person charged must prove why he should are released.

Deputy Minister for Auto Theft and Bail Reform Graham McGregor, who was appointed in June and spoke alongside Kerzner, said the law was “an attempt to solve the problem” but added it is not enough.

“Ontario families need us to be more ambitious than Bill C-48,” he said.

Ontario prisons are already full

Ontario’s proposed changes also raise questions about how the province’s already overcrowded prison system would handle a further influx of prisoners.

The province said this earlier this year About 81 percent of inmates in county jails are awaiting a bail hearing or trial. That was up slightly from 2021 and 2022, when the figure was almost 79 per cent, according to a report from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Meanwhile, data obtained by The Canadian Press through freedom of information laws showed the province’s inmate population soared in 2023. whereby a large majority of penitentiary institutions have ample overcapacity.

The union representing correctional officers has repeatedly raised concerns about overcrowding, saying inmates are being triple-housed in some facilities. The Criminal Lawyers Association has also said suspects are taking longer to get bail, contributing to the increase in prison numbers.

Provincial jails hold people charged with a crime but not on bail, as well as those serving a sentence of two years less per day. Inmates serving sentences of two years or more spend their days in the federal prison system.

In March, Premier Doug Ford pledged to build more prisons in Ontario and downplayed concerns about conditions in existing institutions.

‘I’m going to build more prisons and I don’t worry about the criminals’ he said at the time. “I will build as many prisons as we need to put these criminals behind bars for a long time.”

Shortly after those comments, the province made one It plans to add 430 beds to the prison system by 2026 And $112 million for various bail programs. It has also committed $29 to appoint at least 25 new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice and hire 190 additional court staff, including prosecutors.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park, NDP Leader Marit Stiles said she would review the province’s proposed changes to the Criminal Code, but also said the Ford government is trying to shift the focus from its own failures as it goes about the backlogs in the courts and the state of affairs. prisons.

“I will say it irritates me a little to see the Solicitor General and this other MPP talking about just bail reform while refusing to address an issue here in Ontario that is under their control, which is the backlog and delays in our court. system,” Stiles said.

“Bail reform is absolutely part of the puzzle, but guilty people going free because our courts are understaffed and overwhelmed is something that this attorney general and this administration should and can address now,” she continued.