Province demands Feds tighten bail legislation

The Ontario government wants the federal government to urgently amend the Criminal Code by "introducing concrete changes that will tighten bail legislation to protect public safety and keep repeat and violent offenders off the streets," according to a news release today.

“The federal government’s failure to restrict bail access and get tough on crime is making Ontario communities less safe,” said Graham McGregor, Associate Minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform. “Our government is stepping up by hiring new judges and prosecutors and supporting our police officers, but the federal government’s inaction has made it harder to keep dangerous criminals behind bars. Enough is enough: We need meaningful bail reform now.”

The release points out that the Province has spent $29 million earlier this year to appoint new judges and hire new Crown prosecutors and staff to reduce the backlog of criminal cases in the courts. It adds that the province’s ability to take further action to address serious crime and repeat offenders is limited by the federal Criminal Code.

The provincial government is calling on the federal government to immediately adopt the following measures:

• Restore mandatory minimum sentencing for serious crimes, which this federal government removed, to ensure appropriate penalties and justice for victims.
• Remove bail availability for offenders charged with murder, terrorism, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, drug trafficking, criminal possession or use of restricted or prohibited firearms, and robbery (for example, carjackings and home invasions).
• Mandate a three-strike rule requiring pre-trial detention for repeat offenders so they are not allowed back on the street to commit more crimes before their day in court.
• Bring back restrictions on who can get conditional sentences for serious crimes so dangerous criminals receive sentences that match their actions.
• Require ankle monitors as a condition of bail for serious crimes.
• Remove credits that can be applied to sentences for time an accused spends in jail before trial for repeat and violent offenders.

Those measures are all within federal jurisdiction.

"We have seen a demonstrated failure of Canada’s bail system resulting in harm to the people of Ontario, and those who keep our province safe. We will not stand by while the federal government refuses to hear that the system they broke isn’t working," said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner.

The government is providing $48 million to expand the OPP Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad, by creating a dedicated Bail Compliance Unit within the OPP’s Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement Squad. This new dedicated, provincewide, Bail Compliance Unit will apprehend high-risk provincial offenders who have broken their bail conditions or are unlawfully at large.

"Our members overwhelmingly feel that the current system is a 'catch and release' system that results in many of the same accused persons being at large again to re-offend shortly after arrest," says John Cerasuolo, president of the Ontario Provincial Police Association. "We feel that the safety of our community and our police officers are at risk with this system. We acknowledge that the balance of the Canadian Charter of Rights of an accused person and community safety must be considered and welcome all efforts by all levels of government to make the system more effective for all."