Carney announces details of new bail reform bill coming next week

Next week, the Canadian government will bring forward a new bail reform bill aimed at cracking down on violent and repeat offenders, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday.

The new legislation will target those accused of serious crimes such as violent auto thefts, breaking and entering, human trafficking, as well as sexual and violent assaults, in an effort to keep those accused of such acts, out of Canadian communities.

“Right now, in most bail hearings, the starting point is to release, and the Crown must prove why someone should not be released on bail, making it too easy for repeated violent offenders to quickly get back on the street, sometimes back into the same communities that they just committed crimes in,” Carney said. “Our new law will flip that script.”

Picking back up on his pre-budget pre-positioning, the prime minister also announced the federal government will be allocating new funding so that the RCMP can hire an additional 1,000 officers.

Speaking outside of the RCMP Toronto Airport detachment in Etobicoke, Ont., he said the Nov. 4 budget will include $1.8 billion to be spent over four years to boost federal policing capacity nationwide. The prime minister said the new funding will also go towards raising the cadet recruitment allowance to $1,000 a week.

And, it will allow the national police force to dedicate 150 additional RCMP personnel to tackling organized crime and money laundering networks, online fraud, as well as the recovery of illicit assets.

The promise of new measures aimed at combatting crime and protecting public safety come after concerted pressure from opposition members, provincial premiers and police forces, who have been sounding alarms about the rates and types of crimes being committed by offenders out on bail.

What bail changes are coming?

Carney had previously committed to table bail reform legislation during the fall sitting. Revealing specific details before presenting the bill to Parliament, Carney said the forthcoming bill will include amendments to the Criminal Code, to:

• Introduce “reverse-onus” bail for major crimes, putting it on the accused to prove to the court why they can be trusted to be released. When considering bail, the offender’s risk of reoffending and their history over the last 10 years will be weighed, Carney said.
• Allow consecutive sentencing so that those who commit multiple crimes spend more time behind bars. The prime minister said his would seek to ensure that someone handed both a seven- and a five-year sentence for separate offenses could end up serving the full 12 years behind bars.
• Restrict conditional sentences for a range of sexual offences, reversing past changes that allowed those convicted of sexual assault to be eligible for a conditional sentence permitting them to serve their time at home. Carney said this will end, forcing those convicted to serve their sentence in a correctional facility and not in the same community as their victim; and
• Impose harsher penalties for “organized retail theft,” with the federal government taking the position that convenience store employees, as an example, should not have to worry about being robbed by gangs.

“This is how the federal government can help municipalities and provinces get criminals off the streets, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks, reinforce the justice system with tough and comprehensive bail reform and build a stronger, safer, more secure Canada,” the prime minister said.

Carney also said that tomorrow he will be making make “an important announcement on border security.”

Liberals’ bail plan gets mixed reviews

The Liberals’ proposed bail reform bill is getting mixed reaction from the Official Opposition and stakeholders.

In a statement on Thursday, the Conservatives are dismissing the plan and calling it “half-baked.”

“Mark Carney said that keeping Canada safe has been his government’s focus since day one. Yet it has been six months without legislation and Carney is still refusing to repeal the ‘principle of restraint’ that requires repeat, violent offenders to be released ‘at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions,’” Conservative justice critic Larry Brock said.

The Conservatives also want their proposed Jail Not Bail Act to move ahead instead, but the Liberals voted against it in House of Commons motion last week.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) also says it “strongly opposes” the changes, arguing there is “no evidence that bail causes crime.”

“For years, civil society and even the Senate have urged the government to collect and publish standardized bail data,” CCLA Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Shakir Rahim said in a statement. “We do not even have basic numbers, like how many people allegedly commit new offences while on bail. The PM today made no indication that would change.”

The Toronto Police Association (TPA), meanwhile, is calling the bill a “positive step,” but also said “there is still work to do.” The association had been pushing for bail reform and had recently consulted with key cabinet minsters on the file.

“We are pleased to see the federal government has included many of the recommendations we have made, such as reverse onus bail, restricting conditional sentences and implementing consecutive sentencing. However, there is still work to do, including reforming the Youth Criminal Justice Act and making changes to the parole system,” the TPA said in a statement.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) also called Thursday’s announcement a “welcome signal.”

“Local police are repeatedly arresting the same individuals, emergency services are stretched thin, and residents are feeling the impact,” FCM President Rebecca Bligh said in a statement.

“Municipalities are ready to work with federal partners to build safer, healthier communities. We look forward to reviewing the legislation once it’s tabled next week and what’s included in the upcoming budget,” Bligh added.