Liberals table crime bill to restrict access to bail, impose tougher sentences

OTTAWA — The Liberal government tabled legislation Thursday morning, trying to make it harder to get bail for a variety of offences, including vehicle thefts, extortion and breaking and entering.

The bill would impose a reverse onus on bail for certain offences. That would move the burden of proof from the prosecutor to the accused, meaning they would have to justify being granted bail.

The Criminal Code already has a reverse onus for bail in place for many serious offences, including murder.

“We are going to change the criminal law to ensure that the bail system is not viewed as some get out of jail free card. We’re going to ensure that bail hearings treat public safety as a paramount concern,” Justice Minister Sean Fraser said at a press conference in Ottawa Thursday.

“When risks to the public cannot be managed, offenders will be detained.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the principle of restraint, which requires judges to release some arrested individuals at the earliest opportunity under the least restrictive conditions, needs to be removed in order to properly address recidivism.

“The police have said again and again, we have to scrap Liberal bail, get rid of the principle of restraint so that if you are a rampant offender and you’re newly arrested, it should be presumed that you’re automatically staying behind bars until either acquitted or your sentence is complete,” Poilievre said at a press conference in Ottawa.

Fraser said the legislation will “clarify” the principle of restraint and it won’t apply in reverse onus scenarios.

The legislation says judges would be required to impose weapons bans on people charged with extortion or offences related to organized crime if they do receive bail.

Fraser said repeat offenders out on bail are a small part of the population, but represent “a huge proportion of criminal activity.”

“This is eroding public trust in the justice system, and this new law will make it easier for courts to order the most high volume offenders to be detained,” he said.

The bill also would allow for consecutive sentences for violent and repeat offenders, so multiple sentences could not be served at the same time. Crimes subject to consecutive sentences would include vehicle theft, break and enter, extortion and arson.

The Supreme Court has ruled that imposing consecutive life sentences is unconstitutional, but a government official briefing reporters on background said none of the offences eligible for consecutive sentences under the legislation come with that penalty.

The legislation would require that judges consider the number and gravity of outstanding charges facing an accused before deciding whether pretrial detention is necessary.

Lawrence Greenspon, a longtime, Ottawa defence attorney, said he expects to see a Charter challenge based on the right to reasonable bail.

“This is a pandering to the Canadian population, who understandably are concerned about the increase in some crimes, and this is a political response which is not going to survive constitutional challenge,” Greenspon said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.

“They’re going to have to prove statistically that people who get out on bail are going out and committing other violent crimes, which they’re going have a very hard time doing because that evidence does not exist.”

Fraser said the federal government is going to work with the provinces and territories to better understand how many people are receiving bail and then committing additional crimes.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police issued a statement Thursday endorsing the bill’s introduction. The association had been calling for reverse onus bail to be expanded and tougher sentences for organized crime and violent offences.

These calls for bail reform had been echoed by premiers due to an increase in vehicle thefts, extortion and certain violent crimes in recent years.

If this bill passes, it will potentially increase the amount of people in pre-trial detention when numerous jurisdictions are dealing with overcrowding in jails due to court delays.

Fraser said that because detention facilities are provincial jurisdiction, the premiers requesting bail reform should be ready to accommodate more inmates.

“The provinces who are asking for these changes fully understand that they have a role to play, including, where appropriate, adding more resources to the system -- not just when it comes to detention, but making sure we have enough prosecutors, enough provincial court judges, enough community policing to prevent crime from taking place in the first place,” Fraser said.

Greenspon said this is “passing the buck” to the provinces as the federal government should be doing more to ensure people who are presumed innocent are not being held in lengthy pre-trial detention.

“If you know you’re putting up legislation which you know is going to exacerbate an already existing problem of overpopulation... you can hardly fairly turn around and say ‘oh well, that’s not my responsibility,”’ Greenspon said.

The new legislation also would establish new aggravating factors for sentencing for repeat violent offences, offences against first responders, retail theft and mischief to property.

The bill includes new restrictions on granting conditional sentences, or house arrest, for sexual assault and sex crimes involving a minor.

The legislation proposes changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act that would allow police to publish identifying information about a person under the age of 18 when there is an imminent danger to public safety.

Police currently are able to publish this kind of information only with a court order. The proposed change is meant to speed up the process of sharing information when there is a public safety risk.

The bill also would clarify the definition of “violent offence” in the Youth Criminal Justice Act to include any offence where a minor causes bodily harm.

Officials briefing reporters said that a Charter of Rights statement has been ordered for this legislation to determine whether it could stand up to a court challenge.

Officials said judges’ ability to consider Gladue factors -- which examine the effects of racism and poverty on an Indigenous person accused of an offence -- will not be affected by this legislation.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press

With files from Anja Karadeglija.