Federal ministers tell premiers to ‘enforce the law’ on bail

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Two federal ministers have rebuked premiers who have called for Ottawa to review and amend its bail legislation after another high-profile murder by a known violent criminal, telling the provinces that it’s time for them to “step up and enforce the law.”

Justice Minister Arif Virani and Public Safety Minster Dominic LeBlanc made the comment in a joint statement late Wednesday, after receiving a letter signed jointly by the 13 provincial and territorial leaders demanding even tougher bail conditions than the changes the federal government passed into law last year.

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“We listened to the provinces and territories when they asked for changes to the Criminal Code — now they need to step up and enforce the law,” Virani and LeBlanc said in their statement.

“Provinces are responsible for the administration of bail, and more needs to be done to make sure police and prosecutors have the tools they need for effective monitoring and enforcement.”

In the letter, the premiers thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for listening to their call from the year before where they demanded the Liberals toughen up access to bail following the shooting death of Ontario Provincial Police Const. Greg Pierzchala in late 2022. 

Court documents showed one of the two people charged in his death had initially been denied bail on an unrelated assault and weapons charge, but was ultimately released.

What followed was a series of meetings between federal and provincial justice ministers that culminated in then justice minister David Lametti tabling Bill C-48, to revise bail provisions in the Criminal Code, which was passed into law in December.

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Among the changes it made was expanding the use of reverse-onus provisions for certain offenders, which means that a person who has been charged must show a court why he or she should be released, rather than a Crown prosecutor having to prove why the offender should stay behind bars until trial.

Premiers are now demanding more action, pointing to the recent slaying of Tori Dunn, a British Columbia woman who police allege was murdered last month by an Ontario man with a long history of criminal violence who was out on release while awaiting trial on another aggravated assault charge. 

Court documents show the accused, Adam Mann, had a criminal history that spanned years across three different provinces.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma has said prosecutors wanted Mann to remain in custody on his most recent charges rather than be released into the community and pledged that the government would examine what happened.

The case highlights the need for the federal government to re-evaluate its bail measures, the premiers said in their letter, pointing to how its revisions were meant to make it more difficult for repeat, violent offenders to access pre-trial release.

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The Liberals should also undertake an analysis of bail data since its tougher provisions became law, the premiers added.

In their statement Wednesday, the federal ministers said collecting data on bail lies within a province’s responsibility. During last year’s study of its bail-reform legislation, Department of Justice officials testified before a Senate committee that not all provinces do.

“Provincial courts, prosecutors and police hold all the data needed to evaluate how the bail system is working,” Virani and LeBlanc said.

“We expect provinces and territories to collect and share that data diligently, as they committed to do.”

Shakir Rahim, who directs the criminal justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, says that study underscored the need for governments to work together to collect better bail data as the country has an incomplete picture of how the system is working.

While statistics show the majority of those in provincial jails are legally innocent and awaiting trial, he says what is not known about bail includes data such as “how many people who were denied bail committed an alleged offence?”

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“We often hear these stories that obviously are moving and important for us to analyze and take action on, where allegedly the bail system has failed, but we don’t have information on the whole to say ‘here are the patterns or the trends we can speak to.’”

“For every story that we hear about where it’s alleged somebody committed a crime on bail there are dozens of cases where that did not happen, but we don’t have that data to illustrate that point,” Rahim added.

Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has blamed Trudeau’s justice policy on allowing more offenders into communities, vowing to enact a tough on crime agenda should his party form the next government.

He did so again on Thursday during a press conference in London, Ont., where Poilievre pointed to the recent death of teen Breanna Broadfoot, who court documents show was stabbed by her partner who had earlier been charged with assault.

A spokesperson in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office defended the government’s action on Thursday, saying it has taken “strong action to strengthen Ontario’s bail system,” including by spending money on technology and its provincial policing squad dedicated to finding offenders in breach of their parole.

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“We’re doing our part to fix a broken bail system and premiers are calling on the federal government to do their part to help keep our communities safe,” said Grace Lee.

A spokeswoman for Alberta’s justice minster said their government was “cautiously optimistic” when the federal Liberals introduced its bail reforms.

“Alberta’s government has repeatedly said that if Bill C-48 did not have a significant impact, the province would call for changes. That time is now,” Chinenye Anokwuru wrote in a statement Thursday.

“Premiers from across Canada are calling on the federal government to listen and to act. It is time to work with the provinces on a thorough review of the implementation and application of Bill C-48, including a detailed analyses of bail data since the bill was enacted.”

-With files from The Canadian Press

National Post

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