Justice Minister David Lametti tabled new legislation on Tuesday aimed at making it harder for repeat violent offenders to be granted bail, through a handful of targeted Criminal Code reforms.
This small package of legislative reform—spanning just seven pages—comes after months of renewed scrutiny on Canada’s bail system and calls for the federal government to implement tougher laws, in the face of a series of high-profile cases of violent crimes allegedly committed by individuals who were out on bail.
Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Michael Spratt told CTV News in an interview that despite the high-profile events that sparked concerns around Canada’s bail system, Bill C-48 “wouldn’t have prevented any of those tragedies, and it’s unlikely to prevent any future tragic tragedies,” as it is likely to impact a small group of offenders.
“I think the changes that we really need are more difficult. They require a nuanced conversation with members of the public, it requires looking downstream from the tragedy and looking at sort of larger societal issues. And, you know, those are conversations that unfortunately, our politicians… both the Conservative opposition and in the government in response to that, seem incapable of having,” Spratt said.
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Read Rachel Aiello‘s full story: CTV News
