On Friday, federal justice minister David Lametti promised to make targeted reforms, but as David Akin reports, there’s been little detail about the changes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been under pressure to change the rules surrounding the criminal code to update Canada’s bail system and address challenges posed by repeat violent offenders.
But AGP partner and Ottawa criminal lawyer Michael Spratt called for caution and warned against knee jerk over reactions to high profile news stories.
More than half of Ontario’s jail population is made up of individuals awaiting trial. These prisoners on “remand” are presumed innocent and their numbers have doubled over the past decade. Shockingly, according to Statistics Canada, almost 70 per cent of these remanded prisoners are accused of non-violent offences.
These presumptively innocent offenders are not only denied liberty but they are denied rehabilitative programs and treatment. They come out – and they all eventually come out – worse then they go in. For that, our communities ultimately suffer.
Bail is a constitutional right and we do need bail reform, but not the type that the politicians are suggesting.
