Ford government calls on feds to reform their “broken” federal bail system
The Ontario Progressive Conservatives are renewing calls for the Liberal government to enact “strong and meaningful” reforms to the federal bail system, which they say is “broken.”
The Ontario Progressive Conservatives are renewing calls for the Liberal government to enact “strong and meaningful” reforms to the federal bail system, which they say is “broken.”
Four Ontario MPPs, from the solicitor general and attorney general’s offices, penned a letter Monday renewing the Ontario government’s calls for “meaningful” bail reform. The letter sent to Liberal Justice Minister and Attorney General Sean Fraser and to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree offered 12 concrete recommendations for the Liberals to fix the “broken” bail system.
The letter was backed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said on X that the letter included Ontario’s “expectation” for tough bail reform to keep criminals behind bars and that “keeps our streets safe.”
“Six, seven, eight, nine years ago, we didn’t have these problems. We didn’t have the crime that we were facing. I’m done with the crime. The federal government has to get their butt moving on bail reform,” Ford said during a press conference Monday. “I can tell you one thing: there’s always the economy and health care when we do our polling, crime is right beside it. Now. People are done with it, so we’re going to clean that up.”
Ford said the federal government has been “dragging their feet” on securing Canadian streets.
“They have to stop dragging their feet and start moving on this. We want our communities back,” he said. “We want our towns back and our cities back, and I’m not going to let less than 1% of the people hijack the whole system. I’m done with it.”
The letter, signed by the Solicitor General of Ontario, Michael Kerzner, Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, and their associates Zee Hamid and Michael Tibollo, requests that the Liberals restore Charter-compliant mandatory minimum sentencing for serious crimes.
The letter notes that Liberals removed minimum sentencing and said restoring it would “ensure appropriate penalties and justice for victims.”
The MPPs also call to expand “reverse onus offences” to include violent home invasions, carjackings, organized crime-related auto theft, and other serious crimes, including human trafficking and smuggling.
They called on the Liberals to prevent bail availability for offenders charged with murder, terrorism, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, drug trafficking, criminal possession, gun-related offences, and violent carjackings or home invasions.
The Ontario government asked the justice and safety minister in the letter to also amend the Criminal Code to strengthen protections for people who defend themselves and their families in their home. This comes after a national conversation was sparked over Canadians’ rights to self-defence in their own home after a Lindsay, Ont., man, Jeremy McDonald, was arrested after defending his home from an alleged violent home invasion.
Conservative MP and former crown prosecutor, Larry Brock, told reporters at the end of August that Downey could issue a directive to deprioritize the prosecution of self-defence in home invasion-related charges in Ontario. Downey did not respond to True North’s requests for comment on the same topic at the time.
Similar to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s campaign promise in the last federal election, the Ford government also called for a “three strike rule,” which would require repeat offenders to be held in pre-trial detention after their third time being charged with a serious offence.
They further recommended that the feds reinstate restrictions on conditional sentences for serious crimes, to “ensure” criminals are given proportionate sentencing according to the crimes they commit, and for serious offenders to be mandated to wear ankle monitors as a release condition.
Among other requests, the Ontario government also requested the Liberals amend the Youth Criminal Justice Act “to ensure that youth can be charged and sentenced as adults,” for serious crimes and that those who employ youth to commit crimes face harsher penalties for doing so.
If changed, harsher penalties could be given to organized crime groups, such as the organization dismantled in July by Peel Regional Police. The organized crime group operated across the Greater Toronto Area, and allegedly exploited minors to stake out properties and commit violent home invasions and car thefts, knowing that youth sentences are more lenient.
The MPPs also wanted to remove credits that can be applied to serious offenders for time served to take time off their sentencing, and for each life taken in a murder that the individual faces.
Finally, they called for “greater clarity” in the Criminal Code so that courts are required to consider the number and seriousness of outstanding charges against an individual when considering bail conditions.
The letter further detailed that Ontario’s calls for bail reform have so far gone “unanswered to date” but that the province “anticipates” the feds to introduce federal bail reform legislation, “imminently” in the fall session of Parliament.
Another day another example of useless Dung Ford and his puppets. Allow hundreds of thousands of illegals into Ontario, give them millions of taxpayer $$$$, stand by and watch as crime spirals out of control, don't address the offences or offenders blame the inept Liberal government that he panders to day after day.
Have another donut doug. Your words as always ring hollow. No track record to call yourself a conservative.