“Violent offenders will keep walking free”: Larry Brock slams Carney’s crime ‘reforms’

Official Opposition justice critic and Conservative MP Larry Brock slammed Carney’s new public safety reforms, saying they fail to address the root cause of Canada’s spiralling repeat crime crisis.

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Official Opposition justice critic and Conservative MP Larry Brock slammed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new public safety reforms, saying they fail to address the root cause of Canada’s spiralling repeat crime crisis: the Liberal government’s disastrous 2019 bail reform law.

In an interview with True North, Brock said that while Carney’s measures echo ideas long proposed by the Conservatives, they stop short of tackling what he called “the root cause of Canada’s catch-and-release problem” — Bill C-75’s “principle of restraint.”

“Until Mark Carney repeals the principle of restraint and replaces it with the principle of public safety,” Brock said, “violent offenders will keep walking free — and Canadians will keep paying the price.”

Brock said the 2019 changes require judges to release offenders “at the earliest opportunity on the least restrictive conditions, regardless of the offence, their record, or their danger to the community.”

“You can add all the reverse onus provisions you want,” he continued, “but if the law tells judges that jail is the last resort, you’ll never fix the problem.”

The Conservative justice critic compared Carney’s announcement to past Liberal efforts, particularly Bill C-48, saying those measures “made no difference” in keeping violent offenders behind bars.

When asked about Liberal claims that such reforms could threaten Charter rights or ignore the root causes of crime, Brock said his party’s proposals are constitutionally sound. “Reasonable bail does not mean absolute bail,” he said. “We’re not talking about most Canadians who make a mistake. We’re talking about that small subset of violent repeat offenders that terrorize communities.”

Brock also criticized the government’s border policies, saying Carney’s promise to hire 1,000 new Canada Border Services Agency officers comes years too late. “We needed extra border guards years ago to protect our borders,” he said. “Stop making the same announcement over and over again. Sign the money, hire the officers, get them trained and on our border.”

He added that the government’s failure to stop the “flow of illegal weapons” into Canada has contributed to the rise in violent crime. “We’ve been criticizing the Liberals for years for their lack of focus,” he said.

Brock’s comments come amid heightened debate over crime, bail reform, and border enforcement following Carney’s announcement of tougher sentencing and expanded RCMP funding earlier this week.