Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government is set to table legislation that would require people accused of a crime and granted bail to provide a cash security deposit up front, rather than paying later if they break their bail conditions.
Attorney General Doug Downey said he believes that measure and others announced Monday would improve bail compliance.
“I’ve heard directly from victims of crime, families, police officers and community leaders who are calling for a bail system that is real, consequential and protects the public,” he said at a press conference.
“We need a stronger bail system that puts the safety of innocent people first and prevents dangerous offenders from cycling in and out of custody.”
Ontario and other provinces had been pushing the federal government to enact bail reform. Downey said legislation introduced recently by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is a good first start, but there is more to do.
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Currently, if people are ordered released on bail with a promise to pay, the accused person and their surety only have to forfeit the money if the accused breaches their release conditions and the court orders payment.
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Under the proposed new system, payment would be made when the accused person is released from custody and it would be returned at the conclusion of their case.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association said the proposal would create two tiers of justice based on wealth.
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“Innocent, but can’t afford to pay to be released? You are stuck in jail for years until you can clear your name in court, even if you would have complied with all your bail conditions,” Shakir Rahim, director of the CCLA’s criminal justice program, wrote in a statement.
“This proposal appears to apply to everyone, including first-time offenders with no criminal record.”
Downey said the proposal would not skew the system against low-income Ontarians.
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“The adjudicative process, the judges and the (justices of the peace), it’s not changing how they operate at all or what the measures are,” he said.
“It’s once they say that a surety who has stepped up pledges to something, that the pledge will mean something.”
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Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the proposal would disproportionately affect low-income Ontarians and lead to more people in jail.
“We already have overcrowded prisons,” he said. “Eighty per cent of the people in Ontario jails are just awaiting (trial) and now they’re going to make it worse. Where are they going to put people?”
Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said the province is aiming to open 1,000 new jail beds.
Downey and Kerzner, who is set to table a justice bill Tuesday including this proposal, also announced a number of other non-legislative measures aimed at strengthening the bail system, including better digital tools to track repeat offenders and expanding bail prosecution teams.
The two ministers held a press conference alongside Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, who said that while rates of most types of crime are falling, there is a rising number of young people involved in gun crimes, so “now is not the time to slow down.”
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