The Ford government unveiled a justice bill at Queen’s Park Tuesday that includes tougher penalties for dangerous and impaired drivers.
The Ford government unveiled a justice bill at Queen’s Park Tuesday that includes tougher penalties for dangerous and impaired drivers, tighter bail rules and a promise to protect cats and dogs from animal testing.
“As part of our government’s plan to protect Ontario and crack down on criminals, we are moving forward with bold new measures that put public safety first,” Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said in a news release.
“For too long, violent repeat offenders have cycled through the justice system, putting families at risk and wreaking havoc in our communities. This legislation tackles those issues by strengthening bail compliance and holding criminals accountable.”
A number of measures included in the bill were previously announced, such as plans to make some information from the Ontario Sex Offender and Sex Trafficker Registry (OSOTR) public, and to make impaired drivers pay child support to surviving dependants if they kill a parent or guardian. Kerzner also said Monday the bill would tighten bail requirements by requiring defendants to pay cash security deposits once released from custody.
The government revealed Tuesday that the bill, titled “The Keeping Criminals Behind Bars Act,” also includes a suite of measures aimed at dangerous driving, animal welfare and “enhanced digital tools” to track repeat offenders and those violating bail conditions.
Some of the measures around driving come in response to a petition to create “Andrew’s Law” in tribute to Andrew Cristillo, a father of three from East Gwillimbury who died Aug. 4 after a head-on collision on Highway 48.
The driver of the other vehicle was charged with dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with injuries sustained by Cristillo’s three daughters, and making a false statement to police. Court documents revealed the same driver had previously been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle in connection with a Highway 401 collision in January involving a car carrying Premier Doug Ford.
“No family should ever face the heartbreak of losing a loved one or the trauma of a life-changing injury because of a dangerous and careless driver,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a news release. “These proposed changes will deter reckless behaviour, hold offenders accountable and make our roads and highways safer.”
Here’s a rundown of some of the proposed measures in the bill.
Dangerous driving
The proposed changes would impose a lifetime driving ban for anyone convicted of dangerous driving causing death.
The bill would also allow police to immediately suspend a driver’s licence for 90 days and impound a vehicle if they have reason to believe a person is driving dangerously.
Careless driving
Police would be able to issue a seven-day roadside licence suspension for careless driving and a 30-day suspension for careless driving causing bodily harm or death.
Those convicted of careless driving would face steeper fines of $1,000 to $5,000. That compares to current fines of $400 to $2,000.
Distracted driving
Those convicted of distracted driving while operating a commercial vehicle would face longer licence suspensions and steeper fines, ranging anywhere from $1,000 for a first offence to $6,000 for a third offence.
Driving with a suspended license
Those who drive with a with a suspended licence would also face increased fines and longer vehicle impoundment periods. A first offence would result in a 14-day impoundment and a fine of anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000. The impoundment period would increase to 30ndays for a second offence, and a fine of $5,000 to $15,000. A third offence would mean an impoundment period of 45 days and a fine of $10,000 to $20,000.
Animal welfare
The bill includes a number of provisions for animal welfare. It would restrict invasive medical research on dogs and cats to “specified purposes,” such as veterinary research.
Penalties will also be increased for those who harm animals that work with peace officers, such as police dogs.
The government also says that it will begin consultations late next year on banning “medically unnecessary procedures that harm dogs and cats.” That would include procedures such as declawing and ear-cropping, the province says.
Faster police record checks
Under the bill, service standards would be developed to help reduce delays in processing police record checks that could affect employment or access to services.