Premiers send letter to Justin Trudeau demanding immediate action on bail reform

BY PAUL JUNOR

There was an outpouring of grief by his family members at the funeral of OPP Constable Greg Pierzchala who was killed in the line of duty. CTV News reported on Saturday, January 14^th, that there were approximately 700 officers who attended his funeral on Thursday, January 12^th, 2023. On Friday, January 13^th, the premiers of all the provinces in Canada and territories sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unanimously requesting he take “immediate action” to improve Canada’s bail system.

It was reported that court documents were released indicating that Randall McKenzie, who is one of the two individuals facing a first-degree murder charge as a result of the officer’s death, was out on bail. He was denied bail for a previous case in which he had assault and weapon charges filed against him, but was released subsequently. There was a warrant that was issued for him after he did not turn up for his court date scheduled for August 2022.

The letter to the Prime Minister was initiated in Doug Ford’s Premier Office and signed by the premiers. The letter states, “There have been a growing number of calls for changes to prevent accused persons, who are out on bail, from committing further criminal acts. The justice system fundamentally needs to keep anyone who poses a threat to public safety off the streets. And this starts with meaningful changes to the Criminal Code, an area solely within the federal government’s jurisdiction.”

The letter reveals that there was a meeting in October 2022 between the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Ministers of Justice and Public Safety in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. It resulted in a unified call to action for the federal government to reform Canada’s bail system. As this involves criminal law, there is a federal responsibility to ensure that there are changes made to the bail system. B.C’s justice and public safety ministers mentioned that there seems to be progress from the federal government with respect to this issue and specifically that repeat offending and violent stranger attacks were a countrywide concern.

Tom Stamatakis, President of the Canadian Police Association in an interview highlighted the fact that the death of officer Pierzchala revealed that reforms were necessary. He states, “There are a number of prolific and violent offenders who continue to present a danger to society when released, and we need to find common-sense reforms that will address those cases.”

The letter described one change that is anticipated. It notes, “A reverse onus on bail must be created for the offence of possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm in s.95 of the Code. A person accused of a s.95 offence should have to demonstrate why their detention is not justified when they were alleged to have committed an offence where there was imminent risk to the public, as is already the case with several offences involving firearms. A review of other firearms-related offences is also warranted to determine whether they should also attract a reverse onus on bail.”

David Lametti, Minister of Justice was asked about bail reform during a House of Commons committee hearing. He mentioned that a new bill, Bill C-75 was in the works with the collaboration of the provinces and hopes to get it out. He is aware of the delicate nature of the discussions around bail reforms. He notes, “We’re certainly there to work with the province. To the extent that Bill-75 and the reforms or their implementation – or perhaps their non-implementation in certain cases– might be a factor, we’ve engaged to look at that. We have tasked our deputy ministers, federal and provincial in order to get some more facts and to get more detail on the problem.”