'We have to toughen up': Premiers expect Ottawa to table bail reform legislation this fall

Calgary Herald

5 days ago

Lametti, a close friend of Carney since university, is now acting as his principal secretary.
In an attempt to respond to the criticism, the federal government presented some amendments to the Criminal Code's bail regime, that were passed in 2024, to address serious repeat violent offenders and address risks posed by intimate partner violence.
But the premiers said they want to see mandatory minimum sentences restored and much stiffer penalties for repeat offenders and criminals involved in drug trafficking.
'We have to toughen up,' said Ford. 'We can't release people the next day after they kick people's doors in, put guns to people's head, terrorize the neighbourhood, terrorize families … and then they go to some weak-kneed judge that lets them out.'
'We need mandatory sentences. You steal cars, you break into people's homes, there has to be a penalty, or they just keep repeating and repeating the offence,' Ford added.
'People are just fed up. I've never seen people more frustrated, ever.'
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe insisted on the need to 'greatly stiffen the sentence' for criminals who are bringing in 'poisonous drugs into our communities across Canada.'
'Drugs are very much the scourge of many of the social problems … that we're having,' he said Wednesday. 'It has changed over the last decade, and we need to change the Criminal Court of Canada to address the changes that we're seeing in our communities.'
'If there was a Criminal Code of Saskatchewan, we would have made those changes already,' he said.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he wants to make sure that any future bail reform from the federal government will act further to prevent intimate partner violence.
'It's been an ongoing piece of work for us, but at the end of the day, in terms of the criminal justice system, we do look to the federal government for assistance,' he said.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said she was 'encouraged' to hear from Carney that his government is working on that piece on legislation now and that it is 'in the works.' She said is was also her hope that legislative changes be introduced in the fall session.
'The ball is in the federal government's court.'
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