Saskatchewan Conservatives say Ottawa’s bail reforms don’t go far enough

The federal government says it has delivered the toughest changes to Canada’s bail and sentencing laws in a generation. Conservatives say the job is only half done.

Conservative Members of Parliament gathered outside the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan in Regina on Wednesday to criticize Bill C-14, the federal Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, as most of its provisions officially came into force.

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Speaking alongside Regina MPs Warren Steinley and Michael Kram, Regina-Qu’Appelle MP, Andrew Scheer, said the Liberal government is trying to convince Canadians that it has solved the country’s bail problems while leaving key policies unchanged.

“The biggest takeaway from today’s message is that while the rhetoric has changed, while the government is running ads claiming using your tax dollars to run ads telling you that they’ve solved the problem, they have kept on the books the very Liberal laws that caused the problem in the first place,” Scheer said.

Bill C-14 received royal assent on June 15. Most of its bail and sentencing provisions took effect on July 15. The legislation includes more than 80 targeted changes to the Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act and National Defence Act, including tougher bail rules for repeat and violent offenders and stronger penalties for several serious crimes.

Scheer argued judges should once again place greater emphasis on protecting the public when deciding whether repeat violent offenders should remain in custody before trial.

“We have had the presumption of innocence, but also courts that take into account when you’ve got dangerous, violent, repeat offenders – people who have long rap sheets of serious convictions, that public safety has to be taken into account,” he said.

He also rejected suggestions that tougher sentencing laws would increase prison populations.

“We saw with the previous Conservative government that when we increased penalties, it had an effect on crime rates. Crime rates went down when criminals knew they were going to spend serious time in prison.”

Arpan Khanna, Conservative MP for Oxford and the party’s critic of the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of Canada, argued that repeat offenders continue to cycle through Canada’s justice system because bail laws remain too lenient.

“It’s jail by day, bail by night, and it’s the same people over and over again,” Khanna said.

Khanna cited Statistics Canada figures while arguing violent crime has increased under Liberal governments.

“These criminals are being emboldened by the Liberal policies because they know there are no consequences,” he said.

He also pointed to an example from Kelowna, B.C., claiming 15 repeat offenders were responsible for 1,400 crimes in a single year.

“You put them behind bars for being repeat violent offenders. That crime stat goes down, and that’s what our focus is going to be on.”

Larry Brock, the former Conservative justice critic, said the government is overstating what Bill C-14 accomplishes.

“The illusion and the narrative that Mark Carney and Sean Fraser, his justice minister, are spreading across the country is misleading. It’s false. It is wrong,” Brock said.

Brock acknowledged the legislation makes changes but argued it does not fully undo previous Liberal bail reforms.

“They reformed bail. Everything was working fine pre-2015 until this Liberal government came into power, and now after 11 years, they are chipping away slowly at the harm and the chaos that they have created over 11 years,” Brock said.

“We’re saying it’s not enough. Community safety should never be a partisan issue. This Liberal government has made it so.”

In a statement provided to 980 CJME and 650 CKOM following the news conference, the office of Justice Minister Sean Fraser defended the legislation.

“Canada’s new government promised stricter bail and tougher sentences. As of today, those commitments are now law,” the statement said. “With over 80 targeted changes to the Criminal Code, bail will be harder to get for repeat and violent offenders, and sentences will be tougher for serious crimes.”

The minister’s office also accused Conservatives of delaying the legislation while it moved through Parliament.

“For months, Conservatives delayed and obstructed measures that victims, survivors, law enforcement, premiers, mayors, and communities across the country have been calling for, trying to own these issues at the expense of real action.”

The statement added that the federal government “will continue to move with urgency to strengthen Canada’s laws and keep Canadians safe.”

According to the Department of Justice, the reforms expand reverse-onus bail provisions for several serious offences, strengthen penalties for crimes including organized auto theft, extortion and home invasion, and add new aggravating factors during sentencing for offences committed against first responders and critical infrastructure.