Commentary
Crime and justice reform issues usually get little more than a casual nod during federal elections in Canada. The 2025 election was an exception, with both the Liberals and Conservatives vowing to take a tough-on-crime approach. Public disorder related to an ongoing opioid addiction epidemic and some high-profile cases of violent repeat offenders being released led to demands for justice reform, and the Carney Liberals are now making legislative changes.
Much of what the government is proposing appears to be beneficial and should be well-received by most Canadians.
Bail reform has topped the list of changes with the introduction of a “reverse onus” for bail cases involving several types of violent crimes. This means the accused will have to make the case that they are safe to release on bail rather than having the prosecution tasked with proving the offender may be dangerous. That may require expanding the remand capacity as more people would be incarcerated awaiting trial. Work must be done to streamline and speed up criminal trials to reduce the load on short-term incarceration facilities. Citizens are tired of reading about recently released violent offenders committing crimes….