The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) urged members of parliament (MPs) on Tuesday to amend the pending Bill C-14 on bail reform, to maintain the presumption of innocence.
The Liberal Party introduced Bill C-14 in October to make bail rules stricter and toughen sentencing outcomes by targeting over 80 areas in Canada’s Criminal Code, especially concerning the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the National Defense Act. While some amendment recommendations have been well received, such as expanding the standard weapons prohibition to those accused of involvement in organized crime, the bill has been criticized for undermining certain main principles of justice.
For example, the presumption of innocence requires the government to definitively prove that the defendant committed the crime. The bill would expand the list of charges in which the principal is the reversed, and the person who has been accused is required to prove their innocence instead. This would apply to any offense where violence was allegedly used, as well as breaking and entering, auto theft, and involvement in organized crime.
The principle of restraint has been mandated by the Supreme Court of Canada to ensure that release at the earliest opportunity is prioritized over detention, and only reasonably necessary bail conditions are imposed. The bill will redefine the principle to make release non-mandated.
The ladder principle requires the courts to consider the least restrictive form of bail first, starting at the bottom of the ladder and working its way up as the risk of the accused’s release becomes more serious. The bill would remove this principle depending on the type of charge, weighing factors such as involvement of weapons, intimate partner violence, terrorism, or drug trafficking.
For any bill to become law in Canada, it must first pass three readings in the House of Commons, where bills are politically tested by the elected MPs of each region and subject to debate. After the third reading, it then passes to the Senate. The Senate is viewed as the “sober second thought” of the law-making process. It is made up of elected senators, proportionally distributed to each region of Canada, who are not formally tied to any political party. Three reading are carried out by the Senate.
For the Bill C-14, the Senate Committee recommended changing certain elements of the bill, such as leaving the acceptance or rejection of bail sureties to judicial discretion rather than outright restricting it, and requiring judges to ask about the Indigenous or vulnerable status of the defendant in bail hearings. Senator Denise Batters critiqued this recommendation, stating that it softened the bill, and praised the text as it is, characterizing it an attempt to reverse the negative effects of the previous Justin Trudeau government, which allowed for “more violent crimes committed by repeat criminal offenders who were on bail at the time of their arrest.” She blamed this on “changes brought in by Trudeau Liberals under Bill C-5 and Bill C-75.”
However, legal associations are urging the government to follow the Senate Committee’s recommendations, even if it “softens the bill,” to ensure fundamental principles of justice. Shakir Rahim, director of criminal justice at the CCLA, argued that Bill C-14 will make it easier to detain people presumed innocent before trial, adding that “it will hit Indigenous, racialized, and low-income communities hardest.” While the Senate committee amendments will not eliminate those harms, Rahim conceded, they could reduce harms by allowing judges to consider a defendant’s vulnerable status and weigh principles of justice.
