Canada’s premiers are calling for stronger bail conditions to reduce violent crime, as they gathered for a Council of the Federation meeting in Winnipeg.
“Our discussions today were focused on building stronger communities for all Canadians, beginning with shared public safety challenges arising from violent crime in our communities,” Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said on July 11. Ms. Stefanson is the chair of the Council, which is made up of Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders.
Many have blamed some of the violent crimes plaguing cities on repeat offenders out on bail. One recent example is a stabbing on a Toronto subway on July 6 where a man was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The suspect was out on bail at the time.
“We cannot afford to wait longer for better protection from random violence caused by repeat and dangerous offenders,” Ms. Stefanson told reporters.
She said provinces are doing their part with more law enforcement and better support for mental health and addictions.
“But we need necessary federal follow-through on federal Criminal Code reform and we need it now,” she said.
It was not the only hot-button issue that came up on the first full day of meetings at the conference.
A lot of provinces want the federal government to show more flexibility in areas like energy, emissions, and even health care, according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
“The problem that we have with the federal government is not the overarching objective of [net zero emissions by] 2050,” she told reporters. “I think all of the premiers agree that setting an emissions reduction target of carbon neutrality by 2050—that seems like a reasonable time frame.”
The problem, she said, is the federal government’s interim targets, such as making the electrical grid net zero by the year 2035.
“We took great effort to phase out coal at great cost, which people are still paying for. And then they moved the goalposts on us again, wanting us to phase out natural gas … so those are the frustrations that we have,” said Ms. Smith.
She also pointed to a June 30 statement by the Council of Atlantic Premiers calling on Ottawa to back off the new clean fuel regulations.
In the statement, the premiers warned that “independent regulators in the region have indicated these Clean Fuel Regulations could cost between 4 and 8 cents per litre ... this increase is in addition to the increases expected on July 1, 2023, due to the increasing carbon tax.”
The Council has set up a website where people can send a letter to federal MPs demanding they roll back the regulations.
B.C. Premier David Eby added that the province is also facing energy challenges, but in a different way.
“I am not at all confident that our province is on-track to provide the level of electricity needed to transition industry from fossil fuel usage to electricity,” Mr. Eby told reporters.
He said while B.C. gets a lot of its electricity from hydroelectric dams, the province still faces major challenges in reducing fossil fuel use.
Several premiers said the cost of living is another problem.
Mr. Eby pointed to interest rates and the cost of housing in B.C.
“Many people are wondering how they’re going to pay the debts they have with rising interest rates, cover their rent, buy groceries … like other premiers around the table, I have a real sense of dread about the next Bank of Canada rate hike,” he said.
And Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that his province has a desperate need to get more housing built, with population gains of over half a million per year.
“We are growing faster than any region in North America … and when you have 504,000 people, you need housing for them as well. We have to make sure that we get the shovels in the ground as quickly as possible,” he said.
All said, inflation remains a headache.
“We’re now in the middle of an inflation crisis. And then on top of that, they are increasing the cost of everything by increasing carbon taxes … so we need a break,” Ms. Smith said.
The desire for more give-and-take also extends to health care.
Earlier this year, the federal government committed to providing $46 billion in new health care dollars to the provinces over the next ten years.
Most provinces have signed on, but Ms. Smith said that while they are grateful for the money, it’s not that much in the context of how much the provinces are already spending.
She said real improvement will take more than money—such as Ottawa streamlining recruitment of health care workers from abroad.
“And so those are the kinds of things that we would want to use the federal government’s assistance on is the recruitment, retention, as well as the international recognition [of credentials],” she said.
Ms. Stefanson said the premiers are already planning a follow-up meeting to talk more about health care.
“And how we can share best practices so that we can take the collaborative approach when it comes to recruitment, retention, and training of health care professionals across the country,” she said.
