Tories Table Bail Reform Bill to Target Violent Repeat Offenders

Conservative MP Frank Caputo (L) looks on as Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks about bail reform during a news conference in the foyer of the House of Commons on Feb. 9, 2023. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Conservative MP Frank Caputo tabled a private member’s bill on Feb. 9 that aims to take a first “small step” toward bail reform legislation at the federal level and keep violent repeat offenders off the streets.

“The problem we have is this: repeat violent offenders are generally a small group, but that small group is causing a disproportionate amount of victimization, especially as it relates to firearm offending,” Caputo told reporters on Parliament Hill.

The MP said he expected the Liberals to take action on bail when the House of Commons re-convened in late January due to the events that occurred over the holidays, but was “candidly surprised when they didn’t.”

The shooting death of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) constable Grzegorz Pierzchala on Dec. 27 by a suspect who was a repeat violent offender out on bail led premiers and police chiefs to call for bail reform.

Caputo’s Bill C-313 to amend the Criminal Code would create exceptional circumstances leading to bail being denied if the accused is charged with a firearms offence and the offence was allegedly committed while the accused was under a prohibition order.

“Some of the most serious indictable offences will get you a prohibition, or if a judge has said this person needs a prohibition, because that is what the law requires to keep Canadians safe,” said Caputo, a former Crown prosecutor.

The new bill now sits at the back of the queue to be addressed in the House of Commons.

Caputo didn’t say whether efforts would be made within the party to move it higher in the queue, despite calling the bill a priority, and said he was open to working with Justice Minister David Lametti on the matter.

Lametti said on Feb. 9 he was giving “serious consideration” to bail reform legislation and that the issue would be discussed at an upcoming meeting with provincial justice ministers.

“I’m in favour of these good-faith initiatives from every level of the government and every police force,” he said. “We must confront our issues together.”

A Conservative Party motion calling for bail reform was defeated on Feb. 6 by all other parties.

Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has called for a reversal of some the bail provisions that were enshrined by Bill C-75.

“Police tell us that is the single biggest reason why crime has exploded under Trudeau’s watch,” he said on Feb. 9.

The Liberals’ Bill C-75 to reform bail legislation was passed in 2019 in part to reduce the proportion of incarcerated indigenous people.

Lametti told the House on Feb. 2 that any new measures taken regarding bail “will not exacerbate the over representation of indigenous peoples, black, and racialized Canadians in our jails.”

The Globe and Mail reported on Feb. 8 that the suspect for the killing of constable Pierzchala had been released on bail primarily due to his indigenous identity.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.