ANALYSIS: New Justice Minister Faces Uphill Battle Against Crime

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani poses for a photo with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on July 26, 2023. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

A few days after being promoted to one of the most important posts in the country, new justice minister and attorney general Arif Virani said it is unlikely Canadians are more at risk from crime, even as a new statistical report points to an increase in violent crime in Canada.

On July 31, Mr. Virani told Reuters he thinks “empirically it’s unlikely” Canada is becoming less safe.

“But I think there’s a sense coming out of the pandemic that people’s safety is more in jeopardy,” he said.

Mr. Virani, a Liberal MP who represents a Toronto riding, received the most significant promotion in the July 26 cabinet shuffle. Moved from his position as parliamentary secretary, he became attorney general and has taken the reins of the Justice Department.

The day following the cabinet shuffle, Statistics Canada released a report on police-reported crime statistics. It shows crime has been steadily rising in recent years, except for the first year of COVID-19 lockdowns, with violent crime in 2022 at its highest level since 2007.

By appearing to downplay the situation, Mr. Virani’s reaction has led some analysts to believe the Liberal government and its new justice minister will have trouble righting the ship, especially if the problem is addressed through an ideological lens.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Virani for comment, but didn’t receive a response by press time.

‘Gaslighting’

Criminal lawyer and political commentator Ari Goldkind says the justice minister is “gaslighting” Canadians by not considering the statistics.

He believes Mr. Virani knows “without question” that not only crime, including violent crime, has increased, “but the way crimes are being committed, the age of offenders, the weapons being used are all changing at a rapid pace.”

“We’re in a vastly different criminogenic Canada than we were 20 years ago,” said Mr. Goldkind.

“How can you have a justice minister remotely do his or her job when their second comment to the public is to ignore the crime statistics and/or deny them?”

Statistics and opinions aside, political science expert Marco Navarro-Genie sees crime becoming increasingly a political issue that is dragging the Liberals down.

“The first rule when you’re in trouble, no matter where—whether it’s in government or in management, or whatever it is—stop digging,” he says. “The Liberals have to stop digging. They have dug themselves into this hole quite a bit.”

Mr. Navarro-Genie says it’s possible Mr. Virani will bring good ideas to solving the crime issue, but he says the root causes, which he identifies as economic and social decay, is not something that “turns around on a dime.”

And even trying to influence the perception that crime is rising will prove complicated, he says.

“Because whatever gimmicks governments come up with to change the perception about crime, crime keeps happening.”

Bail Reform

Mr. Virani reportedly told media outlets his government wants to target the root causes of criminality, such as social issues like housing and health.

Newly appointed ministers will look over these issues, with Sean Fraser moving from immigration to housing, and Mark Holland taking over the health portfolio after serving as government house leader.

For matters within his remit, Mr. Virani will be overseeing the attempt at bail reform started by his predecessor David Lametti. In May, Mr. Lametti tabled Bill C-48 which would make it harder for some repeat violent offenders to be released on bail, but it has yet to advance in the House of Commons.

Society-wide calls have been made to strengthen the bail rules after repeat violent offenders have been involved in serious crimes while on bail, notably the killing last winter of Ontario police officer Greg Pierzchala.

Mr. Virani told Reuters that his government heard the calls for reform from a “quite unified group of stakeholders.”

“That evidence cannot be denied,” he said.

Mr. Goldkind says work on the bail system should be the justice minister’s first priority, but that it shouldn’t be done through a progressive framework, which he sees as causing insecurity.

“Everything is under the woke-world identity-politics lens,” he says. “Everything is about certain groups being overrepresented in the jail system, but they never ever asked who’s overrepresented in the commission of crime statistics as committing crimes, or which groups are predominantly the victims of said crimes.”

Mr. Goldkind was referring to comments made by the justice minister about the overrepresentation of certain groups within the prison system.

‘Anti-Racism’

Criminal justice laws adopted by the Liberals in recent years have had an explicit “anti-racism” objective aimed at reducing the proportion of black and indigenous prisoners among incarcerated populations.

Bill C-5, adopted in November 2022, removed mandatory minimum sentences for offences such as robbery with a firearm.

With regard to bail rules, the accused killer of Constable Pierzchala was released on bail after the judge reconsidered the offender’s indigenous background.

“I don’t mind telling you, it’s a very iffy case. I do feel my obligation is, something I can’t ignore is, being a status Aboriginal,” Justice Harrison Arrell said during the bail hearing of the accused Randall McKenzie in June 2022.

The rule pertaining to indigenous background was made with the passage of Bill C-75 in 2019, sponsored by former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.

The bill states bail decisions must “incorporate a principle of restraint and require that particular attention be given to the circumstances of Aboriginal accused and accused from vulnerable populations when making interim release decisions.”

Mr. Goldkind fears the new justice minister, given his comments on overrepresentation, will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, thus putting law-abiding citizens and victims at a loss.

“That tells me [the justice minister role] remains a virtue-signalling position, not a keep-Canadians-safe, or a true-Justice-rule-of-law position.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.