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