Liberal justice-reform plan welcomed

Brandon officials say Canada is taking a step in the right direction after Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed tougher bail and sentencing standards on Thursday.

“My hope is that this will certainly become a reality and take a lot of the pressure off of the courts and the police officers and, most importantly, the public,” Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen told the Sun.

In a bill being introduced next week, Carney said legislation will make bail more difficult to get for a half-dozen violent and organized crime offences.

The offences include violent auto theft, break and enter, human trafficking, assault and sexual assault, and extortion.

The bill will allow for consecutive sentences for violent and repeat offenders, so that multiple sentences can’t be served at the same time. Carney said that means an offender with a seven-year sentence and a five-year sentence must serve a total of 12 years, not seven.

Carney said the bill will specifically impact repeat offenders and keep them out of communities.

“In Canada, you should be able to wake up, get in your car, drive to work, come home and sleep soundly at night,” Carney said at a press conference in Toronto. “When laws repeatedly fail to protect those basic rights, we need new laws.”

Reacting to the news, Balcaen told the Sun he supports the proposal but is waiting to see whether the promises are backed up by the legislation next week.

“I’m encouraged that Ottawa is finally recognizing that Canadians from coast to coast to coast, what they’ve been telling them for years: that crime is out of control because there’s no consequences, particularly for repeat violent offenders who keep getting bail and are allowed to reoffend.”

Brandon Police Service Chief Tyler Bates welcomed the announcement as well, and stressed that it appears the changes match the desires of the public.

“These reforms are a step in the right direction, and reflect what many in law enforcement and the public have called for — a more balanced justice system that better prioritizes public safety,” Bates wrote in an email to the Sun.

Carney on Thursday announced people accused of major crimes would have to argue for their right to be released from custody while awaiting justice proceedings. It would be a reverse from current laws, where people accused of major crimes are given bail unless prosecutors can successfully convince the court that the person is a risk.

Brandon City Coun. Bruce Luebke, who called for bail reform earlier this year, said he made special note of that aspect of Carney’s proposal, calling it “probably the best part of what I saw today.”

“For people that are repeat offenders, it’ll be more difficult, in my opinion, to persuade a judge that they should receive bail, based on prior actions,” Luebke (Ward 6) said in a phone call with the Sun.

The Liberals also plan to introduce more punitive sentences for organized retail theft and eliminate conditional sentences for sexual assault.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he commends the Liberals for the list of proposals they have introduced, though he is waiting to see whether the legislation pans out. He said he was happy to see that retail theft did not slip through the cracks.

“Those are the kind of things that make people lose faith in the system,” Fawcett told the Sun in a phone interview. “This helps. I think the federal government is hearing municipalities.”

The City of Brandon this year sent a letter to the provincial and federal governments to complain about repeat offenders. The letter, stemming from Luebke’s February motion at city council, vented about increasing crime in Brandon.

Seeing the announcement now months later, it seems like the system is working, Luebke said.

“I think that shows that you can start something at a local, municipal level to get something changed that impacts people right across Canada,” Luebke said. “I’m quite happy that the City of Brandon was able to be part of that.”

Brandon had joined the mayors of Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg, along with Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe, in a growing call to the federal government to lay the groundwork so that courts could crack down on repeat offenders.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Premier Wab Kinew expressed cautious optimism about the news similar to Fawcett, Luebke, Bates and Balcaen.

”It’s encouraging to hear some of the announcements today. I hope it’s going to make a difference,” Kinew said. “But I fully recognize that there’s a whole heck of a lot more work to do when we’re talking about safety.”

The Liberals’ announcement included a plan to hire 1,000 new RCMP personnel. The hires will include 150 RCMP staffers focused on financial crime, who will target money laundering networks, organized crime, online fraud and asset recovery.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com, with files from The Canadian Press