The Conservative Party plans to introduce a motion in the House of Commons calling for the swift passage of legislation that it says would make it more difficult for violent and repeat offenders to receive bail.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said current federal bail laws have led to ongoing cases of repeat offenders victimizing Canadians, and that the government has been too slow to introduce legislation to reform the bail system. He said the Tories will introduce a motion that would quickly pass Bill C-242, also known as the Jail Not Bail Act, in order to address rising violent crime in Canada.
“We don’t need the Liberals to do anything, we just need them to get out of the way. If they will abstain on this vote and agree to let this bill pass, we can scrap Liberal bail [laws],” Poilievre told reporters outside the House of Commons on Oct. 2.
Bill C-242 would modify Canada’s justice system by eliminating the requirement for judges to release individuals accused of crimes at the “earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions possible,” which is a stipulation that was established under the Liberal’s Bill C-75.
The bill would also introduce a new major offences category, requiring those charged with violent crimes such as sexual assault, kidnapping, human trafficking, home invasion, robbery, arson, and firearms charges to prove it is safe to release them on bail.
Bill C-242 would also require judges to consider the full criminal history of the accused before granting them bail, including by examining whether an offender is likely to reoffend after being released. Those with an indictable offence will also be unable to act as a guarantor for another accused person.
Poilievre cited several recent instances of suspects with a lengthy criminal history being let out on bail and going on to commit violent crimes, including a man in Saint-Jerôme, Que., who was charged this week with first-degree murder in the death of a 43-year-old woman. He had been previously arrested about 30 times, convicted at least six times for incidents related to domestic violence, and accused of violating his probationary conditions about 15 times.
The Tory leader also cited the latest data from Statistics Canada indicating that firearms-related violent crime have risen by 55 percent since 2013, while extortion cases have risen by 338 percent since 2014, and police-reported sexual assaults are up nearly 80 percent over the past decade.
Poilievre criticized the Liberals for not having introduced legislation reforming bail yet. “What is taking so long, seriously, while people are dying on our streets, where our citizens are being massacred, while women are being killed by abusive ex husbands?” he said.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser has said the Liberal government intends to introduce legislation this fall to reform Canada’s criminal justice system. He said there will be amendments to the Criminal Code imposing stricter bail conditions and sentencing, particularly for offences related to organized crime, car theft, home invasion, and human trafficking.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety Jacques Ramsay told the House of Commons on Sept. 25 that he understood Canadians “legitimate frustration” about repeat offenders being released on bail. He noted that the government passed Bill C-48 back in 2023, which tightened the rules for violent repeat offenders while strengthening protection for victims of intimate partner violence.
Ramsay said the government will introduce legislation in the fall to do more to strengthen bail, but he said the Liberals do not believe in “empty slogans, like the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule.”
The Conservatives introduced a motion in the House on Sept. 18 that would prevent criminals convicted of three serious offences from getting bail, probation, parole, or house arrest. That motion failed, with the Liberals, Bloc Québécois, and NDP voting against it.
